[sedawson]

6 month old is now waking at least six times a night. I usually feed him (formula since four months old) but I can't see how he still needs to eat that often and it doesn't usually get him back to sleep anyway. Uses a dummy. He will be awake for up to two hours at night and waking up complaining at least every two hours, every night now for a while.
He was improving about a week ago, but now it's all shot to sh*t.
I'm pretty much at the end of my tether, I can't sleep during the day as I have other responsibilities.
ANY suggestions will be welcomed. What worked for you, or what do you think might be causing it?

[Anlawich]

Could he be in pain? Wind? Constipation? Reflux?

Too hot? Too cold?

[sedawson]

Pooing fine, no reflux since started using Infant Gaviscon (also no more chucking), temp seems ok. Panadol doesn't seem to make any difference. My only other child is 9 yrs so I don't really remember much of infancy. Gah.

Are others in this situation?

[Mille-Mille]

All I can think of is teething or growth spurt?

[terri01]

It is hard when they wake up a lot at night. I went through this with my DS. We started formula feeding at 3.5 months. From about 4 months he would wake up nearly every hour. He also used a dummy.

I thought he must have wind from changing from the breast to the bottle so I tried everything I could think of. Different bottles, burping him a lot during feeds, wind formulas but nothing seemed to work or it would work one night but not the next.

I had a nearly 2 year old DD as well at the time and couldnt sleep through the day either. I just hated the nights and I was so tired.

Anyway when he was 5 months old I rang Tresillian (they are NSW based I think). They told me that he probably wasnt hungry but I could try to offer a bottle if it had been a while since his feed as a lot of babies still feed during the night at that age and it probably wasnt wind as by that age their little tummies have sorted themselves out. They thought it could be the dummy. They said that they dont go in to as deep a sleep with the dummy and they get through that first sleep cycle and then stir and the dummy has probably come out and they cant get back to sleep without it and so they wake up. That cycle just goes on and on (which it did for us).

She advised getting rid of the dummy. We did this. The first night he slept through. I couldnt believe it. Then for the next few months until he was 7.5 months he was waking up probably 4-5 times a night (this was better than 8-10 times) but still not great. By this stage he had started solids and was eating really well through the day and drinking his bottles so I knew he wasnt hungry. I rang tresillian again.

They asked when I had gotten rid of the dummy how had I been putting him to sleep. I told them that I would either rock or pat him or sing to him. They said that I had replaced the dummy with sleeping, rocking or patting and he was reliant on those things to get to sleep. They suggested that because he was now older and was feeding well and on solids that we try control crying. They said just to do what I was comfortable with. They said I didnt have to do the whole stay out of the room for this many minutes etc but to come up with a plan that worked for us.

So that night I put him down and walked out of the room. He started to cry and so I went in and calmed him by just patting him (not picking him up or singing or rocking). When he was calm I would walk out. I would then go into my loungeroom and do laps (it sounds silly but it worked for us). I would do 10 laps and then go back in and calm him and then I would walk out and do 20 laps and go back in a calm and then walk out and do 30 laps and go back in to calm (etc etc).

The first night it took about 90 minutes, the second 40 minutes, the 3rd 15 minutes and the 4th night nothing at all. I layed him in his cot and walked out and he didnt make a sound. He slept all night. It was wonderful. We then had about two weeks of 1-2 times waking but most nights not waking at all. From 8 months I could say that every night he went to bed wonderfully and wouldnt wake until the morning. He is now 5 years old and is still the best little sleeper. He loves his bed and really enjoys his sleep.

I guess if you have ruled out hunger, wind, teething etc etc then perhaps when your bub is a little older you could give this a go. It really worked for us. I was never a big fan of controlled crying and never had to do it with DD. She used a dummy and it worked well for her. She was always a good night sleeper from a very young age but I think that was probably because she was a catnapper through the day. She is now 6.5 years old and has been up and down with her sleep over the years. She is finally very good now and sleeps all night. Whereas my son who was shocking until he was 8 months when we did control crying has since then and still is the best little sleeper.

I hope you can sort it out. I know how hard it is when you are getting little or no sleep. I was at the end of my tether and would have tried anything.

Good luck!!!

[sedawson]

So you got rid of his dummy completely, no dummy during the day either?

[sedawson]

My partner is telling me that he's crying and not sleeping because he's lacking body contact since I stopped breastfeeding. This baby is held most of the day and holding him doesn't get him to sleep either.
Does anyone else think this is likely to be the reason, because I sure don't.

[Liz75]

My partner is telling me that he's crying and not sleeping because he's lacking body contact since I stopped breastfeeding. This baby is held most of the day and holding him doesn't get him to sleep either.
Does anyone else think this is likely to be the reason, because I sure don't.

I dont necessarily think this is true. I would say it is related to sleep associations, how does he go to sleep at night? Do you pat/rock him? Does he take a dummy? Do you give a bottle of milk? I would try getting rid of the dummy, feed him his milk about 20 minutes before going to bed to see if he is associating his milk with sleeping and see how you go from there. Dummies can be wonderful things for some children but others they are a terrible aid, ie they wake as soon as they fall out and cant get back to sleep.

[sedawson]

Liz, I am pretty certain that you and the above poster are quite correct. He has horrible sleep associations - dummy, feeding to sleep - and this is why he's still waking constantly. I think I just need someone to tell me that if I get rid of them all and go by the book, things will improve one day.
I also need my partner onside but at the moment we're disagreeing. He thinks the baby is waking because I stopped breastfeeding and staying awake because I'm 'negatively emoting' after six months of sleep deprivation. Frankly I don't think this baby is quite that sensitive. I don't think that my being in a bad mood is keeping him awake. It's not as though I'm whacking him or tormenting him or something.
I think it's the sleep associations and everything I'm reading is confirming this.

[Stoked]

At six months he'd barely have any sort of sleep associations. Have you heard of the wonder weeks? There's a book on the subject (a rather heavy one too ). Check it out from the library maybe? Or buy on Amazon ($10 if you have a Kindle).

There's a major developmental leap at around six months. They develop depth of vision and for the first time in their life realise that mummy is a separate being to them and that she can go away and they can't follow her. It's also the beginnings of separation anxiety for some babies. So all these frequent wakings are a means for him to reconnect with you and reassure himself of your presence. He needs extra comfort getting through this turbulent time. Sleep training is not recommended while the wonder weeks are on (and each leap is usually about 3-4 weeks long). It's fine in-between the wonder weeks though .