multiple night wakings

[Cattia]

My DD has slept through solidly since 7 weeks old. Now for the past two weeks she is waking all the time at night. Tonight we are probably on our sixth wake up. She won't sleep for more than an hour at a time. I feed her when she wakes up. If we co sleep she will go longer, but I don't much like doing it not to mention the fact that the health visitor told me yesterday that it's dangerous and we shouldn't be doing it. She is in a travel cot in our room. I've started her on solids this week but it's made no difference. I am back to work in six weeks and there's no way I can manage working long hours and being up all night. Any advice? She will be 6 months old in a couple of weeks.

 

[Button#]

You're in a rough time for sleep, it will pass. In the mean time make sure you're following safe co sleeping guidelines and you'll be fine. HVs say it's dangerous because a lot of people don't do it safely and they use a blanket statement of it's dangerous to co sleep to counteract that.

 

[MindUtopia]

6 months was a really rough time for sleep for us. In our case, it was largely because of teething (usually hourly wakings until the teeth popped through), but also because of starting weaning. There is a belief that weaning can mean they don't wake as often at night, but in my experience, it was the opposite. It increased the night wakings and I could literally hear her stomach gurgling while she tossed and turned. It did settle down though, so do whatever you have to do now to make it through. We co-slept and still do (have since birth, it's absolutely safe if you do it safely and around here some of our HV encourage it). Also, just know that you'll be fine. My daughter still has stretches when she wakes regularly if she's sick or teething (last week it was about every 40 minutes one night as she had a terrible cold), but I've been back to work for nearly 2 years. You will manage and you'll be fine. Just do whatever you need to do and know it will pass.

 

[rwhite]

I have heard recently that solids can actually make them wake up more, because in some babies it can cause an upset stomach to begin with. Can't win, can we?

I went to see the HV the other week, and mentioned how my daughter was waking multiple times as opposed to previously sleeping through, and she said generally by 9 months babies are back to doing what they were doing before the sleep regression hit (or a lot better, at least). So fingers crossed there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

We have been doing some co-sleeping, too, and there have been studies done to prove that it isn't dangerous at all if practised safely https://www.askdrsears.com/topics/h...eep-safety/latest-research-co-sleeping-safety

And lots of

 

[Cattia]

Thanks so much for all the input and advice ladies! rwhite I am hanging out for that 9 months then as she was an awesome sleeper before we got hit with this! Solids don't seem to have made a big difference either way. Her sleep hasn't got worse but it certainly hasn't got better. We are limiting co-sleeping to the stretch between about 4am-6am as that's when she tends to be most unsettled if I put her back down in the cot. I sleep pretty lightly for that last part of the night and she seems a lot more settled being close to me.

In other news, she has started with SO many new noises this past week. She has begun to babble properly with ga ga ga, ya ya ya and da da da sounds so I wonder whether she's having a bit of a development leap.

 

[Button#]

Almost certainly. I always found that when my DSs sleep was at it's worst a new skill would show up.

 

[Angelbaby_01]

Now at 7 months I am struggling to get baby to sleep better and noticed that she does get some reflux from the solids, however, although the meds I give help it doesn't help to let her sleep. lol She still fights sleep and I really hope this is phase that would pass soon.