Yet another 7mo sleepless baby

[BBF]

Hello parents,

Please help us! :no:

I'm the proud father of a 7 months old baby girl and a silent reader of this great forum. As you can guess from title, my wife and I are having problems with our DD's sleeping habits.

She's always been a fussy sleeper. The best we've had is her sleeping 3 hours at a time (at night). During the day she takes 1/2 hour naps.

For the past 2 months she somehow reverted to waking up every 2 hours. She was sick for a month so that complicated the diagnosis, but this began before she was sick.

At least she is now able to go to sleep without being rocked. We put in her in the cot (which is actually attached to our bed, it's a semi-cosleeping arrangement which works fine for us), pat her, and sing to her.

But still she wakes up every 2 hours for a cry or a feed.

We've tried:



Filling her tummy with milk and/or solids before sleep.
Not picking her up/feeding her immediately when she wakes up, but still talking to her and patting her. Sometimes she goes back to sleep, sometimes she cries angry for a while before we give up.
Removing her from the breast halfway through feeding to diassociate feeding from sleeping.
Feeding her water (sometimes she takes it, most of the time she doesn't).


It seems to us she just have a very strong personality. The wife is coping but I can see that it's slowly draining her. Waking up every 2 hours is not fun. We've seen a ped (appointment to see another one), he couldn't find anything medically wrong with her.

She is an otherwise active and healthy baby so we're not too worried about her but I'm more worried about my wife.

I'm at the point where I'm willing to pay very good money for results. But I don't want to spend money for wasted time. We considered controlled crying (and variants) and drugs and decided that they're not for us.

Any thoughts or advice? Any recommendation of a good expert/consultant that can guarantee results ... no sleep no charge?

Thank you very much for all and any help.


Kind regards,


Sleepy Dad :sleeping:

[bigglet]

I know you probably don't want to hear this..... but my son is 7 months old and still wakes up every 3 hours at night as well for a feed or to resettle.... and then I have to go to work the next morning!!!! So I totally understand...

Have you tried a dummy? Sometimes babies like the sucking motion - both my kids settle well with a dummy for sleeping.

The other option is sleep school. I believe there is a waiting list though.

To be honest I do know lots of parents in your situation and many babies may not sleep through the night (even when they are a year old!) so it isn't uncommon.

:hugs: though because I know how draining it is.... but it will get better.

[TKK]

I'm another "you don't want to hear this but..." person who will say that my 8 month old is very similar to this (since about 6-7months old). She was up off and on from midnight to 4am this morning so I'm not all that productive at work today :sleeping: (clearly if I'm on BubHub!).

Its not every night, just more than a few nights a week - which I find both good and bad (she lures me into a false sense of security with a few good nights and then BAM!!! back to another bad one).

So whilst I don't have anything productive to add, I just wanted you to know that you aren't alone. I have a very strong willed DD who needs me to get to sleep at night but who sometimes just wants to stick her fingers up my nose in the middle of the night and have a play or roll around and giggle in bed. Not sick, not hungry, just being an 8 month old.

On the flip side, she is crawling and cruising and flipping through books and going a million miles an hour during the day so I would imagine she has trouble switching off at night. I guess I'm trying to be positive (even though I'm working 40 hours a week and getting an average of three-four hours of sleep a night) and say that I wouldn't trade the current developmental steamtrain that she's on for anything so if a few nights awake are the byproduct then so be it....

...cuz if I don't try to be positive I'll just cry :laughing:

[melbryan]

My third bubs turned 7 mths last week and he woke this morning at 3am I go to work at 7. He will drink his milk and go back to sleep though. No more dummies for us but maybe she needs a soother.
I wish mine would sleep more but I think he is not really a sleeper rather be up with everyone else. In saying that my second sone can sleep through an earthquake so some children can be so different.
I looked into sleep school with my first son, never went but rung the hotline they were a great help. It feels like it will never end but they will grow out of it at some stage and it will eb distant memory. You said she was sick maybe have her checked and then rule that out and then it's to do with habits.

[BBF]

Thank you for all the support. :)

Any tips on how to cope? Assuming we're unable to change her I guess we'll have to manage through it ...

[bigglet]

If your wife doesn't work during the day get her to nap during the day with bub.

Also you and her can take it in turns getting up during the night - one night can be your turn, another night hers if bub isn't breastfed - or if she is use a bottle with EBM.

[izziesmum]

HI BBF,

My nearly 5 month old has been a non-sleeper for the last 8 weeks! It's driving me spare as I am often up four to five times a night! (although unlike you poor other mums I'm not working so :hugs: to you!)

Like your wife I am exhausted most of the time but I have a really supportive DH. The best thing you can do for her is to arrange one day a week (or two!) where you take bub after the morning feed and allow her to sleep. Or if you're up for it take the load off her by taking over the child care for the day, only bringing bub in for feeds.

My hubby does this for me and although it's not a fix it does help.

Good luck! Hope it all settles down for you soon.

PS. My sister suggested I give Tweddle a call on Monday to see if they have any ideas.....

[michelleB]

My 5 month old is very similar, have you tried a nighttime routine? i am very lazy/ tired/ impatient and this is a good easy thing to do that doesnt require much effort. when i started this, DD started having a good sleep from 7pm till at least 11. its not much but gives you a break. the way i do it is- feed at 6.15 bath at 6.30 other boob at 6.45. she then knows its bedtime and goes down without a fuss. it takes about a week to start workin. also this week i have been to Tweddle sleep school- it really helps. they just teach you settling techniques, reading tired signs etc. My bub only ever slept half hour at a time in the day, since i started the new techniques (Wed) she has been having 3 hour sleeps it is frickin awesome! the best one i have learnt is rolling bubs onto her side, holding the shoulder quite firmly, tapping her bum and shhh shh shh. she cries, but only for a minute, then she goes quiet. i let her sleep on her side till she is in deep sleep then i roll her onto her back. This settles her pretty fast, im still not getting much sleep at night but apparently it takes a while to work...