What could be wrong with his sleeping???

Hello

My boy has always been a good sleeper and started sleeping through at about 6 months of age but at about 9 months of age (2 months ago) he has started waking 2-3 times through the night. It starts off as a whinge and sometimes he puts himself back to sleep but most times he doesnt.

When I get in there he is up on his knees with his arms tucked up underneath him. He still has his eyes closed but is crying sometimes screaming. Coincidentally, this night waking started almost the same day as he started crawling. My initial reaction was that I needed to increase his solids because he was probably burning a lot more energy now that he was on the move. This didnt help.

When I go into him at night he doesnt always take the bottle so I dont think he is hungry.

My next thought was that because he is crawling, he is moving out from under his covers and he might be getting cold as he moves all around his cot and most times I find him in the most weird positions.

Does anyone have any tips on how to keep a crawling baby under the covers at night??? I'm hoping this is just a phase but I'm 6 months pregnant and I really need the extra sleep so any tips on how to extradite this phase would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!!!

all i can really suggest is to use a sleeping bag- like a grobag- to stop him from getting cold...

I hope using a Gro-bag fixes the issue for you..
My DS is doing the exact same thing, but still does it whether he is in his gro-bag or not. Also still does it if he is in bed with me.

Thanks Rainforest and Marlene. I'll try using his gro-bag (if it still fits him!!!), thank you both for your suggestions. I know when he was younger he wouldnt sleep in one though because he hated being restricted but we will see how he goes now that he is a bit older. I think it is the only thing we havent tried so far.

Thanks!

Did the grobag help?
does he have tummy ache? DS sometimes curls up like that if he has a tummy ache - i usually cuddle himand rub his tummy and he sometimes has wind and then feels better and goes back to sleep.
eta just saw you only posted about the grobag today so wouldnt have tried it yet - hope it helps!

Tonydale, my DS has been doing the exact same thing for the last week or so. He sleeps reasonably well until about 12 pm and then wakes up hourly with a whingy cry for a couple of seconds, self settles and this keeps repeating itself hourly till approximately 5.30 when he just wakes up and plays in his cot. It too started around the time he started crawling. We tried feeding more or less for tea, didn't make a difference, he is not too interested in feeding when he wakes up during the night and it doesn't make him sleep any better. We have tried different combinations of jarmies; hasn't made any difference for us.

Now I am thinking it might be that he sleeps too much during the day, since his daysleeps have improved out of sight since he started to wake up during the night. So for the next few days I will reduce his day sleeps to see if that will make a difference. I am at my wits end, because the biggest stretch of sleep I get is about 3 hours before 12pm and then it is down to about 45 minutes at a time....

Sorry I can't help you; just wanted to give you a :hug: and hope our bubs will be going back to sleeping soundly through the night soon!!

It seems that our bubs are similar ages and doing similar things!
My DS will sleep like a champ until midnight (mind you getting him to sleep is a different story, we rarely get him down in his cot before 9pm!) and then will wake up hourly after that. I don't think it's hunger either, I too am getting close to breaking point as this has been going on for around 3 months and I am exhausted!
I hope we all find some answers soon, hugs to you all going through this!

Hope the sleeping bag works for you.
Otherwise, all I can think of is that he might just want some reassurance... Natty goes through phases like this where she'll wake 1-2 times a night crying. She goes back to sleep within 10 minutes if I pat her bottom. Will your DS be comforted in the cot?
Natty has stopped doing this for the moment (touch wood!) so the phases come and go...
:hug: Sleepy vibes to your little man!

This is something that's going to sound a bit silly and not very helpful, but hmmmm....well

I found that everytime Darcy learned something new, it would take her a couple of months to get over it mentally. ie crawling - distrupted sleep, walking, and now TTing - back to crap sleeping. Her little brain was still processing the development and it was hard for her to settle down.

Sleeping bag never worked for me, just dressed her warmer.

But she always went back to some kind of 'normal' after a little while.

Wow, thank you all for your replies ..... I found something useful in each and every one of them.

Rainforest and Preagainpan - I used the gro-bag for the past couple of nights and it didnt seem to help so maybe he isnt cold afterall ???

