Sleep problems, could use some advice!

[lavender_mama]

I put this here and not in nighttime parenting because we are not currently co-sleeping.

My sweet daughter started sleeping through the night at about 4 months, and it was wonderful for a couple of weeks. Then it ended, and she was waking up to feed about twice a night again. This went on for a few months and progressively got worse where she would sleep for a few hours, and then wake about every hour from 3am on! I would eventually bring her to our tiny bed with us when she woke in the night and that seemed to help a little. When I finally couldn't take anymore, guess what happened?

She started sleeping through the night! Eight months old! And this went on for a few weeks and I was so glad! Until...

She just turned 9 months old, and for the last 5 days she's been waking again at 3 and 6am to feed. It's fine, she just feeds and goes back to sleep. I bring her in to our bed at around 6 after my husband leaves for work and she sleeps some more. But what is going on? Do we only get a reprieve of a few weeks? Why does this keep happening? I can't go through what I went through before when I only got a few hours of inconsistent sleep every night. I'll go insane!

Any insights, advice, or experiences to share? Please don't tell us we need to cosleep. Our bedsize, tiny bedroom, and husband's obesity make this an unsafe choice for our family.

[Wild Lupine]

I don't have any advice for you, Mama, I'm not even sure cosleeping would be the solution even if it would work for you and DH. But I do think this is normal for your daughter's age. A lot can interfere with infant's sleep- growth spurts, impending developmental milestones, teething. Is she just about to start crawling or pulling up? If so, you might find that once she has reached the milestone she'll go back to sttn. Until the next milestone or tooth comes along.

Very few babies sleep through the night every night.

[Owen'nZoe]

In my experience, this is normal. One of my children never slept through the night until he was over a year - the other would go through periods like you mention of sleeping through the night for months, then waking every night for months. The second was the hardest - maybe because the on again/off again sleep was harder on my body than just never sleeping, or maybe because I was a few years older - who knows.

Anyway, hugs and sympathy. She really will sleep through the night consistently, for longer than a few months at a time, someday!

[VisionaryMom]

Originally Posted by lavender_mama

She just turned 9 months old, and for the last 5 days she's been waking again at 3 and 6am to feed.

She's probably going through a growth spurt. Since you don't want to co-sleep, this might not work for you, but you can lie down on your side and rest while she nurses. I wasn't entirely comfortable with that with my first, but DD nurses a lot while I was dozing off.

Try to have your husband take 1-2 evenings a week to let you get some uninterrupted sleep. Yes, it will drive you insane. Serious sleep deprivation can cause paranoia, hallucinations, and all types of other problems. A few weeks is fine, but I've gone months with no more than 2 hours of sleep at a time, and it was a horrible, horrible experience.

[Peony]

Sounds totally normal to me, all my kids have done that. Sleep well for a short period, then it was bad, good, bad, eventually it gets better but not until all the teeth are in.

[velochic]

There's just so much going on the first couple of years. Teeth, lots of growing, learning to communicate, becoming mobile, etc. etc. etc. I think they go through a new phase every few weeks in those early years. I can't think of a solution other than time.

I do know how you feel, though. My dd is 8.5 years old, still co-sleeps, and isn't the greatest sleeper... so I usually get woken a few times a night and have not slept a single night all the way through without waking since my second trimester with her. And I just have the one kiddo. I'm sure those that have more might say it's been even longer since they've had a full night's sleep.

Give it time... I would have loved to have had a baby/toddler/young child that slept once through the night. Dd didn't manage it until she was 6.

Good luck and good rest!

[Bokonon]

That sounds pretty normal to me too. It's so hard, but I promise it won't be like this forever.

[annettemarie]

Moving to Life with a Babe.

[Kmama2]

Originally Posted by onemomentatatime

I don't have any advice for you, Mama, I'm not even sure cosleeping would be the solution even if it would work for you and DH. But I do think this is normal for your daughter's age. A lot can interfere with infant's sleep- growth spurts, impending developmental milestones, teething. Is she just about to start crawling or pulling up? If so, you might find that once she has reached the milestone she'll go back to sttn. Until the next milestone or tooth comes along.

Very few babies sleep through the night every night.

Yeah that!!!
Same here. My 9 month old sometimes wakes up 3 times a night to nurse sometimes 2. Sometimes 1 Sometimes he sleeps all night. Every time I think a pattern is emerging.. okay he wakes up between 2 and 3 EVERY night... then he switches it up and wakes up at 11 pm or 4 am.
Too much going on, teeth, milestones, etc etc. NORMAL

[LadyCatherine185]

Totally normal. In fact, I'd kill for nights like that with a baby that young. My DS didn't start sleeping that good until recently, and only after nightweaning. At 8-9 months he was waking every 15-30 minutes.

Could you sleep with your daughter in a bed seperate from your husband for a little while? What about putting her crib next to your bed? A mattress on the floor for her? Just a few options that could make it easier on you....

[blessedwithboys]

normal. STTN is whats unusual, ime.

if co-sleeping would get you a bit more rest, sent dh to the couch and the bed will be big enough for mama and babe.

[MamaPhD]

Sounds similar to my DD. She woke up usually around 3-4am until about 9-10 months, then started to STTN. But whenever teething, cold, or whatever is going on her life, she would wake up for 1-2 weeks, then go back to STTN. I don't really mind it at all since she falls back asleep after nursing right away, and she rarely wakes up more than that once. I know that basically she knows how to sleep, so I don't worry.