7 month old night waking - please help!

[luvaduck]

My 7 month ds, after the initial 8 weeks, was sleeping really well, up to 12 hours a night! However from about 5.5 months onwards he has started waking up 3 or more times a night for a feed. (Last night was horrific - he was up every 2 hours).

He is really hungry at night - desperately rooting for my breast and feeds well for ages - much longer than in the day.
I think the problem is that he is too distracted in the day to feed properly. I have tried lying down feeding him on my bed in the dark but he still doesn't take as much as he does at night. I also think over the last few nights he has started to develop feed to sleep associations as the waking has got worse...he slept for 4 hours intially (while we were still up!) and then was awake every 2 hours.

We are weaning him - the waking up started before this. He is still BF and refuses a bottle, and will take limited amounts of EBM from a cup. He is still in a cot in our room - we have a 1 bed flat and are moving when hes a year so theres no way round this. He is a well, happy baby, and no sign of any teeth yet.

Help! Any tips? anyone else been though this stage after "sleeping through" for so long? does it get better? am going crazy as am getting about 3 hours sleep myself a night in broken stints as its really starting to affect my mood/health etc.

TIA

anyone?

Luvaduck I feel your pain... I feel seriously sleep deprived with my 6mo ds who was sleeping 8 hour stretches now wakes every couple of hours and can't settle himself. I feed him to sleep usually, anything to get back to sleep myself - and he seems to need lots more comfort. I can only assume it is just another phase, as most of the other mums I know with same age babies are having the same problem after weeks of good sleeping.
So not much help, but at least you know you aren't alone!

Could be separation anxiety starting. DS goes through phases when me putting him in his cot at night will make him cry. These are the nights he will often wake in the night and call out for us to 'rescue' him. I feed him back to sleep but often he cries again as soon as I put him down so it's a case of pacing around with him til he's in a deep enough sleep to place him in his cot again. It's shattering so I sympathise. Thankfully my ds is just about back to sleeping for 11 hours straight (8 months old) although we still sometimes find him crying for us maybe once every week or so.

If he does seem to distracted to feed well in the day, could you perhaps take him into the bedroom and dim the lights/ draw the curtains and make it relaxing. DS was terrible for pulling off the breast just to look around! Even now he's on bottles he is still easily distracted but thankfully only has 3 milk feeds a day which the last one is at night in his bedroom before bed.

No other suggestions, sorry. It will pass. DS was terrible at night a month or so ago. It was crushing as he'd slept through since 10 weeks and we were in shock from having to deal with it all again. It seems to be setting down aain now (fingers crossed, touching wood!).

Sure it's a phase that will hopefully end soon.

I have just posted an almost identical message in feeding section as my 7 mo DD is exactly the same. Seemed to have started around the same time too. DD used to sleep and now waking up very hungry at night and will also only take EBM from a cup.

HV advice was to give more solids and cut out night breast feeds .

DD2 is 7mths and started doing this about a month ago so i introduced a dream feed about 11pm and she takes 6oz (which is more then anyfeed during the day) and now she sleeps from 6.30pm dreamfeed 11pm through to 6.30am.

Thanks so much for your replies - I have spent most of the day in tears for this and other reasons so lovely to hear some wise words. Am also hoping its just a phase. Do you feel like you crackone problem and another rears it head?
Not too sure about the solid thing either?milk contains loads of calories and when we tried increasing solids it got worse...

A dream feed is a great idea. We didn't need one before but may well start, thanks.

Meandmyjoe did you do anything differently to get him sleeping again or did it just happen?

Thanks guys!

My ds slept terribly between 6 and 7 months, I think with hindsight it was just that he was adjusting to solids. I'm afraid I cracked in the end and refused to feed him at night and dh just gave him water instead. I was so exhausted I couldn't have had much milk anyway.

Is he taking much solid food? I know milk has more calories etc but carbs do fill them up longer and potato, pasta etc for tea might help him to sleep a bit longer, and especially if you dream feed as well you could then rule out hunger as being the cause of waking.

I know it's the obvious thing to say but.... it really won't last forever! Be strong x

yup another food idea - think we may have been giving a protein/veg combo so pasta good idea
thanks
cor its hard
when he was sleeping well i went through a really bad insomnia phase so haven't really slept for months and months - but sounds like a lot of you know what it feel like

mumofmoo and duffster good luck and keep us updated

good idea sorry