6.5 month old just not sleeping at night - waking hourly

[minicorrect]

My DD has never slept through, but for a while back around 3 months, she could self-settle and sleep around 5 hours at a time.

Then the 4 month growth spurt hit and things have never been the same since. She needs rocking, cuddling, shhing, patting, etc to sleep every nap (usually lots of screaming and fighting for each one). Some daytime naps she will go 2.5 hours, others barely 30 mins. But at night she wakes up usually an hour or so after she's put down, but just needs her dummy put back in. Then she wakes up when we go to bed and has a feed (around 11pm). She then wakes up every hour after that. Sometimes, just putting the dummy in works, sometimes she needs rocking/cuddling/shhing/patting back to sleep, sometimes she needs a feed (she always wakes up EXACTLY 3 hours after the feed when we go to bed).

Advice to ignore it doesn't wash - she screams if she's ignored and being in a co-sleeper cot, that disturbs both of us! We are moving to a house soon and everyone keeps telling me to put her in her own room, but then surely I have to actually get up every hour to go deal with it. I refuse to try CC or CIO. Goes against everything I believe.

I know the dummy is one of the biggest problems but no idea how to wean as she won't sleep without it and won't go back to sleep without it and we prefer it to her thumb.

Is there anything we can try that others have found worked or do we just have to grin and bear it until she sorts herself out. I

Please don't misunderstand, I don't mind the feed in the night, it's just the illogical lack of sleep either side of it that bothers me. She will happily go 4-5 hours after that feed without another one so it's not hunger waking her. Also tried extra blanket in case it's cold and co-sleeping.

The best advice on sleeping that I found was in the Baby Whisperer book.
She has an entire chapter discussing sleep problems and lots of case studies.

Waking every hour sounds like she has done her light sleep but is not managing to pass into deep sleep at that point.

Are you me?

My son (6mo) is doing the same thing lately and its killing us....

Saturday night he slept from 8 until 1.30 and then that was it for the entire night.... tried getting him to just play in his cot so we could ignore it because he just wouldnt go back to sleep no matter what we tried but he shouts a lot, which is quite sweet (in the day) but you cant sleep through it.

I have no advice but am hoping someone comes along who does so I am marking my place.

LOL Nelly - I wish she would play, but she is properly upset and needs comforting. I'm sue it's just a phase, it just seems a lomg one and I'm starting to wonder if some of it is just habit or playing me. And I know she's a baby and isn't able to think consciously about that, but sometimes it really does seem like she is - a burst of crying, followed by a pause to check my reaction, followedby more crying if I don't respond or laughing if I do. She's a cheeky monkey!!

I'm just so relieved its not just us.... DS was grinning most of the time on Saturday night, when we just felt like crying

Just to join in, my DS is the same. Was a brilliant sleeper up to 3 months, just waking once between 9pm and 6am. From 4 months, he started waking every few hours, then it was every hour for a few weeks. Now he's 6 months and is still up every couple of hours all night.

Naps also a bit of a nightmare. Won't nap in his cot in the daytime, but will happily sleep in his buggy or the car. Also will sleep in his swinging chair - am dreading him outgrowing it!

He's teething a lot at the moment so that isn't helping, and he also has reflux.

Sorry not to have any advice to offer, but you are not alone! Let's hope it gets better - it's so frustrating when they used to sleep well and you know they can do long stretches, isn't it?

Oh completely! I noticed today DS has sprouted a tooth, so I'm guessing thats the cause of the sleeplessness..... I just hope that he gets them all through soon so we can go back to having some decent sleep otherwise we'll all be like zombies

I had exactly the same problem, except my youngest kept waking every 45mins throughout the night. In the end we got a sleep counsellor in. the first thing that she did was to get rid of his dummy and substitute it with something that he had the co-ordination to grab hold of himself. (This was at 6 months). The first night was traummatic getting him to sleep without the dummy but we used other techniques with the counsellor but not controlled crying. Within 2 weeks he was sleeping 12 hrs at night and we haven't looked back since. He is now 2 and sleeps until 7 every morning. He has a Kaloo to sleep with which he sucks the feet of!!!
If you want I can let you know the name of the fantastic sleep counsellor that saved us!!!

Wow Wilben. sounds good. could do with that no myself. My 6mo doesn't sleep well either. Up most hours and naps only last half hour, even if I try to put him back to sleep. Sometimes it can take half hr to get him to sleep and then just sleep for half hr. ds1 didn't sleep at night but at least he slept in day for couple of hours so I could rest bit!

Wilben that does sound amazing and confirms our suspicion that the dummy is to blame. During the night she will sleep without it, but wakes up screaming when she realises it isn't there. She can put it back in her mouth but usually upside down and she plays with it and chucks it across the cot too so spend lots of time looking for it!

Guess I'm just scared of how hard it will be.

But she did sleep much better the night before last. We had a busy day out and about so she didn't get much daytime sleep, then didn't have any solids for dinner as we were late getting in. I didn't feed her when we went to bed and then she woke at 2ish a couple of times and then fed at 2.45 which was 7 hours after her last feed!!! I was stunned. Slept well after that as well. Was so excited but back to normal last night - lots of crying and screaming and feeding. Oh well - one night was good!

Hi Wilben, sorry to hijack the thread but what did your sleep counsellor get you to do that wasn't cc? It sounds like it worked so well! I am in NZ so can't use your sleep counsellor personally! My dd is 6 months and waking every 90 mins. Was an amazing sleeper as a newborn but it changed at 4 months. I take her to bed and feed her back to sleep but am also able to pat and sing her back to sleep as that is how she usually begins the night. Her cot is in our room.
Minicorrect, I am feeling like a zombie too! There should be a yawn emitcom! I have a nearly 3 yr old too who also wakes up once or twice...really don't want dd to be going down the same road

bumping...

Hi - I would like to know the secret to this too please!

My ds2 is now 8mo and has been waking every 2-3 hours in the night including then waking from between 4 or 5 in the morning for the last FOUR MONTHS!!

With my first ds bad sleeping habits only lasted a couple of weeks so I just keep thinking it will get better, but it just doesn't!!

A dummy may be part of the problem here but he isn't particularly dependent on it, but he does play with it in the night.

What is a kaloo?

Really hoping for some helpful tips here!! And commiserations to everyone else living through this nightmare!

PS - my first ds was nothing like this so don't let people make you feel like you're doing something wrong - all babies are different.

Decided to get tough last night and made a herbal tea mix and put it in a bottle. Every time she woke wanting food, I just gave her this. She took 2.5 hours to settle and then slept for another 2 hours when I fed her.

Am hoping that she will make up for the missed calories during the day and break the cycle. Also hoping the tea blend may calm and settle her.

Felt mean and a bit worried that giving her tea was wrong, but it's herbal so no caffeine/bad stuff.

Will see how tonight goes - doubt it'll work that quickly, but anything's worth a try

I have a 5 month old in last couple of weeks have introduced rice and rusks with my milk alongside breastfeeding.

he is over 20lb and hungry baby so why so early, he is happy still through day but is waking every hour after going from9-1am still eyes closed but twisty and grizzly.

i am looking very dark round the eyes :0 he catches up through day so still happy baby just mum that is walking zombie for last 2 weeks.

please can anyone give suggestions as to what may be wrong and ideas please so greatful for your comments my first time on!!