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Sleep

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Original poster

7 month old still not sleeping through the night

29 replies

Littleguggi · 31/03/2017 20:27

Hi I'm hoping someone can help! My 7 month old daughter wakes up at least every couple of hours in the night and won't settle herself. She has never slept more than a couple of hours (exception: she once slept a solid 5 hours when she was 6 month's old). She'll either want to be nursed to sleep or rocked..however recently these haven't been working either! If she isn't picked up she will cry continously..however sometimes she will wake herself up from all the crying and then is wide awake wanting to play for another couple of hours. My husband and I are exhausted and don't know what to do. It's very much comfort seeking behaviour but how do we break this? She usually starts off in her cot then ends up in our bed 11-12am because I'm tired of keep having to get up to settle her :(

OP posts:

Scotinoz · 31/03/2017 20:54

Neither of my children slept through the night at 7months, it was probably more like 12mths before that happened. I hate to say, but I think it's quite normal for a 7mth old to be waking (a lot of babies are still feeding through the night). I was also told that 'through the night' really only meant 5 hours, not 12.

All that said, you could try a bit of sleep training. The actual method is entirely up to you - crying, shushing and patting, picking them up etc.

I mostly shushed and patted, and tried to get them sleeping between midnight and 5 to start off with.

FATEdestiny · 31/03/2017 21:01

When she is in your bed, does she settle or sleep any better, or is she no different?

Could you try removing one side off the cot and wedging up to your bed to make it a side sleeper?

Don't suppose she has a dummy?

A comforter toy maybe a useful thing once older. Unlikely to be properly bonded with at this age, but will come in useful after 12 months old or so.

How much daytime sleep is baby having?

AutumnGlitterBall · 31/03/2017 21:02

Until recently, my now seven month old still woke after a few hours and would gulp down a bottle of milk like he was starving and was then wide awake. We've started giving him some baby porridge along with his last bottle and we're now getting from about eight pm to five or six in the morning before he wakes up again. Maybe this is an option for you?

OsMalleytheCat · 31/03/2017 21:05

My DS woke every 2 hours until he was about 2 it can be hard especially if you're not getting a break at all - can DP do a night shift once a fortnight or something to give you a break?
If it helps I think you do get used to managing in broken sleep

OohNoDooEy · 31/03/2017 21:06

You could try gradual withdrawal or shush pat to get her to settle. You want to aim for her going into the cot wide awake and going to sleep completely independently.

Once she's in bed for the night use no words or contact until morning. You can be present but she stays in her cot.

Try for a bedtime routine of milk, pjs, teeth (if any), book and bed. In the day only offer milk at waking.

She should be having 2 naps at approximately 2 hours after she wakes then again after 3 hours of being awake - the 2/3/4 routine unless she cat naps in which case you might want to stick at 3 naps.

Silverthorn · 31/03/2017 21:09

My almost 1yo wakes frequently for feeds still. I think he has some sort of food intolerance cos he can sound silent reflux or have a swollen tummy. Ds1 ws the same. He stopped bf at 14mo but didn't sleep through til 17mo. But he slept through 7-5 then. Try to gently restrict or withhold a feed at a time over a long period. Teething has currently upset our plan along with constant colds. Poor lamb.

Original poster

Littleguggi · 31/03/2017 21:10

Thank you..it just doesn't feel normal when all the other 7 month old babies I know (those in the NCT group plus friends' babies) are sleeping through. I know it isn't helpful to compare. I just want her to sleep more than an hour or two before waking up..even 3 hours uninterrupted sleep would be amazing! Getting up 5-6 times a night sometimes more is getting ridiculous now. We tried the cry it out method but after day 2 and 1.5 hours of crying I gave in..poor little one ended up losing her voice from all the crying! I'd like to try the pick up put down method but don't feel I have the energy at the moment to be consistent with it..perhaps that's the problem, me!

OP posts:

d270r0 · 31/03/2017 21:13

Completely normal, particularly for breastfed babied who wake frequently and want milk/ to comfort nurse.
Mine didn't ever sleep through the night until about 18 months, even then they'd be wide awake at 5am and ready for the day.
Things that help (eventually)- sleeping in a seperate room so they don't smell you and the milk and wake up for it, they aren't woken up by you and you let them sleep longer as you don't go in unless they are really awake and crying, not just when they are making little noises.
Also stopping feeding at night. 7 months and breastfed is probably too young for this. Mine were eating loads of solids and were about 11-12 months before I could stop this. Even when they stopped feeding at night they get in habits of waking, but this gradually reduces as they get older.

Scotinoz · 31/03/2017 21:21

Honestly, most other 7mths olds wake! Your NCT chums are jammy sods 😅 Shushing and patting worked for us. I was taught to roll then on their side, facing away from you, then do a shhhhhh noise while patting their bottom. A fast pat, then slower and slower and slower. Just to settle then, rather than get them to sleep

Finding the right time to put them down for the night helped too. I think at that age I was told their awake time was about 3-3 and half hours. So if they were up at 7am, the should have a 90-120 minute nap around 10/half 10, then up again around 12ish, down around 3, up at half 4 and bed at 7.

