What is this and how can i make it change?

[cristeen]

Lately, ds (9mo) has been a terribly active sleeper. I'll think hes asleep and he'll start rolling and crawling Or climbing all over me while fussing. Its like hes trying to find a comfy position, but there aren't any! A few times he's fussed himself right off the head of the bed. Each waking at night (and we still have lots) takes up to an hour to get him settled again.

And to top it off he seems to have decided that 5 am is his waking time. And he wakes up screaming. Only hes not awake. Ive tried everything i can think of. Some mornings i can rock him back to sleep for another 30 or 45 min, and some mornings like today, he screams for 30 min then opens his eyes and is in a good mood.

I know he's not "done sleeping" at 5 am, he's stillobviously exhausted. But naps are limited to 30 min at this point unless hes in his car seat or i'm wearing him. Either one of which means I don't get a nap. I'mtruly having difficulty functioning on so little sleep. It was bad enough when he would get up at 7 or 8, or let me nap, but now... I've always been a person who needed 8 hrs, so i'm just a zombie lately.

Anybody?

[penstamon]

My DS started to do this around 8 mo or so- particularly the crawling, pushing up, standing while sleeping thing- crying the whole time but not awake. It got really bad around 10 mo but things have started to settle down on their own in that regard now at 11mo. I think it was just him practicing and working through new physical skills. Unfortunately he still has the 1-2 hour waking in the middle of the night and the many shorter ones. And he has been getting up an hour earlier than normal each day. And sometimes he can't seem to get comfy. I have been trying to return him to his crib next to our bed when he is uncomfortable so he can have more space to roll and thrash. I think it is because it was just the solstice. Our bodies are programmed to sleep less this time of year. Maybe try to get every last bit of light out of the room? Maybe give him more space? I wish I knew a real solution but we obviously have all the same problems!

[rightkindofme]

I've never really had that night time problem, but when I am so tired I am about to fall down I take her into a babyproofed room and shut the door. She makes a huge mess, but I sleep. Even when she was that little. I just don't function on low sleep. I really and truly can't.

[cileag]

My DD was/is doing this too and we just put the 4th side of our side car crib on and have had good success so far. She crawls to a corner and fusses a bit but seems to want to have something pressed against her--and while cosleeping, there wasn't enough support to find--she would just keep nudging me and burrowing and nursing and keeping me awake. So our plan is to try that for a bit and when she can safely get down off the bed, or her fascination with the new phase diminishes, we'll try the side car arrangement again.

good luck!

[Mamusia]

Mine did the exact same thing at the exact same age. Practicing all those new mobility skills even while asleep, and waking up early, compounded with getting teeth. Fortunately, it didn't last too long--maybe 2-3 weeks. We use a firm futon on the floor, but have you tried pushing the bed into a corner and bracketing the foot with chairs, make sure to always have an adult on the "outside" edge?

Early-morning wake-ups and non-napping were solved by the exhaustion technique: wear that little fellow out. Encourage LOTS of pushing up, crawling, rolling, etc. during waking hours and get him just as tired as can be. Also, have you tried going for the first nap about 2-3 hours after waking, i.e. at 7 or 8 am if he's getting up at 5? It worked wonders for us. Even though he may not seem tired, a lot of babies really need a nap not too long after getting up, particularly when they're going through a big change like learning to sit and stand and crawl.

If you have a swing or hammock, you could try that as well. It might soothe him long enough that you could sleep in a bit. Finally, there's always the reliable teenager (if you have access to one)--have him/her push the baby around the neighborhood in the buggy for an hour or so while you snooze (although you probably can't get that at 5 am!).

[Baby Mama]

Our DD started doing the same sort of thing a month ago (she's 9months old now). She went from either lying on her back on her side to rolling and rolling and spinning and getting up on all fours all of the sudden. And yeah, i also get the sense that sometimes she's trying to find a more comfortable position but has difficulty doing so. A couple of times i've found her lying against the side of the crib railings, sound asleep without the blanket on her, looking like she was in mid-roll. Ah, and she's also started to suddenly yell out or start crying only to go back to sleep really quickly.

About 1/2 a month ago she learned to crawl and pull herself up into a standing position. We figure that it has everything to do with milestones because the change in sleep came on so suddenly and is so common for this age.