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Original poster

6 month old, overtired but suddenly won't nap or settle!!!!! Help!!!

14 replies

BertieNlolly · 02/06/2017 00:55

Am new to this so please bare with me! My 6 month old seems to not be able to stay asleep, this has only just started the past week or so and seems to be getting worse. When I put her down for a nap in her cot after a bf she's awake again within 15 mins then sometimes will go back down for another 15 or not atall. until recently she was a dream to settle at night...around 7ish and only took about half hour to settle her and she would only wake at 5am for a feed then back down till 7/8 :) now she's not settling atall till about eleven or later then is awake EVERY hour ot more, then still up at 6/7....she is so tired, always rubbing her eyes, always cranky. She will however happily sleep in the car (still not for long) but I don't drive and my partners only home with the car one day a week so that's no help haha...sorry for the long post...any advice/ideas/HELP would be much appreciated! !Smile

OP posts:
LapinR0se · 02/06/2017 07:37

Are you putting her down awake or asleep?

FATEdestiny · 02/06/2017 09:47

Hi BertieNlolly, how do you get her to go to sleep in the evening in the cot?

For daytime naps, while over tired, I would stop trying for daytime naps in the cot and move them into something that moves (bouncy chair?)

If you have a ducky baby who likes to feed to sleep, have you tried establishing a dummy instead? Otherwise, it might be easier to just accept the need to feed to sleep and embrace cosleeping and attachment parenting.

Original poster
BertieNlolly · 02/06/2017 18:52

Hi so sorry I haven't replied sooner! Have had a busy day! Thank you for getting back to me :) up until now she's always fallen asleep whilst breastfeeding at night then I put her in her cot asleep and she would sleep till 5am for another feed. Suddenly she won't even feed at the usual evening time and cries when I try, I've tried putting her in her cot awake but I don't want to leave her to cry so this hasn't worked for us, trying to feed and put her down now goes on for hours. She sits in her bouncy chair during the day but has never fallen asleep in it, we use a dummy and this helps sometimes....I just don't know what to do with her in the day when she's so tired and miserable, starts to scream when ever I put her down Sad

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Original poster
BertieNlolly · 02/06/2017 18:53

Feeding her to sleep was always so easy but won't happen at all now

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angstybaby · 02/06/2017 19:00

have you introduced solids yet? she might be starting to need something a bit more substantial than BM

is she teething? a tooth takes a while to appear so you wouldn't necessarily know that it's teething.

are there any other symptoms? sickness? temperature? vomiting? If in doubt, take her to the GP

this type of change is fairly normal and could have a few explanations so don't worry too much

try the pick up, put down method. you don't leave the baby to cry but teach her how to fall asleep by herself: google it. it worked for my 3.

good luck and don't panic!

Original poster
BertieNlolly · 02/06/2017 19:47

I'll have a Google! Yep have started solids although she doesn't actually eat much, just has a few mouthfuls and then starts rubbing her eyes and crying and won't have anymore. Tonight she had a bit more than usual and fell asleep quite easily but is now awake again after sleeping for about 15 mins and won't settle again. It's like she's had a power nap!

OP posts:
angstybaby · 02/06/2017 20:43

what's the longest she's sleeping?

missanony · 02/06/2017 20:46

Is she teething? Or got a sore throat/thrush?

J think she sounds hungry but like it hurts to feed. I'd try ibuprofen

Original poster
BertieNlolly · 02/06/2017 21:37

The longest she's sleeping is probably maximum two hours at night but that's not every night. She's in a dark quiet room and has always slept in her cot. Definitely think teething has a part to play in it but not all of it. When she wakes up I try to bf her back to sleep, sometimes it works, am I doing the right thing? When she's really not happy going to sleep I get her up again for a while???

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Original poster
BertieNlolly · 02/06/2017 21:39

She is still awake now, she had her dinner at five, bath at six and bed at 7, she slept for 15mins and has been rolling around miserable till now and will not feed so won't fall asleep....

OP posts:
FATEdestiny · 02/06/2017 22:12

Given that this is a change that only happened in the last week, I really wouldn't stress it too much.

Give extra cuddles, be patient. You'll probably find a tooth cutting or that this is the start of a summer cold or similar.

Original poster
BertieNlolly · 02/06/2017 22:16

Fingers crossed. Thank you :) she had her two bottom teeth for quite a while with no problem so I suppose the rest are going to be making an appearance soon!

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missanony · 02/06/2017 22:26

Do try some pain killer. What isn't necessarily obvious pain could still be upsetting the feeding and sleeping

Original poster
BertieNlolly · 02/06/2017 22:34

I've given her calpol a couple of nights and have tried teething granules and she wears an amber teething bracelet on her ankle...she's always dribbley but they don't seem to bother her much...hopefully it will all settle back down soon...I miss my happy little baby...Thank you

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