6 month old frequent night waking-any ideas?

[Orangedaisy]

DD2 is 6 months old and waking about every 2 hours at night. She has never slept through but I have had the odd 5 hr stretch out of her but this is weeks ago now. DD1 did this too and finally slept through at 23 months, with her we just went with it and she got there eventually. I was really hoping DD2 would be a sleeper.

I am ebf, not using any formula or dummy. I feed her whenever she wakes up. I don't want to cosleep. We have a sleepyhead in a cot in our room. She naps really well after every 2 hr wake period and settles herself in cot for naps and at 7pm after a gentle bedtime routine and feed (DD1 was cuddled or fed to sleep til 18 months so I am pleased DD2 settles herself but pissed off that despite my efforts to do this she still doesn't bloody sleep). No sign of teeth yet, weaning going very slowly as she rejects purée so we're going with finger food. Some is going in and I am happy with 'food's for fun til they're 1' theory.

I know how to cope on limited sleep so will manage, but does anyone have any views? DP is great, supportive etc so no issues there. Am I just stuck with another crap sleeper?

There's a bit growth spurt at 6 months, my own 6 month old is going through it now. She woke frequently for a few days then all of a sudden she could sit up on her own, she looked really different and had added some new noises into her vocabulary! She's back to waking just a few times now. It can usually last a few nights or a few weeks depending on the baby, so hang in there!

The Gentle Sleep Book has a few tips including introducing a "lovey" / transitional object, playing Alpha music, and other things I've forgotten (well, co-sleeping is one but I see you don't want to do that).

Thanks, will look at that one. Up for first time for the night now. Just as I was nodding off (yawn). Any views on dream feeding before I go to bed (8.30....!)?

Absolutely nothing useful to add as my 5 month old is a crap sleeper too, but a dream feed at 830 pm has really made me giggle! We've got 930pm as a baseline cut off for evening /nighttime. So not far behind you.

It's pretty normal I'm afraid. As mentioned there's a massive growth spurt around now but also some of them just don't sleep (yes I'm looking at you 2.5yo DD2 who should be in bed!!)

I found it worse when I stressed about it or clicked watched because then I wound myself up so I couldn't sleep. Cosleeping helped massively (I know you don't want to do this) but once I accepted I was going to get woken up I was able to get straight back to sleep rather then laying there going ffs I'm going to be woken up again in x amount of time and I've already been up y times and winding myself up

There's an app called the wonder weeks. Highlights all development/ physical leaps which can cause rubbish sleep. 6 months was hell for me

Thanks all, agree not stressing is definitely the way forward as this is what got me through with DD1. The second we decided to go with it and not try to fix it life improved. We were tired but not tired and stressed. Guess I'm just disappointed as I was so hoping I'd be lucky and get a sleeper second time round! Really doesn't help feeling surrounded by smug perfect mummies with sleeping babies and family who I am convinced judge my parenting by my lack of sleep and failure to get purée in. And sleep deprivation makes that feel worse even though it's really not that bad!! Sigh. Appreciate the kind words and solidarity from you all. On wake up 3 for tonight....

No advice, just sympathy. Mine's the same age and also not a sleeper. Big shock after DC1 who slept through from 3 months! I just don't think there's much to be done, so try not to stress about it. But I am exhausted! We co-sleep (which I know you don't want to do) which doesn't actually equal that much more sleep, it just means I don't get cold getting in and out of bed at night!

Agree it's hard not to feel judged! My mum helpfully told me she'd be "looking for a 6-hour stretch each night by now". As if I'm looking to be woken up every 3 frigging hours!

Thanks. I've been told 'mine sleep cos me and DP love our sleep so the kids take after us'. As if I DON'T like sleep so it's all my fault. Also that the clever children are ones who aren't sleepers. I'll go with the latter .

I'll say all dc are massively different and so if I were you I'd ditch the food is for fun thing. Your second child sees your first eating real food and wants that. The second is way more adventurous than the first - and he/she is waking up hungry. Feed the child lots of actual food around 6pm, scale back the ebf and increase the water intake. Good luck- the second will never follow the first

Porridge / Readybrek really works at dinner, stir yogurt in for flavour. Sod puree, really. Who invented that.

We're only on day 7 of trying solids so it's very early days. Once DD is eating more than morsels I will try getting plenty of food in, the 'food's for fun' thing I mean is that I don't mind if it takes her a while to get it. Taking the pressure off as such.