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Please help - 8mo just getting worse and worse..

8 replies

Maveta · 29/12/2007 18:26

Ds (8mo) slept pretty well as a small baby and until 4 months only woke once or twice a night. Then he started waking 3 times a night but would sleep from 6-8am then go back down for up to 2 hours from about 10am and then have a shorter afternoon nap. So about 4 hours sleep during the day. So it was ok.

In the last few weeks it´s got worse and worse until we´re here.. he wakes at 5.30/6am and no longer goes back to sleep. Mid morning I might get 20mins out of him, in the afternoon maybe 30mins max and both naps with crying and rocking or feeding to sleep (which he never used to need).

Then night time. He used to have a routine like clockwork, dinner at 5.30pm, bit of a play til bath at 6.20, out of bath by 6.30pm, breastfeed lying down with me and into bed (drowsy but not asleep) at 6.50pm. Now here I am with a baby who must be very tired as he´s been up since 6am with 50mins nap all day and yet it´s 7.15 and he´s screeching and playing and no signs of going to bed. 40mins ago he was sleeping in his pram, we put him into his bed and BING! eyes open, crying, arms flapping, the lot. So I tried to just sit next to his cot and pat his back but he was furious. So dh came in and tried to rock him to sleep but after 15mins he was angrier than ever.

We don´t know what we´re doing or how to deal with it.

I´m not sure if it´s important but although he doesn´t crawl he has in the last week or so started to want to stand all the time. All. the. time. And when he goes to bed he often has restless legs. Whenever we give in and get him up again from a failed nap, he grins from ear to ear as soon as he is on his feet, it´s obviously all he wants to do. I´m not sure if he´s teething, he has his two bottom teeth and has always dribbled a massive amount so I can´t say it´s down to imminent teeth..

OP posts:
evenhope · 29/12/2007 18:36

No advice but sympathy here. My 9 mo did exactly as you describe- slept from 11pm- 8am until about 5 months old. Now wakes regularly all night. Over Xmas it was every 30 minutes!!

There is a theory about them practicing new skills and it affecting their sleep. This could be your DSs problem as he's wanting to stand.

If it's any help, my DD won't sleep before 11pm; wakes regularly (best sleep 7am to 10am); goes back to sleep again about 12ish but only for 20 mins; another nap about 6pm- again only 20 mins. She can sleep for up to 3 hours on someone's chest or in the car, but put in cot or pram and 20 minutes.

Could also be teeth... 2 bottom were followed very quickly by 4 top ones.

Maveta · 30/12/2007 06:58

thanks evenhope, it´s always surprisingly reassuring that other people are going through the same... after 2 hours he eventually fell asleep on dh´s lap in front of the tv at 8.45pm. We managed a total of 10mins cc and couldn´t take it. The plus side is that he only woke at 3am and 7am! Which actually makes it the best night he´s had in ages. Fingers crossed for tonight... (hope never dies!)

OP posts:
StealthPolarBear · 30/12/2007 07:08

just noticed this sorry

StealthPolarBear · 30/12/2007 07:15

Apart from the waking during the night (which I understand is quite a big 'apart from') I could have written this on boxing day. T wasn't going to sleep until 11.30pm and was sleeping for about 40 minutes in all during the day. We had problems putting him down to sleep, he would wriggle, kick and wake himself, and permanently wanted to be standing.
Daytime naps we have found are better in car seat ( a battle we're going to leave for now) not sure if you've tried this. We then decided he just had to go to bed earlier. At 8 we put him in his cot and did a combination of dark room / feeding / rocking / leaving him to cry (and a pathetic attempt at PUPD) to convince him it was bed time. It did work and has been getting better since (fingers crossed). Still can't sort out daytime naps though.
Anyway, sorry this is prob no help, but you are definitely not alone!!

Maveta · 30/12/2007 07:24

Thanks SPB - Spoke to dh about your post and we´ve decided tonight we´ll leave him til a maximum of 9pm and then we´ll have to get tough on his chubby little ass

Haven´t tried the car seat specifically but today we´ll be out in the car a couple of time for 20mins a time and he does normally sleep so hopefully he´ll get some rest then at least.

Our saving grace is my mum, she´s offered to take him overnight once a week to give us a break and I think we´ll take her up on it. She had him a few nights ago for the second time (2nd time overnight that is) and doesn´t seem bothered in the slightest by the fact he wakes so much. So that will keep us sane at least.

OP posts:
StealthPolarBear · 30/12/2007 09:23

good to hear about your mum, could she manage 2? I'll send him special delivery!
About the naps, for us I wonder if we've been out and about more recently, having just moved and with it being Christmas. If he's getting all his daytime sleep in the car he's maybe got out of the habit of sleeping well at home in the day. Hmm.

Maveta · 30/12/2007 17:04

lol! yes she´s a bit of a lifesaver it must be said.. I do think xmas has generally been really disruptive and I wasn´t really expecting that.

I just posted on the other thread and I think cutting down on breastfeeds is related to his daytime naps going wrong.. but who knows? It´s all just theories, isn´t it?! How many feeds are you still giving?

OP posts:
StealthPolarBear · 30/12/2007 20:59

erm...loads
had a bit of a shock today when I realised he'd gone 5 hours between feeds (but had tea in between )
Normally he would go about 3 hours but tbh I offer before he asks, usually I feed him as I want him to sleep or before I go shopping etc, so normally it's about every 2 hours in the day! He definitely doesn't need that many but is very skinny and never looks a gift boob in the mouth

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