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

[choolie]

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

Thanks for the plug, CMOC! The blog is here

Mine is 7 months tomorrow and like someone said further down the thread went from sleeping 11pm- 7am at 3 months to 2-hourly waking. She is still waking anything from 2-6 times a night.

My DS used to wake every 2 hours or so and I would bf him back to sleep, as I naievly thought he would grow out of it and don't believe in leaving babies to cry. When he was 8 months I met someone who recommended the Baby Whisperer technique - called 'pick-up, put-down' - for babies over 4months. I gradually cut down on the night-feeding then did the technique (they do cry, but you don't leave them alone crying) and it worked dramatically well - after 3 nights he was sleeping from about 8.30 till 5.30. Took a while longer to kick the dawn feed, but he did grow out of that one (and of course he still wakes if he's ill). So I highly recommend it - go to www.baby-whisperer.com for details (there are two books, and more advice on the website's talk boards). I don't agree with everything the author (Tracey Hogg) says, but she is spot-on about sleep, including naps (I had thought my DS was the only one who always woke after 45mins).

Wishing you luck (sleep deprivation is really tough!)

wow, more replies, thanks everyone, I really appreciate it. yes, have read baby whisperer (feels like I've read every book written on baby sleep!) so it's good to know it does work if if i ever manage to be not too knackered to try it properly. I did start for a couple of nights, then the teething monster arrived and I just haven't had the energy since to re-start as I understand there's no point doing it if I can't be consistent.

thanks again one and all and hope there's a good nights sleep ahead for all!

we did pick up put down with ours when he was 6 or 7 mths and it worked brilliantly! he started sleeping through the whole night.
we then all got lazy and i started leaving my hand on his back while he fell asleep and he got dependent on that as a prop. so just last week we had to "retrain" him, using just "put down" (he sits up crying, i go in, lay him gently down, say 'its sleep time now', leave the room, he sits up crying, repeat repeat!)
last 4 nights he's slept through again! i really think with him it is to do with knowing how to sleep independently.
try the babywhisperer approach before controlled crying, its much gentler on you all!

Dd is 22 months & up once or twice a night saying that i do get 1 or 2 full nights some weeks, i had a full night last night.

dd2 is almost 8mo and if we co-sleep she only wakes up twice, 10pm and 5am, then back to sleep til 7 or 8am which is fab but if I try and leave her in her cot it's every 1 - 2 hrs or so. Dd1 by contrast was a fab sleeper, in her own cot and only up once per night at this stage, sleeping through at 9 months.

dd who is 8.5 months wakes up 102 timea a night for a feed on average.
worst case scnario is 5-6 times and it happens once a week or so.
best case scenario is sleeping through, and i'm still waiting

woops i meant to say 1-2 times, not 102.
see, i'm tired

I was co-sleeping for 6 months and I got fed up of my baby waking so many times in the night. Last week i've moved her into her own cot in another room, few nights of up every hour but now she wakes up twice a night and she's even slept through on one night.She sleeps for longer stretches and I'm a much happier mum. I didn't do CIO. I let her cry for 5 mins then went and pat her back and said shhhh, sleepy sleepy and to my amazment it's working.

I do a 10 pm feed, then DS usually wakes at 3.30 and 6.30.
He's 6m.
I'm knakered.

But its only for a time.

Beh=fore we know it we'll be lying awake waiting for them to come home after a night out.

DD2 used to wake only at 12 for milk until about 5 1/2 months. From then, we do bed at 7 then milk at 11.30 and abotu 4 ish, before getting up at 7.

DD2 is 2 1/2 and she is frequently awake all night! or it feels like it! She didn't "sleep through" until about 18 months so I am hoping her sister got the sleep gene instead!

Mine slept through - gradually up to about 10-11 hours - until 6 months, and then for the last three weeks or so she's woken a couple of times during the night, usually at about 12-1 and then again at about 3.30-4. Some nights she will also wake a couple of times at the start before getting off to sleep. In general, she seems to be sleeping much more lightly than she did.

