My nearly 7 month old sleep routine is driving me to tears

[clb26]

I feel so bad but my nearly 7 month old is making me cry with his sleep routine. Every single night without fail, he wakes up screaming and twisting after 30 minutes of being asleep. He's tired, he rubs his eyes and ears but he will scream for hours on end until he eventually passes out. It's a fight getting him to sleep in the first place and then start all over again after 30 minutes. He still wakes up several times a night for a feed. I can't listen to the screaming any longer. Can someone please help?

His routine is last nap ends at 5ish, he has purees and solids at 5 to 5.30pm, a bath every other day, change into pjs and bottle if he wants, burped, bed between 6 and 7 it takes over an hour to get him to sleep, and then falls asleep and wakes up. He will scream once placed back into cot if he needed feeding or changing etc.

I'm a first time single mam and I don't know what to do

Ah, it's so tough OP. What are his naps like for the rest of the day? Could he be needing a bit of a longer wake window after the last nap? I have a 6mo, and although we aren't really doing a proper bedtime routine yet, she needs around 2.5-3hrs after her afternoon nap before she's ready to sleep again in the evening, so for her, 6pm would be a bit too early.

It shouldn't take an hour to fall asleep so perhaps the gap between last nap ending and bedtime starting is too short and baby needs more awake time then in the day?

But also if baby is waking so soon after going to sleep, after a single sleep cycle, it suggests they're overtired to me, as counterintuitive as that may sound! So maybe not enough sleep earlier in the day?

What is day sleep like? What time does baby wake up to start the day?

Surely he can't nap till 5 and be ready for bed so soon after?

I don't recall mine having such a late nap at that age. Pretty sure it was 1-3 or 12-2 lunch nap & then nothing until bedtime. They're probably not tired. Mine were always up at 7am - I would wake them up if they didn't wake up naturally.

Just look up routine for their age & go from there.

huckleberrycare.com/blog/7-month-old-sleep-schedule-and-development

Can you just keep him downstairs until later? At such a young age it is often easier not to try to have a strict routine.

If you feed much more in the evening you may find he wakes less later, he sounds hungry if he's waking to eat.

Have you tried calpol? Sounds like he might be in pain, maybe teething?

He won't sleep more than 45 minutes during the day, I've tried earlier naps and it's much worse getting him to sleep if he's not had his nap between 4 and 5. I try to play with him after his nap while getting his food ready and try to play with him after his food.

He's always been difficult with his sleep, woke up every hour and a half as a little baby due to milk allergy, but that's been under control for months now. He wakes up between 7 and 8.

He wakes around midnight and 5am for a feed but sometimes 10pm, he still feeds regularly during the night but daytime he's barely interested in a bottle, maybe 2 or 3 plus breakfast and tea

He gets really tired from 3 to 4 but I dont let him sleep past 5pm but he's always tired again by 7. If I dont let him nap, he will scream till he's red and coughing

It’s really tough when they don’t sleep and you’re exhausted.
Id try an earlier nap and plenty of food during the day so he gets most of his calories during the day. Fresh air helps as well.
You might find certain foods work better later in the day. Some people swear by the Ella’s coconut pouch, it was the beef stew that worked for one of mine. I sometimes gave some solids at midnight before a feed to help with sleep
If you’re BF and happy to share a bed they can usually help themselves by this age!
It does improve as they get older

The gap between nap and bedtime seems far too short!

are you on two naps a day now? If so, our day is typically

• wake up about 7:30, feed
• breakfast about 8:30
• nap 10:30 (usually about 30 mins - 1hour)
• aim for second nap around 3pm (30 mins - 1 hour usually)
• bed about 7ish

My LO is definitely on the low side in terms of nap length, but I found wake windows really helpful - basically she’s due a nap / bed around 3 - 4 hours from when she last slept and that drives the routine.

The false start (I.e. waking up after 30 mins) implies he might be over tired.

Ah OP I feel your pain. My first baby was a nightmare sleeper 😔

How long has this screaming, twisting + ear rubbing been going on for? Could he be in pain?

If he is having a nap at 5 o’clock then maybe he would benefit from a later bed time? Try settling him at say 8 and see how you get on.
It’s still perfectly normal for the baby to wake up through the night but hopefully that will improve for you as he gets older. Good luck.

I've tried everything to sooth him, something works one night and the next night it makes him scream worse. He refuses dummies and has done since 4.5 months old. He does eventually settle after hours by sucking his hand or sleeve. Occasionally tapping his bum or rubbing his belly and face works

It's been like this since he was about 2 months old

Sounds like his last nap is too late and he can’t self settle. You want him awake for 3 hours before bed. You could try a method like Ferber, many people are against it but it tends to work very quickly.

He wakes up by 5pm, sorry for the confusion. He naps between 3 and 4 but no later than 5

If he had CMPA try removing the dairy again. Mine developed a couple of new allergies during weaning

He's still on his dairy free milk, can't tolerate dairy at all and seems okay with everything apart from dairy and pineapple

Could you write out his typical day for us? Including milk, solids, and sleep.

His last night feed is around 5am

Wakes up between 7 and 8

Nappy changed and breakfast by 8.45/9 because he won't eat purees or solids and doesnt want a bottle right when he wakes up

Independent playtime

Playtime and songs with me

1st nap between 10 and 11.30

5 to 7oz bottle after wake up

We usually go out on walks etc in the afternoon

Playtime

2nd bottle around 1.30

2nd nap at 1.45 but normal around 15 minutes and won't go back to sleep

3rd Nap is around 30 minutes between 3 and 4, never past 5 pm

Occasionally has a bottle if he wakes up before 5

Playtime

Tea between 5 and 5.30

Playtime

Bath every other day

He's tired and rubbing his eyes by 6.30pm and try to put him to bed between 6.30 and 7

He has very little interest in milk feeds during the daytime

@clb26
Ah ok probably not pain then.

I wish I had the answer for you as when your going through it you drive yourself crazy thinking of all possible causes and solutions.

I never worked it out with my daughter it just eventually got better. I know that's a bit disheartening to hear but it honestly won't be like this forever. 🫂

Give some of the routine changes suggested by other posters a go and see if that helps.

If your HV is any good could you speak to them?

Sorry you're struggling, it can be so hard. Mine is similar age and if we have a late nap lasting until 5 (like today) bedtime is much later closer to 9. It sounds like he may not be tired enough? I think they should have 3-4 hrs wake window before their bedtime sleep. But you also mentioned rubbing his ears, possible ear infection?

Can you drop the second nap if he's only going off for 15 minutes and bring the third nap up to about 14:30? His second, third nap and then sleep all seem a bit squashed together.

I'm pretty sure my little one was only on two naps by this age but she was an early nap dropper. Might be worth a go?

I think it's one of his sleep ques because he only does it when he's tired, otherwise he doesn't touch his ears. I am going to try and nap routine tomorrow and no sleeping past 4 but gets so moody by 7pm