7 month old suddenly wakes every hour and a half at night

[DrSpin]

My DS has always fed to sleep. Until a week ago he was going to bed at 7 and sleeping through to 6 ish with one or two night feeds. He is breast fed, won't take a bottle.

In the last week he has started to wake up every hour and a half or two hours through the night.

Nothing changed in his daytime routine. No sign of teeth or developmental changes. His day time naps are now getting harder to manage as he is tired.

Any wisdom? What can I do to help him and me sleep?

Do you have a different way to get him to sleep in the night, that isn't feeding?

In terms of daytime naps, remember to amend them to accommodate disturbed nights. Baby will need time to catch up on lost sleep so daytime naps need to allow for more sleep - either longer naps than normal or less awake time and more naps per day.

The only way I get him to sleep is feeding. Is so instinctive I do it without thinking. Should I try other methods?

It can be a developmental change and that change could be the nap pattern.

What worked with DS was to let him fall asleep on his cot, by himself.
And to adjust his day routine.

Lweji - any hint to help him fall asleep on his own? He's done it a few times but not consistently.

He naps 9-9.45 12.30-130 and 4-4.30

He naps in his cot- e don't have a car and he won't sleep in his pram

That is the often not so nice part.

You might be able to put him down while still awake but sleepy after a feed, or a cuddle and a story.
DS, unfortunately, cried till he slept. I'd stay with him in the room and offer a cuddle, or put my hand on his back, at increasingly longer intervals, starting at 1 min.
He'd often fall asleep within 5 or 10 min, but it's not a good feeling. Regardless, he'd sleep all night then, so happier child and parents.
I understood later on that he simply cries when he's sleepy but can't sleep. It was kind of funny when he got up in the night to wee and cried all the way to the toilet and back to bed.

Do you feed to sleep every time, like bedtime and every nap time?

How does that work, so you feed lying down and leave baby there? Do you feed in your arms and then put baby down asleep?

DrSpin it sounds to me like he is overtired. Of course every baby is different, but my 7 month old is currently sleeping every 2-2.5 hours for at least an hour at a time. Ie - 6:30am wake up
nap: 8:45 - 10:15
nap 12:30 - 1:30
nap 3:30 - 4:15
bed: 6:45pm

Other methods to get to sleep are rocking, sshing, pick up put down method. Don't think that crying it out is the only way.

Good luck!

rocking, sshing, pick up put down method.

You do realise that those often involve crying as well?
It's heartbreaking when you're rocking your child to sleep for ages and they don't sleep.
BTW, what I described was NOT in anyway "crying it out", more like a mixture of the pick up method and sshing method.
It worked faster than always picking up because it disrupts them more.

I agree, though, that if they're tired they will be harder to put to sleep. It may he useful to try an earlier time.

Thanks I feed him in my arms sitting near his cot and put him in his cot when he's done. I quite often unlatch him as he suckles for ages. He wakes up somewhat as I transfer him down to his cot

Thank you all so much I really appreciate this help

Have you tried swapping nipple for a dummy at the end of the feed?

I've never given him a dummy but it's worth a try. Thanks

Definitely worth trying. The dummy is a great tool for independant sleep, especially calm, no-crying independant sleep.

Any other methods you use for independant sleep will either involve crying or take a long time of gradual changes to achieve.

Thanks.

I'll work on the gradual changes anyhow as I think I probably need to anyhow.

What I found with the dummy was that he'd lose it and then wake up in the night anyway.

Could it be a daytime calorie issue? Considering his age, how is weaning going?

His milk intake wants to be maintained in early weaning as it was just before weaning. In fact because lots of the early weaning foods are low calorie (fruit, veg), milk intake often needs to increase just after weaning starts.

If he's not getting the calories he needs in the daytime, he will need to catch up by taking extra night feeds. So focus on high calorie foods (avocado, banana), plenty 9f protein and carbs, ever growing portion sizes. Plus encourage lots and lots of daytime milk feeds on top of meal times.

Aside from that, if he'll take a dummy you are at a great age for it. By about 8 (ish) months old fine motor skills develop so that baby can learn to do his own dummy. It's a game changer for independant sleep, and loads less crying.

Ok thanks.

His weaning is going ok. Lots of veggies and fruit. He normally sucks on toast and bread with peanut butter or full fat cream cheeses. His protein and carbs have been limited so I'll try to up them. He honestly seems to get enough calories in the day.

I have been wondering if some kind of separation anxiety could be a part of the issue? He seems to want to be held a lot at the moment and cries when out down.

Separation anxiety wouldn't be a cause for baby to wake frequently. It could be that baby wants more reassurance in going back to sleep, but not as the cause/reason for waking.

True.