10 mo - sleep suddenly all over the place

[sebsmama]

Hi - I need some help! My 10mo DS has until about a month ago been great at self settling for night time and naps. He would go down about 2 hours after waking for a 2 hour nap, then another hour or so mid afternoon. At night time he would have a BF, go down awake in his cot and be asleep quickly, sleeping all night most of the time.
For these last few weeks, it has been haywire. I try to put him down in the morning when he is tired and rubbing his eyes, and he will just feed and feed till he's drowzy then as soon as he's in his cot he will stand up and won't settle. I end up letting him play for another hour or so and then he needs to be fed to sleep again. He won't then sleep again for the rest of the day, maybe fifteen minutes in the buggy.
Then at night he hardly ever self-settles, seems to need to be fed (sometimes for 30-40 mins) to sleep, and is up three or four times through the night.
I wonder if maybe he needs more milk? Have tried giving him a bottle of formula instead of a BF and this helped with settling but he was still up at 11, 3 and 5.
Any experience with such a change? Is it possible for my BM to suddenly not be enough? I just feel like I suddenly don't know what I am doing.

Oh god, me too. In fact I came here to ask about the same thing.

My DS2 is nearly 11 months and EBF. We've kind of been co-sleeping but he starts in his cot and I transfer him into our bed when he wakes at midnight. We slept 7-7 until he was 16 weeks and it has been patchy ever since.

The last week or so has been a nightmare and I am wondering if it is some sort of growth spurt? Just a thought.

I suspect formula is unlikely to help. Can you try more food during the day?

Sadly, we're in the same boat. My DS is 11 months and for just over a week now has been waking several times a night screaming hysterically; he's inconsolable! He only calms down when I BF him - when he's really drowsy he lets go and I can transfer him to his cot (sometimes this ends in tears, so I have to calm him down for another 20 min. or so). Previously, he'd slept for 6-7hour stretches... not anymore .
Any suggestions are most welcome!

Is it teething/ I also seem to have a similar problem with DT2, thought it was teeth, but now wondering if something else!

I am desperate to stop bf them at night (DT1 only has one feed around 1am and then one in the morning, although morning has a flexible definition which can include pre 5am ) and it feels like I will never be able to stop as I can't imagine getting them to settle without.

I think one of the problems is that they are so distractable at this age that the only time they will feed properly is when they are tired and sleepy; now I think I have built up an unbreakable association between feeding and sleeping.

Sorry OP, no help here, but a problem shared...

Thanks all for your comments - 1stMrsF I am the same, I can't imagaine DS ever going to sleep without feeding, think we are going to have issues once I stop, but heigh ho!
He went down beautifully night before last and slept all night - blissful, woke at 5 for a feed then back to sleep till 7. I naively thought it was getting better when he also settled well last night then he was up several times - although I think it was teeth - and ended up in our bed.
Llareggub I think you are right re the formula, I wasn't very committed to it to be honest and mainly tried it just to say we had!
Hmph, you think you have cracked it and then it all changes ..

Well, if it helps, I always fed DS1 to sleep until he was around 13/14 months or so when we bit the bullet and did some sleep training. It was painful for a few evenings but then he got the hang of it and we had our evenings back. So don't worry, it won't be forever. When we did it, he was able to understand what we were saying to him so it didn't feel quite so heartless as the first time we tried it at 6 months.

I'm now convinced that DS2 is having some sort of growth spurt. He has started pulling himself up, tries to stand and has become far more toddlerish than babyish. I think the sleep problems are linked.

Thanks Llareggub, I had more or less decided this afternoon to just go with the feeding to sleep thing for now - he is only a baby once. Reassuring to know that this can be sorted out when he is a bit older.
Interesting about your DS2, I think my DS is becoming more of a toddler and less of a baby too - so a combo of teething and growing up I think.
Still - frustrating when you know they have settled to sleep and gone all night in the past!

We?re in a similar boat too I?m afraid... I can?t say DD (10mo) has ever been a great sleeper ? naps in particular were short and all over the place ? but I was at least getting reasonable chunks of sleep at night and could put her down for naps quite easily at the first glimpse of a tired sign. In the last month though, it?s all gone wrong. She?s been tricky to settle at bedtime, can be up for over 2 hours some nights, wakes early (5.30am typically) and her tired signs are becoming increasingly ambiguous. I?m sure teething, weaning (if dinner is too rushed and/or too big?) and separation anxiety all probably have something to do with it ? and now she?s more mobile, I often find she?ll crawl around her cot grizzling when I try and put her down. We also went away for a week at the beginning of the month, which can?t have helped.

That said, I do wonder whether she?s getting overtired more easily now she?s on the move so much during the day. For the last few nights I?ve brought bedtime forward to around 6.15ish to try and tackle the early waking. It hasn?t helped with that in the slightest but I have at least been able to put her down awake and leave the room, which is a huge improvement on where we?ve been for the past month (where I often had to let her fall asleep in my arms while I read her a story or rubbed her back until she drifted off).

I?ve tried applying the same theory to naps and have started to put her down a bit earlier than usual ? keeping half an eye on the clock and taking her upstairs at the slightest indication she might be tired, eg starting to get a bit clumsy ? and so far she seems to be settling more easily. I?m also trying to be more consistent with bedtime and wind-down routines, giving as many clear cues as possible. It?s a great relief to see a bit of progress but I?m trying not to be complacent - as sebsmama says, as soon as you think you?ve got it cracked it changes. As soon as DD starts cutting some more teeth I imagine we?ll be back to square one!

Hi I've been trawling the net looking for a solution to my 10mo's suddenly lack of interest in settling and sleeping. Do you know how much better I feel just knowing that I'm not the only one questioning where I've gone wrong and worrying about rods and backs etc! Thanks Ktay, I'll try earlier naps and bed time today. I guess just like everything else, this too will pass...

Hi Sugarsnappea, I quite agree, knowing you're not alone with these problems seems to make them a bit easier to bear. Hope the earlier naps/bedtimes are working for you too, although the clock change might make it slightly tricky...

This will indeed pass - it's just I find it so hard to maintain any sense of perspective when I'm in the thick of it and sleep-deprived!

At the risk of tempting fate, but in the hope that it will cheer you up, things are improving here: DT1 is now consistently sleeping 7pm to 1am, having a feed and then sleeping to 6am. DT2, who has been feeding every 3-4 hours for months has for the last few nights slept 7pm to 11.30/12 and then until 6am! I haven't done very much, mostly just tried not to feed to sleep and put them down awake. DT1 needs patting/shushing to sleep but they have self settled much more often than I am used to. Still having disturbed nights, but getting about 5/6 hours in decent chunks and feeling like I just might make it!