7m old has never slept longer than 2 hours..when will it end?

[AnonymousTipper87]

Hello everyone

My baby is 7m old and has never slept for longer than 2 hours (no exaggerations). He wakes like clockwork every 2 hours during the night and more recently it is every 1 hour.

We have transitioned him to his own room after being in the beside me crib for the first 6m of his life but are really struggling with the constant back and forth of getting up to settle him.

For background I have breastfed him since birth, he is currently weaning which we thought would help him feel full and potentially sleep longer but it has not worked yet. When my parent look after him, he has some formula alongside pumped milk and many people told me he would need a "top up" to sleep longer, but this also doesn't work. He still wakes up every 2 hours. He refuses to have formula if he knows I am around and I cannot feed him any because he would rather have the breast.

He has absolutely never ever slept longer than 2 hours before waking and I really am starting to get distressed.

Furthermore, he will not self sooth and I have tried my hardest. Putting him down drowsy, placing him in the cot when he's asleep, comforting him when he cries but then putting back to try and get him to fall asleep on his own etc. he has a comforter now in his cot but this doesn't seem to help, we play white noise, he has a special song that helps him fall asleep when he's really playing up but he will never fall asleep without being in my arms or my husband's, unless in the pram or car.

I am finding it hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm worried Ive done something wrong along the way which has made him like this. He is so attached, and that's fine, but I worry we will be doing this for years.

He is not teething. He already has 4 teeth and I can deal with teething but why is it every single night that he does this, since a newborn?

Does anyone have any recommendations? I have stopped offering the breast when he does wake up until I feel like he does need to feed.

Has anyone experienced similar? When did it end?

I sleep trained using the sleep wave method at 5 months once on a schedule that was appropriate for my baby’s sleep needs. The hourly wakes instantly stopped and he continued with two breastfeeds in the night until he dropped these himself at 7 months, I never actively night weaned, and nor would I have until after 9 months. Not all babies need night feeds up to 12 months as a PP has claimed.

he's likely waking every two hours like clockwork because he is assisted to sleep, and is seeking that assistance to link every sleep cycle to the next. It can be improved.

sleep training does not mean you are night weaning, and is perfectly safe and appropriate at 7 months if you want to do it. There are lots of different methods with varying levels of parental involvement, you just have to be consistent.

I’d recommend if you are going to try it to ensure you are capping day sleep appropriately and allowing at least 3.5-4 hours of awake time before bedtime, as the mistake lots of people make is trying to sleep train a baby that isn’t tired. Any initial sleep training should also be done at bedtime, not for naps.

I am a grandma who had two sons like this. It feels as though you will never survive it but:

1. I think some babies are just like this and nothing works unless you are prepared to let them cry for hours which I wasn't. I coped better once I accepted that this was my lot
2. you won’t believe this but you will yearn for these days when they are teenagers and out clubbing in the big bad city
3. if you are lucky - one day they will have their own non-sleeping baby and sweet revenge will be yours!!

Good luck and I really sympathise.

Solidarity on this one. I wrote a similar post not long ago and my son is now 12months old. We spoke to the health visitor at his development review and was recommended to attempt the "disappearing chair" method to get him used to not relying on us as he was (and still is) waking up hourly. When I mentioned that we couldn't even lay him down unless he was asleep I was met with "yeah that'll be your first hurdle". 🙄

So that's where we are currently. Trying to lay him down more and more awake. Sometimes we fail. Sometimes he accepts it and rolls over. All bets are off currently as he seems to be getting all of his teeth at once and he wakes up shrieking regardless of pain relief. I'm still feeding to sleep because that's sometimes all that'll soothe him.

I know he'll sleep eventually. They all sleep eventually. It is survival until they figure it out 😢

We had exactly the same. We tried to drop night feeds, settle without feeding at 7 then 9 months, but not successfully. I stopped breastfeeding at 11.5 months and he slept through within the week. 7 months is still pretty early in terms of weaning and he’s probably not getting that many calories from food yet.

It’s nothing you have done wrong.

Incidentally once I had stopped feeding at night he did still occasionally wake, but it was much much harder to resettle him!

Really really normal (unfortunately). Co-sleep, go to bed really early and try to remember that it’s not forever, even though it certainly feels like it. Avoid anyone with a good sleeper (half joking). I’ve still got one of those at nearly 2 and I completely understand the misery. My first was the same and sleeps through the night now but it took a while. Not to scare you but to hopefully help you accept it – you can drive yourself insane otherwise.

DD1 was the same but it was 40 min. We then, finally, got the answer it was silent reflux and were able to use paracetamol and ibuprofen to manage her pain and let her sleep. She was high needs until diagnosed with autism at 6 years old.

Doesn’t sound too bad mine only slept 2 hours in 24 from birth to 5 then it changed to 4 hours in 24, adult now and still only 4 hours.

That's, um, not normal. At all.

What you are describing is actually very normal, babies need to be close to us to feel safe, putting him in his own room is only making this worse. Very few babies sleep all night, and only sleep trainers tell you they ‘should’

Set your bed up so it’s a safe cosleeping environment and embrace shared sleep. Learn to feed lying down and maximise the amount of sleep you can get.

Your baby is 7 months old and people are saying to not offer milk at night? Milk is still his major source of nutrition. Sometimes babies wake more during the weaning process (I understand that’s not the case with yours).
My three kids were still waking up every 3 hours on average. My first woke up every two hours until almost 2, my second and third weren’t as extreme. I know it is tough but your baby needs you. My terrible sleeper Velcro baby is now 13 and wants his space and def sleeps the night. Hang in there.

@Peonies12thanks for your post. He’s 7 months and people are recommending cutting out night feeds. Breastmilk digests faster than formula and unlike formula breastfed babies eat enough and do not empty the bottle. There are so many reasons why he’s waking, mine had silent reflux and allergies. Thank you for your post.

Mine is 16 months and usually sleeps in 3hr chunks now, although it varies. I'd say a typical night is like 4-3-2 ish. But he's often awake for hours in between often up to 2hrs at a time. Always been like this really since birth. He's still breastfed but DH shares the night wakes so I don't do it all alone. He's ok being cuddled with him but like yours if he sees me he just screams for the breast.

My other 2 were both sleeping through by now but I'm certain it's because they had dummies whereas this one wouldn't take one.

Anyway sorry I don't have more optimism for you really they are all different and it's very common to night wake for many years sadly for us.

Does he snore at all? Big tonsils and sleep apnoea meant this for me. Didnt realise for years what it was.

Not really any advice but you have my sympathy. My second born woke every two hours until after he turned 2. I thought I was going to die from sleep exhaustion. Especially after my first born was an amazing sleeper. He’s now 4 and sleeps through the night. 💐