9mth Old Not Sleeping

[VixenAndCub]

Hey guys, just looking for some tips.

I have established a sleeping pattern in my DS since he was around 3 months old (since he could sleep through the night).

Bath (every other day, he can't have daily because of his skin), warm milk/reading, down by 7pm to sleep with mobile on.

And aside the odd day here and there, he'd been great for about 6 months.

Now he's a nightmare. Nothing in the schedule has changed but now whenever I lay him down he screams and cries. I don't want him to depend on being held to sleep so I let him cry it out for a bit but it gets too much for everyone.

It takes hours to get him to sleep. Even when he's shattered, barely napped during the day (when we're out and about he doesn't like to sleep) he still won't sleep like he used to.

I know teething is going to come up; and yes his teeth are coming through pretty much all at once. So now we apply teething gel for (or CALPOL about half an hour before) bed but it doesn't help.

He still continues to scream and tantrum. Sometimes I can get him to calm down if I sit in the room (humming my lullaby) and slowly move away. But I still have to leave the door open with the bathroom light on.

Even then he doesn't SLEEP he just PLAYS until 9/10pm at night after going down at 7. My HV is going to kick right off...

Anyone got any tips for sleeping with teething?
How to avoid a velcro baby and comforting him without resorting to picking him up?
How long does this last roughly? It's driving me mad here.

8-10 month sleep regression. It’s a nightmare.

Do not worry about creating bad habits - if your baby could sleep well before, they know how to do it. Just do what you need to do to get through this patch, whether that’s co-sleeping, rocking to sleep, feeding to sleep etc.

Is your baby on the move yet? If so, let them move around as much as possible during to day to wear themselves out a bit.

Re teething, I’ve not tried it but always hear Anbesol is good.

Also, you need to sort out daytime naps to sort out night sleep - if he’s shattered from the day, he’ll be overtired at night.

What’s his nap schedule like? If he struggles to sleep out and about, you may need to compromise and stay in for a bit to fix the nap routine.

@NewMum293

When we're not out he sleeps a good 3-4 hours over the day. A little snooze in the late morning and a full nap in the afternoon. Then he's rubbing his eyes ready for 7pm bedtime.

We went to visit family yesterday so he refused to nap aside from about half an hour in the car there and back. Got him home to relax before bed but I guess he was still hyped up even after because it took 3 hours for him to sleep.

I don't have any plans to go anywhere now so hopefully I can keep an eye on these naps and ensure they remain the same as before. Even when we're in all day he's still trouble but every little helps!

I'll look into that Anbesol too, thanks!

@Vixenandcub - oooh I could have written this post a few months ago when my daughter was 9months. It was the most horrendous time for us and I was reaching breaking point where I thought I was never going to have an evening back to myself and my husband ever again . I remember slumping on the kitchen floor in tears having just left my daughter for the ten billionth time who still was refusing to go to sleep!!!

...I have no advise for you. I'm sorry. I can only say I empathise and understand how awful it feels right now for you . You aren't alone even if it feels like it - Keep pushing through and just keep reminding yourself that it will get better .

My daughter hit 10months and like some sort of weird miracle began to self settle - up until then I was feeding to sleep or rocking to sleep every single night - though even then she would wake when I transferred her !!

Ps - don't worry about creating bad habits - Just do whatever works the best at the time