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Sleep

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Original poster

5-mth-old's sleep worse and worse - inconsistent and puzzling

13 replies

SarahCaroline · 03/07/2004 12:42

Up to about 3 months, my DD's sleep was great. She even slept through the night on the odd occasion, including one whole week! The past month or so, however, has been terrible.
She easily drifts off to sleep alone in her cot around 7/7.30, without my help, and we wake her at 10.30ish for her final feed, which is a big one these days - around 6oz. (The rest of the time, apart from one bottle at 11am, she is breastfed.)
After that, she is completely inconsistent but usually wakes sometime between midnight and 2am. I'm not sure that she can be hungry again so soon but often her daytime feeds are pretty small (she also has 2 portions of solids a day), and she can't be settled by any means other than feeding. (I'm not willing to let her cry it out.) Last night, she woke at 3 and had a good feed, which made me think 'Great! She'll sleep through till 7 now!', but she then woke again at 4.30!! I cuddled her back to sleep but as soon as she felt me putting her back down in the cot she woke up and cried again so I gave up, fed her and let her sleep in our bed for the rest of the night rather than waste the rest of the night trying in vain to settle her.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I'm confused and getting desperate, especially since she used to sleep so well. Will getting her on to 3 meals a day help? Any other ideas?

Please help!

OP posts:

busybee123 · 03/07/2004 12:46

your not alone. my ds2 is 20 weeks on wednesday and wakes up at one and won't go back to sleep. nightmare. my health visitor reckons its just a phase and to sit it out.

Original poster

SarahCaroline · 03/07/2004 12:52

Hi busybee, good to hear I'm not alone. Last week I was saying exactly that to myself and being really quite philosophical about it - today I'm desperate!
I'm sure your hv is right. She's been through many phases before and most of them ended for no apparent reason so in a way it's easier to think 'OK, it's not that I'm doing anything wrong, I just have to be patient.' But on days like today I just think 'This is a hell of a long phase! There must be SOMETHING I can do!!'
Thanks for the reassurance though. I guess DD is normal after all!

OP posts:

busybee123 · 03/07/2004 12:53

oh i know how that goes!!!! this has been going on for over a month now!! im wrecked.

Original poster

SarahCaroline · 03/07/2004 15:31

BTW Busybee, what do you do when your ds wakes? Do you feed him, or rock him, or what? I guess my main worry is that by feeding DD I may be setting up a bad pattern; but if I try any other way she never settles and I invariably end up feeding her anyway, having stayed awake much longer than I would if I'd just fed her in the first place ...

OP posts:

busybee123 · 03/07/2004 15:39

i try and settle him while he is still in his cot. i admit i have resorted to walking him round and putting him in my bed, but he wont give in til he is ready.

bootsmonkey · 03/07/2004 15:41

Are you sure she is not teething - this made for many a night time awakening with my DD - she also just wanted the comfort and would not be put back down?? Just a thought - although having just come out of the other side of teething I am wont to put everything down to it!!

Original poster

SarahCaroline · 03/07/2004 19:14

I kind of hope it is teething - we've been looking for signs - it does look like there are teeth forming behind her gums but no sharp bits as yet. Drooling and chewing, but no red cheeks or anything, so hard to tell ...

OP posts:

Original poster

SarahCaroline · 04/07/2004 12:44

Well, last night was even worse
Even though she fed well at 10.30, she woke at about 2; I fed her, and fell asleep while doing so. I woke again at 3.30 - she was still asleep in our bed so I put her back in her cot. 4am she woke again. I decided she couldn't be hungry again so tried everything to re-settle her, including walking her up and down (which I never do!). She fell asleep, but woke up crying as soon as I tried to put her back in her cot. Finally gave in and fed her at 5am, but once again she protested when I tried to put her back in her cot, so I ended up feeding her for the THIRD time (all strength gone by now) at 5.30am, and just kept her in our bed.
I am shattered, and still puzzled. She normally loves her cot, and drifts off quite happily in it in the evenings. I'm certainly not going to waste time trying to avoid feeding her from now on, though.

OP posts:

pesme · 09/07/2004 21:53

Hi, you have my sympathy, my dd is 5.5 months and previously slept through 7 to 7 the past few nights have been horrendous but it is definitely teething and this is exasperated by a horrendous cold which we all have. What I want to know is will she go back to sleeping through once she feels better or have I introduced bad habits by feeding and rocking her (not that I would do anything else she is so miserable, wee soul)? Much as I try to ignore Gina Ford and can practically hear her tutting each time I rock her back to sleep!

shrub · 09/07/2004 22:26

I would say teething, most of the signs are there. have you tried a dummy?(put in the fridge for a while to cool)I use to be a dreadful dummy snob - I only give it to my ds2 at night-time which has helped through the teething. Also found 'Nelsons Teetha' really good - from health food shops.

shrub · 09/07/2004 22:26

forgot to add my ds2 drooled for 3 months before his first tooth appeared!

tatcity · 10/07/2004 17:19

Had a few periods like that with my 2 (now 4 and 18 months) - I would be pretty certain it is hunger. YOu would be amazed at how much they can put away at such an early stage. Increase daytime amount she is getting and see how you get on.

Just my personal opinion, but I really wouldn't ever wake her for a feed. You know the old comments from our parents are the best - "never wake a sleeping baby". whenever I tried to do that it didn't help matters at all. I really would leave her.

HOpe this helps.

DLP · 10/07/2004 17:26

my son used to sleep from 10.30pm until 6.30am when he was born. when he got to about two months he began waking during the night so i gave him a bigger bottle. when he got to about three months i started giving him some porridge or rice pudding for supper as well as his bottle. he started to sleep right through again. Be careful though - too much food before bed and she will keep waking up because her food has not settled on her stomach. just give her a little bit and increase it slowly.

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