Am I the only one whose 6 month old wakes every 2h?

[Arianna1]

For the last 3 months baby is waking every 1.5-2h, the only way to put him to sleep is breast so he ends up feeding 5-6 times a night which is definitely too much for his age. He’s more than average weight now because of that. Solids don’t seem to make any difference. Anyone else’s child has such a pattern? Any tips what to do?

Nope we’re in the same boat. Before the four month sleep regression we would get four hours, sometimes 5, with a few 2s or threes thrown in. Now it’s every two hours. Better than the 45min-hourly we were getting at its worst though!

Ebf, no dummy, feed on demand, feed to sleep. Have no idea if doing the right thing but going with my gut. Can’t imagine doing CC or CIO but can’t function on this little sleep for ever. Maybe it’ll just improve?

How are you coping OP?

At 6 months mine both woke every 40 mins 😩. Went on for about 4 weeks.

My DD was just the same. Lovely sleep consultant lady said that sometimes babies get the idea that their job is to eat every time they wake up in the night. Certainly once we night weaned (three days of cc) she started to sleep through and my whole life turned around. The three days of cc weren't pleasant but everyone is so much happier now.

Oh--I stuck it out till she was 8 months hoping it'd get better on its own. It didn't.

Yeah... ranges from 45 mins to 1.5, to 2, to 3... sometimes 4 occasionally 5 and once 6 hour chunk and a sleep through. I always feed to sleep, it's total hell but I figure one day it will get better. My DD is nearly 11 months. We had a blissful 5 days a few weeks ago where we had one wake up each night and even a sleep through, then suddenly it went back to 4-6 wake ups. Last 2 nights have been 2 wakes. Interspersed with this she can wake up at 3am and refuse to go back down for up to 2 hours! Find it so hard, ive been crying so much but recently Somebody once said baby's sleep progress isn't linear. And that hit hone. I won't sleep train as hard as now is but what has also helped is to stop clock watching and try to stop anticipating the next wake up. I've found a lot of support from the beyond sleep training Facebook group.

It's a (long) phase but you're doing great and meeting your baby's needs which will build a wonderful relationship. But it's total shit sometimes x

It probably won't be much comfort but my (almost) 10 month old still wakes that often. It is hell, of course. She's also a shit napper, and I've been thoroughly convinced somedays that I just can't make it through. But I do.

Cosleeping allows me to get some sleep. And I always go to bed when she does.

Both mine were the same and it continued for a good few months.

I had this and it turned out to be teething. Once I gave pain relief it went back to longer chunks again.

Yup in the same boat! My DS is six months tomorrow and last night was particularly bad he was up every 45mins from 2am til 5am. I get up at 5am for work anyway but he normally goes back to sleep until 7am. He is teething at the moment to be fair to him. Normally the most I'll get is 2.5/3hrs stints.

It's horrific though, I've tried cuddling back to sleep but no it's breast or screaming. The worst thing is that you know he's not hungry it's just the comfort he's after and he's right back to sleep but by that point I'm awake.
It's interesting reading that others had the same issue at the same age....I really don't like the idea of sleep training but I think it's something we're going to have to look at as I'm struggling to function at work.

Yep, my 19 month old still wakes at least 6 times a night.

This is exactly what happened to my DD at the same age. We sleep trained her using the gradual retreat method (which doesn’t involve leaving the baby to cry) and from the first day she slept two blocks of 5-6 hours plus she tripled the length of her naps and we don’t have to help her to get to sleep. We put her in the cot and after playing happily she lies down and drifts off.

By the way, I also thought it was teething as she went from two hour blocks to 30–40 minutes with the first four teeth, but after the training only the naps suffered and she can still do 11 hour stretches at night.

@DameSylvieKrin can I ask is that for both night and day time sleep?

Also...is that without a dummy??

Ds is a crap sleeper too. Last night was the best he's ever been as I got one four hour block.

Living this hell with my 7 month old. It’s awful.

Going to look at sleep training at end of the month

How does the gradual retreat method work?

6 months was a nightmare here as well the constant wakings all night had me on my knees.

He is 10 months now and still frequently wakes up at night for feeds ( he has a cold at the moment so sleep is out of the window for now). He also refuses a dummy so uses me in the night for comfort when he wakes, would also like to know more about gradual retreat.

6 months old and I think I saw every hour of the night last night. He’s just fallen asleep on top of me after being up playing since 5am the little bugger.

I don’t want to sleep train, but I’ve decided I’m going to start to bring in formula slowly so that my other half can do a night shift at the weekends and I can sleep in the spare bed. I am fantasising about this right now!!

Are they in the same room as you? My baby was similar until one day we put him in his own room (he was 8 months or so) he went from waking every hour to sleeping through the night in 2 days. Ebf I think he could smell milk

God dd was awful at that age. I co-slept as otherwise I wouldn’t sleep. I am happy to report that at 22 months she does sleep through, just wakes up at the crack of bloody dawn!

She got infinitely better once in her own room, but I didn’t move her till she was 1. It was a slow process. I did gentle sleep training with her and it worked a treat. I started by getting her used to her cot in my room where she could see me. I laid on my bed and put her in, she was immediately furious! But could see me and knew nothing bad was going to happen, so I let her shriek at me for a while. She calmed down and actually fell asleep! It was a bloody revelation. And after then it took about 2/3 days before I could pop her in and leave the room and she would just go to sleep. I then moved her into her bedroom and haven’t looked back.

Earlywalker - you have given me some hope. Ds is still in a room with us and think we are all starting to wake each other during the night, the only reason I haven't moved him into his own room as I didn't fancy walking up and down the landing all night buy may be worth a go to see if he sleeps better.

My DD never took a dummy and has always slept in the same room as us (she’s 12 months now and we now have a 6 week old in there too, moving house v soon). She was completely reliant on feeding or bouncing to sleep.
You use the same method for naps.
It’s easier if the non-lactating parent does the training, at least the first night, but it will work with either parent.
There’s an NHS leaflet on the gradual retreat method but basically:
1st three days: put baby in cot after bedtime routine. (It doesn’t say anything about feeding but we started feeding her in the living room instead of the bed

Sorry phone froze.
Instead of the bedroom that should be.
So first three days: you comfort baby with touch and voice but don’t pick him/her up, and wait for him/her to fall asleep alone. (Took 50 minutes the first time. She cried but I was there with her so it wasn’t desparate crying. I did cry once but I was still in the first trimester so was crying at everything.)
Next three nights: comfort with voice but don’t touch.
Next three nights: sit close where baby can see you but don’t look. Look at phone or something. Don’t comfort (I made an exception if she hurt herself.)
Next three nights: sit further away.
Next three nights: sit in doorway.
Next three nights: sit outside door.
(We haven’t done the last two steps as we sleep in the same room and I go to bed at the same time).

In the night she fed to sleep when she woke up

Sorry phone again.

so we jostled her when putting her down so she was just awake and fell asleep on her own.