8 month old wakes every 1-2 hours - Page 2

[OSUvet]

Hmm, no advice here, just yet another mom with a wakeful baby. My DS is 6 months and WAS waking to nurse quite peacefully every 2-3 hours which I considered good (although some crib-sleeping, formula-feeding, CIO friends gasped at the horror...). Until about 3 weeks ago when he started the waking every hour thing. And he often wakes up crying and it takes him a minute to calm down and realize that I am right there and he will nurse for just a minute and go right back to sleep. Frustrating. We are just starting to introduce some solids (although this started before the first intro), and I am also hoping this will help. My DS does have many food sensitivities but I worked my diet out a while ago and haven't been having anything on the "no-no" list. Also his signs with the food issues were different from this.

Edited by OSUvet - 8/18/11 at 11:33am

[1love4ever]

OP, I went through the same thing with DD.  We co-slept from the beginning of the night, and she was a little restless but didnt usually wake me up til she actually woke up and cried.  The ONLY thing that would put her back to sleep was nursing.  She would SCREAM til she got it.  I tried rocking her for a little while, I tried putting her in her own crib.  Pacifiers.  Nothing worked.  I eventually accepted the fact that this was her, and as she got older she got better.  She eventually started sleeping for a little longer.  Then she eventually got to the point (at about 15 months old) where she would only wake up once or twice a night to nurse.  She had good nights and bad nights.  Once in awhile she would wake up 4 times, other times she'd sleep the whole night.  She is now 18 months, and at 16.5 months she stopped nursing.  She woke up her usual 2 times a night for the first 2 weeks, but was soothed fairly easily by me talking to her and touching her.  Then after that she started consistantly sleeping through the night.  She still wakes up once in awhile but is easily soothed back to sleep.  I think that if you stay patient with him and give him what he needs/asks for, which it sounds like you are, then your bond with him will be even stronger and he will have lots of faith in you because you provided him with what he needed.

As for co-sleeping, maybe you could try putting him to the inside of the bed against the wall, and having a small round pillow or rolled blanket between the 2 of you so that when he is restless he will not wake you until he cries, then you can easily grab him without getting up and nurse him.  Often DD and I would both fall asleep while she was nursing, and I'd wake up hours later with my boob hanging out of my bra lol.

[jksmith]

update: more success with increased solid food during the day and bedtime routine starting with oatmeal and applesauce and weak chamomile tea, then bath, story, and nurse to sleep. Only woke up twice last night.

[BabySmurf]

wow, what a change! I'm so glad that you figured out the "issue"!

[mumknowsbest]

Well our DS was sleeping 3-4 hour stretches quite often but is back to 2 hour stretches in the last week or so. He's nearly 8 months. I think it's because he is storing up a giant poo and is uncomfortable at night and also could be teething. As far as naps go up to last week I had a routine of nursing him sitting, then lying down on our bed on a Phil&Teds cocoon (with small blanket) that was opened out all flat. Then when he was asleep I would transfer him into the cot using the cocoon making sure that I made it all flat again and I always tucked the handles underneath the cocoon as I was a bit paranoid about him getting caught in them (highly unlikely). I also lay down with him for naps a few times so I could nurse him to sleep after the 45 min sleep cycle. Now he naps through for 1.5 - 2.5 hours during the day and I can lower him into the cot very gently without him waking. As far as the waking up every 2 hrs goes, it is quite exhausting. I make sure that I nap with him a couple of times a week to catch up on sleep. I am coping quite well with the broken sleep so far because I can go back to sleep easily, but not sure how it would work when/if I go back to work. I'm pretty sure it's because he is used to waking up frequently since he's coslept since he was born. Some other possible features:

1. He is lean - perhaps needs more milk than he gets during the day, however he eats a fair bit of solids now

2. I suspect my milk supply hasn't been keeping up with his needs (hence solids have been v. good)

3. He is extremely active and a funny happy baby - so I think he uses up lots of calories

I think the whole 2 hour wakey wakey thing is a feature of co-sleeping. HOWEVER, remember (I try to remind myself of this) that there could be lots of people for whom the problem resolved, and therefore they wouldn't be posting here. So don't loose hope or confidence in what you are doing. Recently I have been trying to keep him in the cot more than the bed, to see if I was waking him up.

Good luck!

[Zirconia]

Redmom, I was just coming here to write almost exactly the same post!  7 1/2 month old DD, slept great for about 5 months.  Then she started rolling and we stopped swaddling, and then teething, crawling, pulling up, fighting sleep, it seems like it all happened at once!  She also outgrew her cosleeper and we've been trying to get her to sleep in a crib right next to our bed.  She wakes up every hour of the night, and naps 20-30 minutes unless held, worn, or nursed.  I also think she's reverse cycling and doing most of her eating at night - during the day she's so distracted and active she barely nurses.  I'm so sleep deprived I can barely stand upright!  Some nights I'm not sure I sleep at all.

I was really hoping someone here would have some solutions, but it seems like lots of families are in the same boat!  We're trying cosleeping, increasing daytime nursing, more daytime activity, more solid foods, and allowing her to get more tired before putting her down.  I know some of that goes against common sleep wisdom, but I find if I let her run herself out of juice, she sleeps faster, more deeply, and for longer stretches.  I really have no idea if any of these strategies are working, I just need to feel like I'm "doing something about it."  Cosleeping is saving my sanity - my back and hips hurt, and my arm's asleep, and my sleep is lighter, but at least I'm not having to get up, stay awake to nurse (while trying not to cry), and wait until she's asleep enough to put her in the crib (if that ever happens).  I've been wondering about allergies but haven't had the energy to monitor my diet so closely, and I'm too exhausted to think about giving up caffeine - possibly a self-sabotaging situation!  Oh, and I'm also "fasting" from reading about baby sleep, especially those books and sites that claim she "should" be sleeping through the night by now!  Those delusional 'experts' can kiss it..  :)

I'm enjoying reading about what people have tried - if anything works for your babe, please come back and post!