Awake for hours in the night

[kt_11]

Wondering if anyone else has had this before?

My little boy is 9 months old. Never been a good sleeper but has gradually improved over the last few weeks & months and was down to waking once or twice a night, generally managing 5 hour stretches although had occasionally done up to 8 or 9 hours in one go. Still needing a bit of help to get to sleep initially but could obviously put himself back to sleep in the night.

For he last 3 days he’s been harder to get to sleep and awake for 1-2 hours in the night, generally between 11pm and 2am and even with me rocking/patting him etc will just not go back to sleep. It’s as if he has to wait for another sleep cycle to get tired enough to go back. He’s done this intermittently in the past with no obvious cause but it’s now happening every night and not only am I exhausted but he’s now only getting about 7-8 hours of total overnight sleep compared with his usual 10. This can’t be good for him on a regular basis.

He’s had 2 naps a day for a couple of months now although sometimes needs three if he wakes early and only has shorter naps. Nothing else has really changed. I doubt that he’s getting too much daytime sleep.

Has anyone had this type of sleep regression at a similar age? Did you just wait it out? I wondered if it was due to a rapid development he’s going through, practising new motor/speech skills in his sleep but don’t want to just let it become habit if it’s due to something else. xx

[2Baby2019]

Hi could he be teething? I know they go through stages of sleep regression but can’t remember when think it’s more towards one. It could be the development thing. One thing u could do is try cutting out a day nap so instead of two he has one then he may be more tired to sleep for the whole night. Does he have a comforter or dummy

[kt_11 in reply to 2Baby2019]

Thanks for the reply. I’ve no idea if it’s teething but he doesn’t seem particularly unsettled when awake, only if we try get him back to sleep. I imagine he would happily play if I took him downstairs. He seemed to be ‘teething’ for ages with the bottom couple of teeth before they actually came through but was more unsettled than he is now.

He’s never been interested in a dummy or comforter so sleep has always been difficult but he’d been loads better recently 🙄

I have considered whether he’s ready for a transition from 2 to 1 nap but he does get overtired so not sure he’d cope with such long awake times?! One of my friends is going through similar at the moment (same age baby) so I’m hoping it’s development and will settle but just makes you question everything you’re doing with naps, bedtime etc! 🤷🏻‍♀️ x

[Annh17 in reply to kt_11]

I wouldn’t cut a nap out, at this age, they need a morning nap and longer nap in the afternoon. x

[kt_11 in reply to Annh17]

Thanks. This was actually 10 months ago but someone responded to my post the other day which is why you’ve just seen it now.

I didn’t drop his nap at the time. His sleep did improve gradually but it took until about 14 months before he was really sleeping better. x

[2Baby2019]

Hopefully it’s just a development phase. We had Ewan the dream sheep and my daughter is a great sleeper. She is 3 1/2 and still has it as part of her bedroom routine.

[kt_11 in reply to 2Baby2019]

Really hope so! We’ve got Ollie the Owl (similar to Ewan!) and I think white noise definitely helps him switch off a bit.

I’ve grown to accept that he’s just never going to be the best sleeper rather than assuming it’s my fault for doing something ‘wrong’ but this is an issue which I’m desperately hoping he grows out of soon! xx

[Hidden]

Put him to sleep at the same time every night... Providing a sleeping calming invironment.

Shorten day time naps

Check if he has any phisicall problems

Or teething.

Let him play more during day and less stimulation during the night

Try messaging before bed time.

And u relax yourself.

X

[Seb9 in reply to Hidden]

This post is quite an old one, original post was 10 months ago, hopefully their little one is a better sleeper now 😊

[kt_11 in reply to Seb9]

Thanks! 😊

Just for anyone else who might come across this post looking for support, he’s now 19 months and has improved a lot. Took a long time through - until he was about 14 months.

I’m afraid I’m not sure I ever really worked out what the issue was but I suspect he was in some discomfort (teething or tummy pain - he’s been treated for constipation and continues to struggle with his teeth).

He’s still not an amazing sleeper. Still needs help to get to sleep at home and wakes up most nights but can sometimes sleep through and a lot of the time is able to put himself back to sleep when he wakes in the night.

If anyone is going through similar, please make sure you ask for support as this prolonged lack of sleep had huge effects on my physical and mental health, and on my relationship so would advise others to make sure you’re facing it as a team xx