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Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

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Original poster

please share - how many night wakings do you still get at 6mo+?

45 replies

choolie · 11/10/2007 20:22

DS still wakes frequently at night and has never been a good napper either. He's 7.5mo and we've just tried a cranial osteopath as it was recommended to us, given that we had a traumatic birth, and ventouse delivery (can help some babies). We walked out after a few minutes after she suggested I needed advice on a sleep routine and sneered "I suppose you're doing demand feeding" when I said he's BF.

It's left me really flat and as much as I know deep down we've got a good bedtime routine, have had since the early days, she obviously thought we haven't got a clue.

I'd be really grateful if you'd share how often your LO wakes during the night, just to make me feel better that it's not just our baby who isn't the best sleeper. TIA

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

lorisparkle · 11/10/2007 20:28

Mmmmm well from about 4 months onwards my lo went from 1 - 2 wake ups between 8pm and 6am to 1 - 2 hourly wake ups (aaaarrrrgggghhh)

The HV said to me that you only have a 'sleep problem' if someone in the family is suffering because of your lo sleep patterns. If you co-sleep and your lo demand bf and it does not bother you then you don't have a sleep problem. On the other hand I was struggling to think (dropping things, cutting myslef accidently) , my DH was struggling to work and my lo was crying so we had a sleep problem. I don't believe in CC so we did the gradual withdrawl / retreat method and he now is a fab sleeper. Took a long time but was well worth it.

TrinityRhino · 11/10/2007 20:29

everfy 2 hours between the hours of 7 and 7

beautifuldays · 11/10/2007 20:30

dd is 8.5 months and she still wakes about 5 times a night

i only feed her twice though, the rest of the time i stroke her head/cuddle her whatever to get her back to sleep.

you are not alone, miserable isn't it, esp when you have a 3yo with boundless energy.......

is there a magic solution do you think?

gillhowe · 11/10/2007 20:35

DS was an awful awful sleeper (and often still is), I started just taking him into my bed as soon as I couldn't face resettling him. We now have 2 wake ups max on a normal night (although occaisionally we have a really bad night). He even slept from 7 to 5 in his own bed one night last week

gillhowe · 11/10/2007 20:36

He's 11m by the way

magnolia74 · 11/10/2007 20:36

Ds1 is 10 months and still wakes 1-5 times in the night. I demand feed and feed him everytime he wakes Just not ready to give tough love yet.

furrycat · 11/10/2007 20:39

I think you were very unlucky with your cranial osteopath. I used one in desperation with my 7mo ds2 and she was great, although she said she could only do so much and we had to get in a sleep routine too. At this stage he was refusing to sleep anywhere except in my arms and waking every 90 mins or so to bf. As well as the CO we started putting him down at 7pm and going in every 5 mins or so to calm him down (my husband was better at this. I also expressed some milk on to a breast pad and he'd put it under his cheek. The first night he was asleep after 30 mins. We'd take him into our bed at 11pm and did that for a month or so - just having an evening to myself was fantastic. At 8 mos we put him in his own room and he started sleeping longer - just aking up once in the small hours and within a few weeks he was sleeping 12 hours. I honestly thought he was just a baby who didn't need much sleep but the problem was sorted so much more easily than I ever thought possible. Good luck!

liath · 11/10/2007 20:45

Ds is 6 months and usually up 2-3 times a night. I usually have him in with me from 5am to try and settle him. I get the odd good night when he only feeds once.

Bit of a shock to the system after dd who slept though from 12 weeks old. Ho hum!

Original poster

choolie · 11/10/2007 20:50

thank you all so much, it can feel like it's only me at times and like I must have encouraged bad habits. Watching bringing up baby (aagghhh!!!) has def made me feel happier about my gently gently lots of cuddles approach, as I could never do CC, but it just helps knowing I'm not the only one!

OP posts:

MegBusset · 11/10/2007 20:51

Hi Choolie

You aren't going to be surprised when I say that DS is just like yours. Up at least 3 times a night at 7.5mo.

fizzbuzz · 11/10/2007 20:55

Mine is 15months old, and still up between 3 to 5 times a night

cupcakes · 11/10/2007 20:58

dd2 is 10 months (hi magnolia!) and she always wakes up at least once but no more than three times (hey, lucky me...) a night. I feed her. I tried rocking, letting dh attempt to put her to bed and it didn't work so I've succumbed to the easiest option.

Original poster

choolie · 11/10/2007 21:00

Hi Meg, no, not a surprise! You prob noticed I never managed to keep up with the sleep is for the weak thread - I just wasn't managing to get on every day and started beating myself up about that too!!! I still lurk and read the posts, which does help me feel like I'm not on my own with this.

why are there so many people out there determined to make us feel guilty about our LOs' sleep???

