Help 8m old ?sleep crawling!

[Boomies]

Hi hoping for some help/advice/reassurance. Since our gorgeous 8month old started crawling, pulling to stand and cruising his sleep has been really disturbed. He goes to sleep well around 7pm and generally has a feed around 4.30am before going back to sleep until 7ish, however between me going to bed around 10.30pm and 4.30am I can be up as much as 7times laying him back down as he has crawled backwards and sat up in his sleep. He is so disorientated that he cries and cries and when I go in he is sitting up, eyes shut, crying but floppy and asleep, I lay him back down and he is immediately asleep again. If I leave him sitting up crying he eventually falls over as he is asleep and then he bangs his head on his cot and wakes up screaming. He does it whether he is in a sleeping bag or not. I'm getting pretty tired going into him so much so just wondered if anyone had had the same or had any ideas to get him through this 'sleep crawling' phase!
Thanks x

This may well be a stupid idea as I've no experience at all but could you use something like a sleepyhead or similar to cocoon him and reduce movements?

Thanks for the idea blue2014 I'm pretty sure he would get out over it and push it away before he goes to sleep as is really mobile and he would still be able to sit up.

It's awful isn't it!?

DD1 was the same at this age as she kept pulling herself up but couldn't get down!

From what I've read it's because babies are trying to master a new skill and their brain doesn't switch off at night-time unfortunately but rather wants to keep practising!

I would give him plenty of chance to practise in the day. So if he can sit or pull up but not get down again, put a toy just out of reach so he learns the motion of lying down again.

Is he in his own room? Maybe until the worst is over, consider sleeping on the floor next to his cot. Make it as comfy as you can for yourself and you'll probably get more sleep settling him that way than running to his room all the time.

I'd keep baby's cot next to my bed through this phase. Much easier than walking backwards and forwards to another room all night.

A firm hand laid on baby's chest/back (while I stay lying in my bed, not even opening my eyes let alone moving) helps reiterates to baby the need to be still in order to go to sleep, so stops then sitting up at all.

Thank you lovelies, he is really able so through the day can get himself into and out of all positions with ease and gets lots of time to practice and try new skills. I may try sleeping alongside him thank you for that. I may also try decamping to the spare room for a night and leave daddy with the monitor in the hope that one night off makes me feel more human! X