For the earlier wakings she's often OK with her hand being held, but at the later ones she needs to be fed. She's grown about 4cm in the last month, though, so she's definitely had a growth spurt going on.

my DS2, was a really bad sleeper, I was breast feeding at 12 months and he was still waking at nights. The health visitor thought it was because he was under weight (8lb 9oz and still under weight for his height/head size) and still needed the extra feeds to bulk up a bit. So once he put on the neccesary weight he was in the habit of waking every night, so we had to break the routine. We used a non reward method. You have to be prepared to feel like the most hideous uncaring mother in the whole world. but persevere, it works.
When he/she wakes go into their bedroom with just the hall light on, DO NOT make eye contact,NO TALKING, check that nappy, clothing, bedding is O.K. and if A.O.K. leave the room, don't be in the room for more than 30 seconds. Wait outside the door for 3 minutes, if baby is still crying go in and repeat the above, absolutly no eye contact. Leave room wait 5 minutes, repeat. If baby still hasn't dropped off raise waiting time to 7 minutes and keep on repeating till they drop off. At this point you will feel like the cruellest person to ever stride the earth.
What you are doing is denying your baby the reward for waking up. Every time they woke up before they had cuddles, food, attention. They will very quickly come to realise that its not worth waking up in the middle of the night, its no fun anymore.

oh this is lovely
firstly, your cranial osteopath sounds like a loon, have never heard one behave like that before. Do try another if you can face it. Where are you - somone might have a recommendation

my DS is 7 months and wakes 1-2 times a night at the moment, but it has been much more as he cuts teeth (he was awake for 2 hours the other night). also sometimes I have to let him sleep on me as it's easier than getting him back in the cot (which is right by the bed with the side down). I'm utterly knackered but have decided to go with whatever is easiest rather than try to enforce him sleeping in the cot at all times.

I am new to Mumsnet and bit tired to read the insructions so will see if this works!

My DS in nearly 8 months old and wakes up every 1-2 hours still. He sleeps with me (his dad is in spare room) and is BF. Am at a loss to work out why he wakes up and cannot settle. Normally take the path of least resistence and feed him. Cannot leave him to cry. Reckon he was a bad sleeper by the time we left hospital after 9 days and only his mother's chest would do.

At least he now sleeps on the bed rather than on me. He is very active and strong and I reckon he just doesn't think sleep is very interesting! But I am sick of people telling me how tired he looks as if I am depriving him of sleep deliberately! AS IF!! I am effing knackered.

Anyway the reason I joined this thread, other than to say that (at the risk of sounding unkind) I am relieved that there are other people out there with babies like mine, is to ask about cranial ospeopathy. Does it really work? and if anyone has a recommendation for an osteopath in the Stockport/Manchester area can they let me know.

Better go he has just woken up again...

LL - no advice really but sympathies.

PuffyLovett below indicated that she knew a good CO in Manchester area so hopefully she will reply. If not, start a new thread under this sleep section using the "Add new thread in this topic" link at the top of this page.

Good luck in solving your problem.

DS being an every 2 hour baby for the first 7 months calmed down a little after a bit of solids but then started again with more teething and a bad cold. It's better than before but still about 3-4 times and worse of all he likes to wake at 5.30am and refuse to go back to sleep. We tried giving him water instead of b/f but he wasn't fooled and just cried for 2 hours until I gave up and b/f him. We've left him to cry for short periods but if he's upset he's upset. Some people are just lucky with their babies.

LL, my dd has never been a great sleeper. However, a CO has really helped her I believe. She diagnosed a problem with her ear and an awful stiffness in her back. Probably down to being transverse and then a back to back labour. I didn't take her until she was about 14 months and I really wish I had done it sooner. If you can find a recommendation (choolie - so sorry to hear about yours, she sounds AWFUL) then it is well worth a try. Don't expect a miracle cure, but over a few sessions it could help. DD is 18 months and has slept through for the past 2 weeks - its is the longest stretch she has ever done.

dd2 is 3 and wakes up once if we let her come in bed with us... 5 or 6 times if we try to settle her back in her own bed.

(mostly she comes in with us)