6 month old baby - no sleep

[hollie_1]

Hi there,

I am desperate for help with my 6 month old boy.

For the last 8 weeks, he has been waking 5-10 times a night, sometimes 10-15 times a night. It can be hourly, half hourly, or every 20 minutes.

I hear him fussing, this can go on for 15+ minutes, then eventually he starts crying. I go into his room, I don't speak to him or put the light on, but I put his blankets back over him and give him his dummy. Sometimes this is enough and he will go back to sleep, but at least 5 times during the night, I will have to wait outside his door as he is wriggling, fussing, sometimes talking, wrestling with his blankets. I wait for a good 5-10 minutes before going back in and repeating the process.

Things have become so bad that I've gone back to giving him a bottle during the night, which we had phased out about a month ago. Sometimes this helps, and he will sleep for around 3 hours afterwards. But more often than not, it doesn't work and he continues to wake frequently.

Sometimes when it gets too much, I bring him into our bed, just so I can get a little more sleep.

I did try to let him just cry one night, which he did for 30-45 minutes, and he showed no signs of calming down, so I went and comforted him. I am not comfortable with letting him cry for long periods of time.

I have gone past the end of my tether. I am managing to get sleep in hourly or half hourly times in the night, but that's it. I feel so low now, I just do not know what to do. I cry every night as I feel I just cannot handle it anymore.

Rocco is generally a very good, calm and chilled baby through the day. He mostly goes down for his naps well. I put him into his cot awake and leave him there. He does go to sleep within a few minutes usually, but sometimes he can be wriggling and talking for up to 45 minutes. He will then start crying, at which point I go up and put his blankets back on and give him his dummy, and he will then go to sleep. This applies to when I put him to bed in the evening as well.

We started weaning a few weeks ago which he has taken very well to.

I did presume that this was just a developmental stage he was going through, but we're getting on for 2 months of this now, and it is showing absolutely no signs of improvement whatsoever.

I feel like I cannot cope with the lack of sleep anymore, and am absolutely desperate for help and advice.

I will appreciate any help you have to offer.

Thank you.

[sootysgirl]

I know exactly how you feel, my youngest is the youngest of six fantastic children, I could sit here and give you loads of tips but my youngest is still in our bed at 18 months lol, I don't mind now too much as I know it's just because she loves me and all children are very different and she just needs the extra I also know she'll grow out of it eventually but in the mean time I'm telling you that you're a great mum and you're not alone, this'll hopefully cheer you up a bit keep going you're doing great x

stolensleep.com/2014/09/27/...

[NCTcharity]

Here's all our information on babies' sleeping patterns: nct.org.uk/parenting/your-b...

[babesinbrum]

there can be many reasons as to why a baby wakes up continuously through the night. One of the most common ones could be the fact that he's probably feeling irritated by teething symptoms or etc...

As a mum of 2 ive definetely being there & with my LO who has just turned 11 mths old she is so used to co-sleeping with me at this point she "most of the time" knows when i leave the room as i hear her moaning and almost calling me to come back.

The best advice i can say is just to keep doing what you're doing & eventually his sleep pattern will gradually become longer & longer to hopefully sleeping through the night ( Finger's crossed)

xx

[charleybeaar]

My daughter used to fuss about blankets so I brought her a sleeping bag, I also like to burn lavender (lavender oil and water in a metal pot with a candle underneath) and that often soothe's her! You may also want to let him cry a little.. I hate my daughter crying but I got to the point I could not get up every few minutes. After all she was safe and warm and the only problem was myself fussing her!

[Hidden]

I second the idea about sleeping bags. They are fantastic and much easier than blankets. We have one made of merino wool (from a company on the internet called Cambridge Baby) which I like because I worry less if lo is too hot or too cold as wool is breathable and so regulates temperature really well. We also use white noise - if you don't it might be worth giving it a try you can download apps with lots of different noises and there are also machines. It has to be quite deep and rumbly and louder than you would think to make a difference. I do notice a difference with my lo's sleep - she sleeps for longer stretches when we have it on. I think it calms her when she wakes between sleep cycles so she goes back to sleep without me. We co-sleep so my other half and I have both had to learn to sleep with the white noise! Also, as you are not happy with the cry it out methods, have you read 'No cry sleep solution' by Elizabeth Pantley (not that it's easy to read anything with the amount of sleep you're getting...!) but is is a really helpful book with lots of tips and a system for improving sleep. Her methods are gentle and do take a bit of time but at least you would have a plan. Good luck!!

[adeline123]

I have no helpful advice for you but wanted to show my support for you.your babies sleep sounds tricky but you indicate weaning is going well. During your moments of exhaustion try to remember the areas in which your baby is excelling. My baby sleeps very well and I use a sleeping bag as she wiggles a lot in her sleep.

[Mummy_Pandaa]

My son was doing exactly the same, turns out he is teething. Check your little one, maybe he's having the same issue? I give my boy a sachet of aston and parsons teething granules at night just before bed, and he sleeps so much better.