OP posts:

magnolia74 · 11/10/2007 21:04

Hi Cupcakes

Ds1 is my 5th and the only bad sleeper so I guess I am kind of lucky Dd4 was b/f but was always a great sleeper. I am the same with ds1 as I was with her so it really is that each child is different.
I want to sleep all night I really do but can't face the cc route or anything else that involves noise at 3am

cupcakes · 11/10/2007 21:12

I feed dd2 because I don't want to wake the other two up! Dd1 was an amazing sleeper (still is) so I support magnolia's "every child is different".

Original poster

choolie · 11/10/2007 21:13

that's how I feel magnolia & cupcakes, it's always easier to feed than try and resettle - I did well for a few nights with tips from no-cry sleep solution, but then got so knackered, that it's just easier to feed - and I admit some nights he ends up in bed with us as it gives me more sleep! the problem is, sometimes he wakes and doesn't want to feed, then it's harder to settle him. I keep trying to tell myself it's due to him getting nearer to giving up the night feeds and sleeping better

OP posts:

puffylovett · 11/10/2007 21:17

we're 7 months and up 1-2 hourly at the mo - teething, colds, ezcema, you name it we've got it going on.... unless i bring him in with me in which case he sleeps for england and goes back to waking up twice only. Poor dp is on the living room floor at the mo

you're so not alone !

I would maybe consider trying to find a different cranial osteopath TBH as it's brilliant - such a shame you had a bad therapist by the sound of it. Don't let it give the therapy a bad name. If you are near to manchester i can highly recommend somewhere.

Tipex · 11/10/2007 21:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

trixyortreatmalixy · 12/10/2007 13:29

My Ds is 7.5mo as well and is a terrible sleeper at night.

he is really good at settling himself to sleep during the day so it baffles me why he's so bad at night

He was up every 1-2 hours last night and I don't think i slept at all as I was just aiting for him to wake up again.

Original poster

choolie · 12/10/2007 14:25

Wow, so it really isn't just me then, thanks. made last night's epic 6 wakings more bearable, knowing loads of others were prob doing the same.

thanks puffy, not near manchester, but DH wants to try again with the CO so we've decided to email them before hand this time with details. Now I've calmed down, I think this woman was prob not very experienced with babies.

OP posts:

Original poster

choolie · 12/10/2007 17:41

Just incase any of you check back, the osteopath just rang me to apologise, she'd had a bad day apparently!

OP posts:

lorisparkle · 12/10/2007 19:17

Just to say that for us the 'gradual withdrawl / retreat' method was (in the end) a miracle solution - although I think every child is different. It took a long time but I found that every week or so he would sleep for an hour longer in each stretch so going from waking every 1 hour to waking every 2 hours etc.

bumbling · 12/10/2007 19:27

Ds was a terrible sleeper. He's 2.4 now and occasionally still wakes up at 5.30 am, though the regular time now 6.30 I just think he's an early riser. If we're lucky and every 4 weeks or so he manages till 7. At six months he woke up about 4-5 times from a 7.30 bed time, it just reduced gradually at hisown pace we didn't do any cc or anything. I demand fed and took him into bed every time he woke so I just fell back to sleep, that's how we survived. By 14 months or so he'd moved to waking up twice a night 1.30am and 4 am and I stopped BF-ing at 15 months. Still just took him into bed for a cuddle and we all fall asleep. In the arly days we put him back in his cot after a bit, by about 20 months he just woke up at 4-5.30 and we took him into bed. By 24 months he just woke up early 5.30-6.30 so it sorted itself out. Just could Not do CC or anything else and it's all fine now. Stick with your instinct if it's really a problem for you and DH, you need to try a new technique. Once you can do water that may help in the night.

callmeovercautious · 12/10/2007 19:34

As lorisparkle says it is only a problem if you are having probelms because of it. DD would wake any where from 1 - 5 or 6 times a night. TBH before I went back to work it was not an issue, if she woke alot it was because she was hungry, teething or poorly but never really slept through 12 hours.

My issue was settling her for the night in the first place (a whole other story!). I taught her to self settle at 5.5m with very gentle CC (if there is such a thing!) and things did improve but it is only in the last month or so that she really sleeps through. I could not bring myself to do CC in the night as it would have been for selfish reasons not for practical ones like having to get up for work! She is 13m now.

I am still not confident in leaving her with a sitter!

callmeovercautious · 12/10/2007 19:39

There is a sleep is for the weak blog, don't know the address off the top of my head but reading peoples full stories helped me rationalise my own problems. The thread is too busy for me nowadays too although I pop in every now and then!

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