Anybody have baby awake for hours of a night?

[Melski]

Hey Mums,

Just wondering if anybody else out there has experienced this or if my bebe is some kind of freak of nature?

5 or 6 nights of the week he sleeps from 7p.m. til 6.30a.m. without a peep. On the other nights however, he will wake at around 10p.m. and not go back to sleep till about 3,4,5, or NEVER.

No Joke! It sounds like an exageration but SADLY it's true!!!!!!!!!

If we go in to him, he will settle for about 5 or 10 mins and then start crying again. If I bring him into bed, he is restless and cries and fusses. If we control cry, he will scream for 1-2 hours until he goes silent for a bit (but still kicking around in the cot letting us know he is still awake) only to start up again half an hour later.

GP's just say to control cry and assume we are not doing it right. Last week we were prescribed Losecin case it was silent reflux but we have just had 2 really bad days in a row.

I don't feel it is habitual because he doesn't do it every night.

WHATS WRONG WITH MY BABY???????????????????????

If anyone has had an experience even remotely similar PLEASE let me know, I would be very grateful!

Cheers!

[ozzysmum]

it's not just you i promise!!
first of all :hugs: i know exactly how exhausting this can be. ozzy has done this (did it 2 nights last week - 9.30pm-5am argh!!) and then has gone back to his usual three times a night little wake up (just a dummy or tiny feed - 5 minutes tops) for the past 3 nights.
i don't have any suggestions really - brauer's calm liquid can be very helpful and if bubs seems to be desperate to get to sleep but unable to do so it could something like a headache or teething so a dose of panadol or brauer's pain relief might help. other than that i reckon you've just got to live with it! we tried controlled crying for about an hour on one occassion and half a night on another but DP requested not to do it anymore as i was almost vomiting with the stress, as was bubs. now when he does it (maybe 3times a fortnight) we get up and have a quiet play with a book and cuddles in the living room and some brauer's calm drops then when he's all dozy he'll quite often go back to bed happily.
good luck and i'm glad to know it's not just my baby that does this too!

[Melski]

Thanks for your reply,

It helps to know someone else out there is doing the same.

ELi did it again last night and thrashed and writhed in bed with me for hours. He gets so distraught that he starts thrashing his head into me.

I feel that he must be in pain but noone can give me a diagnosis.

I AM SO FRUSTRATED AND THIS IS TEARING ME AND MY DH APART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks for listening,

Mel

[ozzysmum]

:hugs:
last night ozzy was up from 2-6 am. because he's still breastfed i tried lying in bed with him and giving him a feed to send him off and he kept biting - i was VERY grumpy and eventually DP got up and snuggled him up on the sofa and they fell asleep together - i'd been up for hours and was soo happy, carried ozzy through to his cot and got DP back to bed and we all slept til 9am.
i don't know if this advice is any good but if he's thrashing about and you're both getting frustrated a change of scene (to the living room or something) can really help - i figure you're not going to get any sleep anyway so getting up for 1/2 an hour can't hurt. however you don't want it to ecome a habit or they'll want it every night! it's a fine line.
the other option would be sleep school - especially if it's really affecting your relationship. It's so important for you and your DH to be supportive of each other despite how exhausted at least one of you is.
If you are really concrened that it's something medical i would get a referal to a peadiatrician for a full check up, too.
and if you can, have a nap today - even an hour's extra sleep can help your stress levels even if it doesn't make a dent in the tiredness.
:hugs: again

[Wivi]

Hi,

I am starting to think this type of behaviour is actually quite normal. The majority of the time my bub sleeps like a dream but we have nights like yours once or twice a week too! We had one last night when he woke at 4:30 and wouldn't go back to sleep. We do the change of scenery thing too and try a few different options. It's either related to my bubs teething or it is developmental. I used to stress about it all the time but I've stopped as he always goes back to sleeping through.

If it is happening more frequently than once or twice a week then maybe a paediatrician is the way to go because there might be an underlying problem. Otherwise I am hoping for me anyway that it is just a phase!:fingerscrossed:

[JE's Mum]

Oh yeah! We get this carry on once a week or so too. It drives you absolutely nuts at the time but there seems to be nothing you can do about it. My DS has never been a great sleeper. He is much better nowadays than he used to be but we still get these nights. I have always wondered if he seems to bank enough sleep on the other nights and just isn't that tired on the 'let's stay awake and play' night.

Personally, I think its completely normal. I know plenty of people who suffer from the same thing. I am sure they grow out of it eventually. :rolleyes:

[QTB]

my bub is almost 10months (tomorrow!) and he is the same... sleeps perfectly during the day.... night time is a nightmare!!!! he goes down at 6ish and wakes, 10, 2, 3,4,5, its exhausting... but your not alone... he slept thru the night for the 1st time ever 22 nights ago... the only difference i did wa sgave him water in a bottle (room temp, not warm) instead of a bottle of milk... last night he only woke up once, doing the same thing.... so im gonna keep doing that... hes definatly a trained night waker now... grrr