LePetitPont · 31/03/2017 21:29

It sounds super tiring and frustrating... but she is only 7 months old and it's unrealistic to expect her to sleep through at this age. My LO didn't til he turned 2. If bed sharing gets you more sleep, do it! Whatever works.

user1474439326 · 31/03/2017 21:47

I have a 14 month old and this could have been my post - UNTIL! I cut out night feeds and she started to wake less frequently - obviously you'll have to wait until she is a little older - sorry that's the only help I can offer x

Eminado · 31/03/2017 21:56

Mother of an 8mo here wave

Shocker nights recently hence I am on this board

How much is she eating\feeding in the day?

How are day time naps?

Is she teething/learning to sit or crawl etc?

Original poster

Littleguggi · 31/03/2017 21:57

When she's in our bed her sleep is no different..she'll still toss and turn but I think im quicker to offer the breast just for the sake of settling her. I really don't think she's hungry at night, she just wants comfort. I end up being a human dummy. No she doesn't have a dummy..gave in at 4 months and offered her one but she never took to it.

She slept in a chicco next to me until 4 months. Sounds crazy but even then she'd end up in our bed most nights!

Daytime sleep is so variable day to day! Most days 1 hour nap followed by a 40 min nap in the afternoon. Some days x3 half hour naps. Today, very rare, a 2 hour 15 min nap late morning and that's it :|

OP posts:

eurochick · 31/03/2017 22:07

Honestly I would say a minority of babies I know slept through at 7 months. My daughter got sleep and self-settling at 19 months. We'd tried various sleep training methods to no avail. She just did it when she was ready.

Original poster

Littleguggi · 31/03/2017 22:07

She's been having 3 meals plus snacks for 3-4 weeks at least. She's more of a grazer..little and often kind of feeder (both solids and breastmilk). This week she has been poorly with a sore throat so hasn't eaten much at all which probably contributes to her being even more unsettled. At night all she wants to do is milk-binge but I really do feel it's comfort led rather than hunger led if that makes sense. Have tried giving her hungry baby formula milk at night to see if it 'fills' her up but it doesn't seem to!

Really reassuring to hear I'm not the only one with a 7 month old who doesn't sleep because I really feel like I am the only one at times! Then that leads to guilt that maybe it's me and I'm doing something wrong. But I guess it's not just me :)

OP posts:

countingdown2gin · 31/03/2017 22:11

DS was a terrible sleeper for the first couple of years. The only way we got through was tag teaming.

We would have a night off and lie in each so that we knew if we were having a rough night the next night we would get a good one. Ear plugs in so we truly did get a proper nights sleep!

Sweetpotatoaddict · 31/03/2017 22:20

My dd is 9months, two months ago we were exactly where you were. Made an effort to move her into her own cot and own room. Cut out naps after 4.30pm, and somehow she now sleeps from 8pm till 5.30am sometimes settles again and sometimes is up for the day. Haven't really done anything consciously, she's just got better good luck it's tough

Original poster

Littleguggi · 31/03/2017 22:20

She's been teething for forever but no teeth yet lol! She's been sitting up independently for around 2 weeks or so which I guess is a big milestone for her. I try to think of reasons for her poor sleep and make excuses for it but the thing is she has never slept for more than a couple of hours..perhaps she just isn't capable of it yet like some of you have said. I just need to be patient which is something I'm not very good at!!

OP posts:

TheMasterNotMargarita · 31/03/2017 22:24

It's not just you.
It's normal I think. Or I'm telling myself that. DS is just 7 months and only just starting to get longer spells sometimes.
Other nights it feels like I'm awake every hour but it's mostly settling.
I've stopped looking at the clock which actually really helps as I think it wakes you up more and annoys you thinking I've only had x amount of sleep.
I'm keeping fingers crossed as DD was a complete nightmare sleeper so in comparison so far I'm surviving.
It won't last forever

SleepWhatSleep1 · 31/03/2017 22:28

I have a 7 month old who wakes at least every hour or 2. Some nights I'm awake 10-12 times. He's particularly crap at sleeping, but his siblings weren't much worse!
Normal

Original poster

Littleguggi · 31/03/2017 22:39

SleepWhatSleep1 how do you cope day to day as I'm in exactly the same boat? Except I only have 1 child..and trust me it'll be staying that way for a long time if not forever! I really want my sleep back..even just 3 hours uninterrupted sleep per night is all I'm asking for

OP posts:

SleepWhatSleep1 · 31/03/2017 22:42

I bedshare with a boob hanging out, and eat way too much chocolate for energy. I'm tired, sometimes get grumpy, but it's been my normal now for nearly 6 years. I should be asleep now but this is the first bit of me time headspace I've had all day! I will regret this tomorrow

SleepWhatSleep1 · 31/03/2017 22:44

Oh yeah if i get three hours in a row i feel bloody amazing!
I'm often dizzy with tiredness, get words wrong, and if the others have been tag teaming me, i get flickering at the edge of my vision. But you cope, because that's what we do.

Original poster

Littleguggi · 31/03/2017 22:53

That's exactly how I'm getting through! Bedsharing when it gets really tough, lots of chocolate, cake and biscuits! (Surprisingly I'm not the size of a house!)

OP posts:

llangennith · 31/03/2017 23:07

I often wondered who these babies were who slept through the night. Nobody I knew had one! You eventually get an unbroken night when they're about 2yo. Then you have to get used to waking up
at 5.30. This extends to waking at 6 by the time they're 4. By which time you consider your own bedtime to be 9 o'clock purely so you can survive.

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