6 mo old - waking hourly

[VicarK]

My 6 mo old DS is waking 8-10 times between 7 PM and 7 AM.  He was sleeping for at least one 4 hour stretch each night with two hour chunks after that.  The past month, however, he began waking every hour (sometimes 2) with a maximum 3 hour stretch.  This could be because of the "4 month disruption" or because of his teething (he's in process with teeth 3-6, ouch!).  He seemed to be dependent upon nursing to get him back to sleep, until my wonderful DH stepped up his nightly duties.  Now we have seen that he can get back to sleep with other comfort measures and can go comfortably without eating for a 4 (sometimes a bit more) hour stretch.  I am committed to meeting his night time needs and I understand that he needs to awaken 1-2 times to eat.  However, the 8-10 times/night appears to be unnecessary.  Soon, I fear my DH will be unable to continue this number of night disruptions and still function at work.  I was hoping that after the week or two that DH helped, DS would get into a better pattern, but I am not seeing evidence that DS will be able to soothe himself any more than before, and I am quite sure that he will insist upon nursing if I am the one doing the comforting.  Any ideas? I am looking for:
1) How do I comfort DS without DH's help if/when he insists on nursing to go back to sleep so frequently? 2) How do I help him to learn to comfort himself?  3) Can we get back to a similar pattern as DS had before?

Thanks for your wisdom and care!0

[LittleBirdy]

I am going through the same thing, only about a month ahead of you.  Our solution?  We just started cosleeping.  It took me a couple of weeks to really get it down, but now I have a really good pillow/blanket arrangement and I generally don't really wake up when DS wants to nurse.  He has always been a big time comfort nurser, how about your DS?  I just figure between teething and developmental milestones and physical milestones and all the crazy stuff that's going on he needs that comfort, and since I can nurse and sleep at the same time (can't say that about rocking, walking, singing, or bouncing!) that's the road I decided to go down.  I know he will learn to self-soothe eventually, but with everything else he's needing to learn right now I'm cutting the kid a break ;-)

I do sometimes miss the old days when he would sleep 7 (!!!) hour stretches at a time, but I know this won't last forever.  And it is definitely better than it was - he's waking up 5 or 6 times now instead of 8 or 10 and some times I even get a 3 or 4 hour stretch out of him.

At least know you're not alone!

[VicarK]

Yes, we do cosleep/bedshare... we have since DS was born.  I wouldn't change that.  Recently we got a cosleeper/sidecar, but DS was doing well in that for the first chunk of the night before this new pattern began.  But even with that we have always moved him into bed with us.  I had him next to me all night until the last 10 days when DH was taking over some soothing.  It is just that sleeping next to me seems to contribute to the wanting to nurse all night in a way that is very disturbing to my sleep as of late.  I was all good with consistent feedings during the night, just not this many.  I have read quite a bit and I think my expectations are pretty realistic.  But I am hoping for some ideas from experienced Mama's about how to get enough good sleep, it just doesn't happen for us when he is nursing all night. 

[katelove]

We bed share as well and J went through a period of needing to feed hourly at around the same age. What is is feeding like during the day? For us the nightly feedings increased when she became more distractable during the day. She didn't want to feed for too long or too often in case she missed something  

I found it helped a bit to offer her the breast more often during the day. I would offer her a feed every hour or so and that seemed to help a bit.

I think there is a good chance that this is just a phase of his development and he'll move out if it again at some stage. And, of course, it may not be hunger which is waking him. He may need the closeness more at the moment because of the teething or because he is becoming more active during the day and needing to reconnect with you or something like that.

[Snapdragon]

Is he eating any solids? I know some people like to delay solids past 6 months and if that is your choice I totally respect that. We tried some solids with ds at 6 months and got more into them around 7 or 8 months- but at any rate- at some time in that period, ds switched from 4-5 hour stretches to 2 hour stretches of sleep. We started giving him more solids- especially something filliing before bed- and he resumed longer stretches. just sharing what worked for us- not advocating starting solids unless it feels right to you.

[Asiago]

I second Katelove's thoughts. Right now, he may be in need of extra security or nourishment, which is very normal for a six month old baby. Breastfeeding on demand will also keep your supply consistant with his growth and nourishment needs. Being in close proximity to the breast does indeed encourage feeding, as it is meant to. It is biologically normal as human milk is low protein and fat and digests very quickly. Unlike some other mammals, which either need rapid growth (like calves) or mammals that 'cache' their young and go off alone to forage for food for hours. These animals have milk that is slower to digest. Where as human milk takes less than one hour for gastric emptying. He may just be in need nursing or he may be in need of the security of being with you. I suppose the other possibility is in need of immune defense, since your breastmilk will help him to do that. Has he had recent vaccinations or been exposed to more people or possible illness? Teething also plays a considerate role, as the breast will help him cope with the pain. Are you able to return to your prior sleeping arrangement, before the side car? It seems the new pattern arose shortly after the new sleeping arrangement, so he may just need to be closely nestled next to you.

Whatever it is, if you are able to get through it and meet his needs, he'll likely return to his regular pattern.

[Tattooed Hand]

MY DD did the same thing you are describing around that age. It was rough. Between, teething, trying/wanting to sit up and get mobile, and other less visible developmental things, her sleep went to hell in a handbasket. It didn't get better until about 10 months. And we tried everything. I think it got better on its own too, not as a result of things we did. I wish I had advice to give you, but all I learned was coping mechanisms. I do wish I had concentrated on those and not driven myself crazy trying to fix the sleep situation. I started going to bed really early and sleeping in late. I also sometimes gave DH night time soothing duties early in the night and then would trade places with him around 12 or 1 so I could get a 3 hour block, or he would take DD early in themorning so I could sleep in a couple of hours. This way he still got a 5-6 hour solid block of sleep. I also tried to nap when DD napped, even if it was just a 20 minute power nap.

I hope the wakeups decrease soon. I know how hard it is to be sleep deprived.