Another early waking thread

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

Seen another post about early wakings lately but have a couple of other questions about it.

Since around Christmas DS, now 8 months, has been going through a phase (well I hope it's a phase!!!) of being WIDE awake anywhere between 2-5am and it's hard work to get him back to sleep! He is still making his tired waily noise in between shrieks of delight though, so I know he's still tired.

Until last week I was happy to bring him into our bed at this wake up and he would generally fall asleep as I did and that was that. Now he keeps crawling around, climbing on me etc, which is dangerous as he could fall off the bed. Also now he takes up so much space in the bed that DH has to sleep elsewhere, so I'd rather not co-sleep anymore, as much as I love waking up next to him!

So last night he woke up at 2 (unusual, usually it's 11 when DH feeds him, and 4ish), he was quite awake so I fed him, then thankfully he fell asleep in my arms and transferred to his cot ok. Then he got up again at 5 totally full of beans, screeching, jumping on his bed etc. I'm really not willing to start the day at 5, so I changed his nappy in case that was bothering him and then held him and he sort of fell asleep but it was pretty fitful. So I didn't try transferring him to his cot just brought him into our bed at 6, when DH gets up anyway. He fell asleep and we woke up at 7:50.

A few other people I've spoken to with babies this age are having the same problem, but none of us know what to do about it. Is this just something 7/8/9 month olds do??

He usually naturally wakes up at 7, then naps at 9 and 1, so now his naps are thrown off. Do people wake their babies up in the morning to stay on a schedule or not?

Bedtime - 6-7pm, generally just rolls over and goes to sleep
Naps- hand on side to stop him crawling, shh-pat sometimes, can take up to half an hour
11pm wake - DH feeds and I think he just goes to sleep, always seems painless.

Do want to stop the night feeds but think we should tackle one thing at a time.

Has dummy, bear and white noise.

Am sick of spending what feels like most of the day helping him to to sleep! :( I feed bad about that.

Is this just something 7/8/9 month olds do?

There is usually a difficult phase that goes alongside baby learning to crawl/walk/stand around this age. Having learnt an important new skill, its not unusual to try to practice in the cot - rocking on all-fours, pulling to sitting position, pulling up to standing.

The way I have always dealt with this is to teach the basics of "there are a time and a place for these skills, and the cot isn't it". So I have discouraged and not allowed anything other than lying down in the cot.

Any getting onto all fours or standing up will result in me lying baby back down. A firm hand on chest helps to reaffirm the need to be still in order to go to sleep. Like all the rest of the boundary-pushing you will come across in the toddler years, if you are consistent it will just be a phase and baby will eventually learn that climbing around in the cot is not allowed at sleep time.

I'd rather not co-sleep anymore, as much as I love waking up next to him!

Why not have the cot next to your bed then? Just until baby is reliably sleeping through. It may save your sanity dealing with night wake ups, but produce a good half-way option between baby in your bed and baby in own room.

transferred to his cot

This could be a problem. Having baby falling asleep in the cot would be ideal. Doing all settling in the cot without picking up teaches baby that to go back to sleep he needs to settle back down to sleep in the cot.

(linked into the above point on cot position, much more easy to do this in the night with the cot next to your bed. Otherwise get yourself a comfy chair and spare duvet in baby's room)

In those middle of the night wake ups, I would be lying baby back down, being consistent that he needs to be still to go to sleep so maintain a firm hand(s) to keep him still. Reinserting dummy as needed.

spending what feels like most of the day helping him to to sleep!

Welcome to the first year of parenting. Look at it this way, if you accept it will take time and allow that year to develop good sleep habits, the time invested will pay you back three-fold (and more).

Without developing good sleep habits, or those who try to take short-cuts before baby is ready - often end up going into their baby's second year with continuing sleep habits (some also go into baby's third and fourth year without solving the sleep thing).

So the time invested now to be patient and consistent will be worth it