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Sleep

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Original poster

11 month wakes every hour - and I'm back to work in three weeks!

16 replies

rayrayw · 08/08/2017 10:19

Hello all,

My lovely 11 month wakes up repeatedly at night, sometimes every hour. 9 times out of 10 popping the dummy back in or a little juice/water and she goes back to sleep but will then wake up an hour so later for the same.

I know we made a rod for our own back by not moving her in to her own room until last month and as my husband is self employed, often working 6-7 day weeks and travelling some distances each day, I used to get up and respond to her quickly so we were all getting reasonable amounts of sleep.

It was two perhaps three times a night which I can live with but teething has made her even more unsettled over the last few weeks. I wouldn't be stressed that much if I weren't back at work full time in three weeks and I commute an hour so we have to be up, out and at nursery for 7.30am! Also hoping at the chance of a promotion that is coming up- the main reason I didn't reduce to part time hours - so need to be on it and professional (in appearance at least 😂)

She also associates milk or water to falling asleep - she's doesn't get put down and just fall asleep but needs a bottle to get her drowsy but does generally go down and stay down....until the awakenings start!

I have recently started to cut down her naps slightly as she seems to sleep better when she hasn't had much in the afternoon - playing crawling and climbing is really tiring her out and she will fight sleep to keep playing if she's had a long afternoon nap. It's like she needs help settling down after each sleep cycle!

Does anyone have any tips? Not a fan of controlled crying and when I've tried that she gets so worked up and sweaty she's even harder to settle down.

Thanks in advance! R x

OP posts:

FATEdestiny · 08/08/2017 10:57

Can she put her own dummy back in?

When you give her the dummy, hand it to herget her hands. Sometimes hand it to her the wrong way around (so she's holding the teat) so that she has to turn it around then put it in her mouth herself.

Also during the daytime when she's crawling or rolling around on the floor, put the dummy out of reach, or even behind her out of eyeline. The idea is to teach her to search, find and put her own dummy in.

That said, even a baby that can put dummy in no problem still won't hunt for a lot dummy in the dark at night. So making dummy easy to find becomes important. There's a toy you can buy calked sleepytot which attached dummies to its legs. It makes dummy easier to find. Or knotting a muslin around the dummy loop does the same.

I sewed ribbons into the chest of my sleeping bags with a press stud at the end for dummies. It meant they were easy to find by sweeping a hand over the chest. But there will be a strangulation risk involved in this. I kept the ribbon short but it's still clear risk.

LapinR0se · 08/08/2017 12:28

I would go cold turkey on the dummy. It will be 3 difficult nights and then everything will be much better.

Littleguggi · 08/08/2017 15:32

Hi I don't have a solution but my nearly 1 year old does the same! And I am also back at work in 3 weeks! She sometimes manages a 2-3 hour stretch of sleep but there's no pattern to her sleep whatsoever!

DueOct30th · 08/08/2017 15:41

Put her in bed with you.

Mrscropley · 08/08/2017 15:44

Dueoct is it your pfb??

Original poster

rayrayw · 08/08/2017 17:07

FATEdestiny thanks! She's great at putting in the dummy, I've tried putting about four or five in so finding one should be easier but no luck. Apparently my mum had to do the same with me - I would sleep with one in each hand and one either side of me! Will try handing to her and seeing if it helps. That said some nights the wakings are not as frequent so don't know whether she does do it sometimes or if she just sleeps deeper those nights. Thanks for the advice.

OP posts:

Original poster

rayrayw · 08/08/2017 17:08

LapinR0se thanks - I have thought about going cold turkey and now is the time to do it, but think there is also an element of expecting someone to come and soothe her, just not sure how to master that other than leaving her to cry.

OP posts:

Original poster

rayrayw · 08/08/2017 17:10

Littleguggi - I know it's frustrating isn't it! I've tried monitoring everything from her naps, room temp, how much she ha eaten, even seeing if it is certain pjs with a label that bothers her! No pattern whatsoever, just hoping with nursery tiring her out she will sleep more deeply.

OP posts:

Original poster

rayrayw · 08/08/2017 17:13

DueOct30th not really an option, she moves loads, likes to sleep like a starfish and often moves 90degrees on her sleep so impossible for us all to be in the same bed and we don't have a spare. Husband slept on the floor the other night and despite pillows piled up, she woke up, sat up and then fell off the bed. And it defeats the object of trying to find a way for us all to get a decent night's sleep!

OP posts:

LapinR0se · 08/08/2017 17:37

When you say "expecting someone to come and soothe her" what do you mean? You or the nursery staff?

Original poster

rayrayw · 08/08/2017 17:48

LapinR0se me or dad obviously..... as in she wakes up and usually one of us comes in and settles her back to sleep....

OP posts:

Original poster

rayrayw · 08/08/2017 17:49

LapinR0se realise the 'obviously' sounds arsey - wasn't meant to be!

OP posts:

LapinR0se · 08/08/2017 19:19

No worries. You can still do soothing of course, i's just that the dummy won't be part of the soothing

Sunshinegirl82 · 09/08/2017 08:43

My 14 month old Ds is similar, still wakes fairly frequently and without any sort of pattern. I've changed naps, fed more, dressed him more warmly, less warmly etc, etc but nothing seems to make any real difference. He also wakes early (usually by 5.30).

I'm back at work now and the only thing I've found that has got me more sleep is to side car a cot in toddler bed mode to our bed (which is now a mattress on the floor!) it's not ideal obviously but we all have enough space, I can deal quickly with the wake ups and I don't need to get up so I get back to sleep quicker. I've just concluded that if nothing I do makes a difference I just have to wait it out and do what I can to maximise sleep for myself in the meantime.

Good luck with your return to work and fingers crossed for more sleep soon!

Sunshinegirl82 · 09/08/2017 08:46

Also, if you suspect teeth I have had some (admittedly limited success) with giving nurofen at bedtime (say 7ish) and then calpol at the wake up nearest to my bedtime (between 10-11). I think that takes the edge off the pain for a decent chunk of the night. Anbesol is good too.

Choccyhobnob · 09/08/2017 12:44

No tips just solidarity. My DS woke every 90 mins until 18 months when he started to do longet stretches of 3 hours and finally at 22 months he has just started being able to settle himself and he has slept through the night 3 times although usually I'm happy with 1 wake up.

I went back to work at 9 months, we have to be up at 6am and up and out the door for nursery by 7.10am - it is possible! Plus I find being at work so much easier/less tiring than being with him all day anyway and having time to myself to drink copious amounts of coffee definitely helps with being able to deal with the wake ups (although sometimes I have almost fallen asleep at my desk!)

I refuse to do cry it out, we co sleep and he never slept in a cot. We took the sides off and put him in a toddler bed at 18 months which coincided with the longer periods of sleep.

Hang in there, don't do anything you're uncomfortable with and it will all work itself out in the end.

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