11 Month Old Unable To Sleep

[ameliaand]

Hello,

Everyone was so helpful when my 11 month old was younger, & we have been plodding along nicely but have since hit an issue that I'm struggling with - sleep!

She would usually go to bed at 7pm after bath, feed, bedtime routine & wake up roughly every 2-4 hours for a feed, she would feed and go straight back to sleep waking for the day between 6:30am-7:30am.

For the last two weeks she is struggling, she is tossing and turning all night long, shouting and crying out in her sleep, unable to settle, rubbing her face and her eyes, waking every 45 minutes - an hour requiring either a feed or rocking or comfort of some sort, she is waking at times for between 1-2 hours in the middle of the night, unsettled & crying, even when I am comforting her she is tossing and turning and shouting out. I haven't changed anything & I am unsure why the sudden distress and unsettled behaviour has appeared. She has never slept through the night but this is totally different to how she usually is.

I have tried various things - adjusting due to being too hot or too cold, calpol before bed, teething powders before bed etc in case of pain or wind but nothing I do seems to be making a difference. I am now extremely tired! She must be tired & I am worried about her as she is just unable to settle and seems so upset and distressed.

Thank you

Hi, I'm in the same boat with a 12 month old! She's never slept through but like your dd slept for maybe 3 hours in a row but has been so unsettled for the last few weeks. I'm bloody exhausted. I think it's the dreaded 12 month sleep regression (and she's regressed from already shit sleep).

I think it's separation anxiety with my dd so have been hoping she'lget better but at end of my tether now. Even considering doing cry it out but really don't want to. A year of not sleeping for more than 3 hours in a row was bad enough but this is a new type of hell. I go back to work in a few weeks too and don't know how I'll function.
How are you daughters day time naps? No matter what naps my dd has (text book or not) the nights are awful

She's just woken up from nap after 20 mins crying eyes out

Hope things get better soon for both of us. Can anyone help?

Hello,
Thank you so much for your reply! It’s just so hard! I am so so tired and just don’t know what to do or what else to try! She usually naps 3 hours after her wake up time for an hour and a half and then 3.5 hours later for 30 minutes so usually 10am until 11am/11:30am and then 2:30pm/3pm for 30 minutes. I don’t let her sleep past 3pm as she goes to bed at 7pm, which has all been working fine up until around two weeks ago! Now she fights the afternoon nap and sometimes will skip it as I just can’t get her to go down, naps don’t seem to make a difference to her night sleep I thought she was over tired so really pushed the naps and keep on schedule but has made no difference! Maybe it is just sleep regression and because her sleep was not the greatest anyway it’s now even worse! How long does regression last?! Sending hugs to you as it’s so hard and so tiring I hope we find a solution soon and get some better sleep!

This also happens to me sometimes she will only nap for 30 minutes all day and no matter what I try I can’t get her to go back down! It’s so tiring isn’t it and a little frustrating because you just don’t know what to do! Another bad night for us, I feel like I have tried everything but I guess if it’s sleep regression we just have to ride it out, but for how long? I have never even considered sleep training but now I don’t know if that was a bad decision and this is my own fault! I hope you are okay!

I'm right here awake with you! Awful night again here too. I'm so exhausted by it.

We're out late tomorrow so no point sleep training now so have her on my lap atm. Going to look into what I can try re not gong to her so quickly when she cries and teaching her to self settle. I hsve a 4 year old roo so always worried about the bsby waking her (but luckily she seems to sleep through anything!)

Sleep regressions should last just a few weeks so maybe they'll both go back to the usual 3 wakes rather than 10!

Time for sleep training! She basically cannot fall asleep on her own and needs feeding / rocking to get back to sleep which is why she’s waking so much.

cobtrolled crying would do it in a few days (please don’t do cry it out, that is cruel) or gentle methods are available too but take longer

Some of my friends swear by a later snack - half banana or similar but my dd won't usually eat anything offered and the times she has its made no difference anyway.

How your dd at eating in general? Mine not the greatest anymore

@ShirleyPhallus rh Yes sleep

Sorry apo being glitchey tonight

Yes, definiteltime for sleep training Wouldn't do cry it out as couldn't stand it but will look into controlled crying - not sure what te calkedchniques are all

Sorry app being weird! I agree with you. Time to pick a day/technique and start.

Dd wilsometimes go into cot awake then fall asleep with no complaints but getting rarer and rarer

It’s awful isn’t it. We are up for the day now at 5:30am! She won’t go back to sleep, she is my first baby, I would rather go back to waking every 2-3 hours than this tbh! I could cope with that somewhat!

I can cope with this compared to what’s happening now!

Her eating is very hit and miss, she will usually have breakfast of porridge with fruit, flaxseed & chia seed. Then after her nap maybe a bit of toast, dinner she will only have A small amount she doesn’t usually snack she would rather have milk - breastfed. I tried giving her weetabix the other day at 6pm (bath at 6:30 then bed at 7) but it made no difference - I don’t actually think she is hungry as sometimes she will only feed for 2/3 minutes

My 9 month old wakes at 11pm and possibly 3? Then is up for the day at 5:30 or so no matter what we do!

It’s so hard isn’t it

How are you doing?

I’m in the same boat. My little girl turns 1 next week she’s never been amazing sleeper however has taken to waking at 4 every night now, it’s a constant battle to get her down.

blamed it on teething at the start but think it’s became a routine now😣. It’s really tough I think a bit of sleep training will help you but it’s just hard to do and on limited sleep even tougher. Good luck remember we are all in the same boat. X

Sleep training isn’t something I have ever considered it wasn’t really something I wanted to do but I am so tired and she is waking earlier and earlier for the day!

hope you are okay thank you for taking the time to reply

Dd seems wide awake now too after yet another bad night.
I'm so tired that i don't have the energy/memory to read up on all the different types of sleep training but I'm going to hsve to...
She has a slight cold at the moment so won't do it until she's 100% so last couple of nights she's been on my lap even more.
Good luck all. Lack of sleep is hell

It's hideous. I've been putting mine in the cot awake at bedtime this week and mostly she's just grizzling for 10 mins then going to sleep. I've also been giving her a supper at 6 of porridge / formula and banana as she doesn't breastfeed longer than 5 minutes these days so don't think she's full from feeding.
Last night she slept 7pm-3am. Was awake for an hour (bf her and in cot awake again) then had a lie in until 6:45! That's 1.5 hours longer than she normally sleeps. I thought she'd died, obviously. This is much improved from last weeks 11-2 screamathon and up at 4am and most nights of waking around 11pm and fidgeting for hours

Oh it’s just a nightmare isn’t it! We was up at 5:10am this morning as well! It’s just so draining! I hope we all have a better nights sleep tonight! We can hope hey!

Glad you had some improvement last night! I hope it continues for you! It’s so hard being tired and trying to function! I did laugh at your ‘I thought she died, obviously’ line as I remember the one time my baby slept for 5 hours in a row I woke up and shook her awake because I was worried about her! Can’t win can we!

Hi, I’ve come across your thread as my little boy is doing exactly the same as this. I wondered what ended up happening with you little ones please? I know it’s two years on so may feel like a lifetime ago now, but as someone in the depths of this horrendous stage I was just wanting to find out when/if they started sleeping better and if they did it naturally or through sleep training?

Hello,
Gosh it does seem a lifetime ago she will be 3 in December.
I did not sleep train, she began sleeping through the night at around 18 months old & has only improved since then unless unwell etc.
Honestly it's so hard but hang in there. Your baby WILL sleep. I think it is developmental as they learn so many new skills at this age. Is there anything in particular I can help with?x