My LB has never been a particularly great sleeper at night, however used to nod off quite happily and could be resettled with his dummy. Last couple of weeks he’s decided that sleep is totally overrated. Doesn’t settle very well to start with, if he wakes up the whole street knows about it. Only way I can get him to settle is to put him in bed with me for a bit and he’ll go straight off. I thought the 4m sleep regression was bad but this is so much worse.
Does anyone have any tips on how we can get him to sleep better? He already has Ewan, a bedtime routine involving bedtime bubbles, massage etc.
O I feel your pain. My lb was a terrible sleeper until about 11months old when I did some gentle sleep training and that just seemed to do the trick. 6 months was hard for me too. Up every couple of hours still. I used to co sleep a lot with my little boy. Now he sleeps soundly in his cot and I actually really miss him. I didn't think I'd say that after all the sleepless nights. My partner has to stop me from scooping him up and putting him next to me. 😅😂 (He's 19months now). I guess what I'm saying is....it's a phase or a leap and it'll soon pass. I know that probably doesn't help you at the moment but it's sometimes reassuring to know your not doing anything wrong and it'll pass. Could it be teeth maybe starting to come through? Xxx
Sounds like it’s an unofficial regression then. I thought it was just him being a pain 😂Thankfully I have a double bed in his room so I’ve been co sleeping a lot in there with him. It’s only when I go in there that he finally settles properly, which last night was 11pm. He already has his 2 bottom teeth had them about 3 weeks I’m wondering if his top ones are coming through as he has been extra chewy again
Oh, the 6 months 'whatever it is'. It was awful for me too, especially after a very long and exhausting 4 month sleep regression I really didn't see it coming. Depending on the resource they would say different things, some consider it another regression but generally they talked about it being a big developmental leap combined with the first bout of separation anxiety...I'm sorry you're both going through it.
There's a Facebook group called beyond sleep training group that has brilliant and evidence based advice on infant and child sleep. The book The gentle sleep book by Sarah Ockwell-Smith is helpful too in order to learn more and know what to expect.
In terms of quick solutions I'm afraid there's not much you can do to change infant sleep, it's messy, it's not linear and there are constant ups and downs but it is the sleep they need, which unfortunately doesn't match our adult sleep schedules.
What helped me the most was lowering my expectations, understanding I wasn't doing anything wrong and that I didn't need to teach my baby to sleep (like they often make you believe) because sleeping is a biological function, not a teachable skill. That freed me from constantly feeling it was all down to me as her mother, it was upsetting feeling that pressure on top of the exhaustion!
It is awful... and not sure if it's the same for you but I remember it also affected my daughter's naps, not only her night sleep, which basically gave me no break. It us super tough, Bubbablue. Try to treat yourself with kindness because you're going through something very hard... thank goodness it's temporary. Btw, your baby thinks sleep is overrated haha that made me chuckle x
I’m lucky if he has half hour naps, and that’s with him falling asleep on me and then putting him in his cot. It’s so hard because my hubby works long hours and has to drive so I do all day and then the ‘night shift’ as I don’t want to risk him having an accident at work.
I downloaded an app called Wonder Weeks and that details a big development leap at 6 months which lasts about 4-5 weeks, starting around 23/24 weeks. As if on cue my LB is upset more than normal, awake every couple of hours wanting cuddles. He's also just discovered rolling all the way over so does this in his sleep and wakes up on his front, which I think scares him as he screams and takes a while to calm when he does. I'd say stick to your routines and persevere, this leap is apparently quite a big one and starts the whole separation anxiety off. Good luck. I've tried napping in the day, when he goes off to sleep i cuddle up with him. Most of the time I don't actually sleep, but its an hour where we snuggle and I relax rather than running round the house trying to sort everything out xx
I’ve got the wonder weeks app too, this is a lot more than his usual leap behaviour though. My boy has decided that he prefers to sleep on his front now that he can fully roll. But if he wakes up he associates tummy time with play time which is when the screaming starts
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