CONSTANT waking!

[cdmommie]

My 8 month old has always been a frequent waker, but now I am just totally drained now. She wakes at LEAST every 30 minutes, sometimes it's only 10 or 15 minutes in between. Occasionally she might sleep an hour if she is nursing the entire time, but I can't sleep with her nursing that long because I just can't stay comfortable. I tried different jammies, no jammies, food (although she never eats more than a few bites at a time). I even tried getting a crib and putting her in there thinking maybe I was moving too much and waking her, but it was even worse with the crib. I don't know what else to do! Any advice?

This has been going on over a month and I feel completely drained. I am so tempted to stick her in a crib and let her CIO all night just so I could sleep but I'm sure I would regret it and her big sis probably wouldn't get any sleep either.

[LindsG]

<hugs> Hang in there mama. I went through the exact same thing at the exact same age. My DS slept HORRIBLY from about 7-9.5 months. I tried everything like you and got to the point where I just about lost all sympathy and was sooo tempted to CIO...but my DS is almost 11 months now and i'm pretty sure I finally found the answer is in what he eats...unless it's just coincidental and he got out of this phase right when I start watching what he eats better. I noticed he has a terrible time with grains/wheat/anything with gluten...even the tinest teeniest little bite will keep him awake at night for days - with no other symptoms other than the night waking! I can't give him hardly any jarred baby foods because if you read the ingredients closely, they almost all have wheat...none of those gerber puffs, crackers, anything. He's ok with rice cereal but otherwise only gets fruits, veggies, and some meats. His sleep at night is night and day now. Sure, he'll wake at night once in awhile to play and practice his new skills like most babies, but it's not the waking up groaning, coughing, moaning, crying, wrestling around every half hour like he was when he was having problems with the food he was eating. My girlfriend has the same issue with her 8 month old with the wheat/gluten. Same exact thing - no other symptoms but waking constantly with a belly ache all night for days. I (unfortunately) formula feed so this was easy for me but my girlfriend doesn't have to watch her diet, just what she gives directly to her daughter. Maybe try cutting your DD back to just breastmilk for a week or two and see what happens and go from there? I hope it gets better for you. Good luck!!!

[cdmommie]

You may be onto. Something there! My oldest daughter has a ridiculously long allergy list. And I know for sure DD2 is allergic to citrus and oats. Maybe she has more intolerance than I realize. I have been trying solids for 2 months now and she always takes 3 or 4 bites and then refuses. Maybe her little tummy just isn't handling it well.

[DashsMama]

Your little one might be waking frequently and nursing a lot because she is teething. Teething is VERY painful, and teeth sometimes take a month or two to come in. If you haven't tried it already, you might want to give her some teething tabs, baby tylenol or motrin to see if that makes any difference.

Hugs to you, mama. I know this is challenging, but trust that your baby is trying to tell you something and you will figure it out if you keep attached and invested in communicating with her.

[cdmommie]

Well last night she was up every 10 minutes... my nipples hurt so bad... my brain is shot. I got a total of 45 minutes of sleep and I am right smack in the middle of finals. She is constantly getting teeth, so it could be teething. We will load up on tylenol and teething tabs tonight. I seriously NEED sleep before I completely loose it.

[CrunchyMamaB]

"Sure, he'll wake at night once in awhile to play and practice his new skills like most babies, but it's not the waking up groaning, coughing, moaning, crying, wrestling around every half hour like he was when he was having problems with the food he was eating. "


This exactly describes my 7.5 month old. He used to be a great sleeper, but for the past month he's been really restless, like he's uncomfortable. We cut out gluten today and I'm hoping we'll see a difference soon. He was up crying every hour last night

[CrunchyMamaB]

Thank you so much!! I cut out gluten and instead of my son getting up every 30-60 minutes, he only got up twice, and he didn't have a restless sleep like usual. I'm so grateful!