Please help! 8.5 month old wakes up screaming inconsolably

[MrsD28]

My 8.5 month old son has never been a great sleeper (he usually doesn't sleep for more than three hours or so at a time) but he has recently developed a new and very distressing behaviour. He wakes up (usually around 10 or 11pm, but sometimes in the early morning around 4 or 5am) and then screams inconsolably. We have tried lots of different ways of comforting him - cuddling and rocking in our arms, talking softly to him, shushing and patting in the cot etc etc but he continues to scream. He is so hysterical that I can't even get him on the breast (he is breastfed, and is usually comforted by boob). It is not his normal crying - it is a guttural scream. We keep comforting him until he calms enough to go on the breast, after which he will usually go back to sleep.

Some background: he was EBF but is now on three meals of solids per day plus seven or eight breastfeeds. We have a good bedtime routine (dinner, bath, story, breastfeed to sleep) which has been pretty consistent for the past few months. He has never slept very well and still wakes at least twice to feed (usually around 1am and 4am). He also wakes up frequently between 8pm and midnight, but can mostly be comforted pretty quickly. He has just dropped down to two naps (one in the morning and one in the afternoon). I almost always feed him to sleep - he will very occasionally fall asleep in the pram or baby carrier, but if he goes into his cot awake he just crawls around his cot (even in his sleeping bag!). During the day he is a very happy and contented baby - most of our friends and family have never seen him cry. He did suffer from reflux when he was younger but he has grown out of it (and this screaming is different from the reflux and trapped burp crying he used to do).

We are finding this very distressing, and are desperate for some advice. We are not bothered by the waking up (which is not unusual for him) but by the fact that he seems to be in so much distress . Crying it out is not an option for us (and he just gets more hysterical if we don't intervene immediately anyway). Does anyone have any advice / experience with this?

It could be nothing but it might be an ear infection. I would get him checked just in case. Could also be teething.

Teething? Does he settle if you try calpol or nurofen?

Thank you for your replies. He is definitely not teething (he has six teeth already so we know the signs well). Calpol doesn't seem to help - we have tried a few times but we struggle to get it in him because he is so hysterical and if doesn't seem to make any difference.

I hadn't thought of an ear infection, as he seems fine during the day - might take him to the GP to get this checked.

If he is on three good meals a day and having several breastfeeds throughout the day, then I question his need for milk several times during the ngiht (I have one of a similar age, also EBF, and he has his last BF when he goes down at 7, and that keeps him going till about 5 (whereupon I feed him/ let him suckle for a couple of hours. Have you tried comforting him during the night without using boob (it's easier to get tyou partner to do this). Ours sleeps so much better now that he doesn't wake looking for milk- he just takes on more at bedtime and early morning. Obviously all babies are different and you know yours best, but I just thought i'd mention it in case it helps you.

We also have the inconsolable screaming you describe and we have been at the doctor to investigate ear infection s and such like, but there seems to be no medical cause. We have put it down to his latest leap (do you read the Wonder weeks or follow the app? You should!) Ride it out, and be there for him- it passes (until the next leap hollow laugh/ fistbump.

Hi,

How is your child doing? I am having the same
situation with my 8m baby and I am starting to freak out. He’s been doing this since he turned 4m. Two paediatricians said he’s fine but I’m not convinced. I am seeing a neurologist next week.

We had this… lasted nearly two months but it went as quickly as it arrived! It’s just a phase…but a horrible one!

Hi.
my Baby boy is just over 8 months old.
And he is doing This too!
He’s such a happy Baby but randomly started waking up screaming like he’s in pain but he can’t be. I have covered every area.
Iv been trying so hard to workout why he’s doing it.
Sometimes throughout the night I have to hold him just so he settles and it takes a while.
X

Since this was like 5 years ago I'm assuming the kid grew out of it maybe.

Waking up sucks, it's not a nice feeling. Some babies may take exception to it, especially as their lights start to come on.

My 1yo does this at least once a month. Fairly certain it's a night terror as he isn't awake and it's not his normal cry...completely inconsolable. Calms down by some shoogling and rocking, lots of changing position and walking about which isn't easy when you're half asleep yourself! Horrible episodes and researching it advice is never to wake them while happening.