Esme - You have just described my DS to a T. Fraser has also started sleeping really well during the day but he has swapped his big sleep from the morning to the afternoon which might have an effect of his night time sleeping. The only problem is that I have tried in the past to decrease his day sleeps and it causes more problems than ever. I shouldnt complain too much after reading your post because Fraser only really gets up twice (about midnight and about 3.30am) so at least I get some sleep but being pregnant at the same time doesnt help!!!

Adkins - It is strange because I cant comfort him in the cot but DH can! The other morning DH went in at 5am (Fraser's usual waking time) and he just patted his bottom and he went back to sleep until 7am. He has NEVER slept in that late before. Yep, we have trouble getting him to sleep at night too (just in the past 2 weeks though) but he is usually down by 7pm (after about 45 minutes of crying and sometimes screaming).

Snacks - That thought crossed my mind too, maybe dreams or nightmares?? The fact that he isnt interested in food made me think that maybe all the storms we have had lately (we live in Brisbane) may have scared him a bit and is scared to sleep by himself??

Kim - Hi matey !!! Thanks for the reassurance that things will return to normal. I know it has only been a few weeks but I get visions of rocking to sleep a 17-year-old some nights! Your thoughts on the matter dont seem silly at all - I'm open to all suggestions! I really think crawling is the culprit because he moves all around his cot during the night so I dont think he is sleeping very deeply at all. I can go in there every 15 minutes and he will be in a different position every time.

What would I do without BB??? I often say to Mum "How did you do it without the internet". I think we'd all feel very alone and "what am I doing wrong" all the time without BB.

Thanks again for all your suggestions. I appreciate them all. Looks like we all just need to ride out the storm and look forward to good sleeping again shortly.

Tonydale, the last couple of days I have reduced his day sleeps to 1 hr between 10 and 11 and 1 hr between 2 and 3 (have to wake him after one hour). And... he slept a lot better at night! Went back to waking up once during the night for a feed (appr. 3am) and then straight back to sleep until 6am!!! (Has fingers crossed; hoping not to jinx it with this post....). He still wakes up a couple of times in the early evening, but that is when we are awake anyway. Before this I was never able to stretch DS between sleeps as he would get overtired and impossible to settle, but now he just goes to sleep without too much drama (even easier than before). Maybe it is worthwile trying again?

Jasper used to scream a lot too when I put him to bed for the night and I noticed that he was just way too awake to be put to bed. At the moment I am putting his bedtime back by about 30 mins or until he starts to show tired signs. I have the feeling he is nearly ready for one day sleep as he can stay awake for about 4.5 hours at a time now. Will wait a bit longer, see how we go with a later bedtime for a while (easier with the summer heat too).

By the way; does anyone know the sleep requirements for 9-12 month olds?? Would it be too early to go to one day sleep?

Dayl, sorry to hijack your thread but I too desperately need some answers. I am sorry you are going through this awful stage with Fraser's sleeping. We should get Madeleine and Fraser together every day for play dates instead of fortnightly and maybe they'll sleep better! LOL.

Ok, on a serious note, I too need some help.

My DD sleeps well until 1am and then wakes, sitting up in her bed crying. I change her and give her a cuddle and pop her back down. Then I will walk out when I am SURE she is asleep. 5 minutes later she wakes up again screaming. So I repeat the process. In the end, I give up and bring her into bed with me. This has been happening the last 3 nights only. Before that she would sleep in her bed fine, would wake but settle herself and sleep through until 5.30am.

Even last night, I gave her nurofen because I thought she may have had sore teeth (she was whingey yesterday). Didn't help. I even give her a dreamfeed at 10pm. Doesn't help.

She sleeps in a nightie but is not cold, never sleeps under blankets, sometimes I have to put the fan on, she is a sweaty sleeper.

So...her day sleeps are for 40 mins to 1 hour twice a day, never any more than that.

What can I do, I too am exhausted as when I bring her into bed with me, she'll kick, toss and turn and it constantly wakes me up.

Queenbee - DS when through a stage of doing this a couple of months ago - he would be up from 1-2am most nights (or 3-4am). We have started putting him to bed later & that seems to have helped him - he now goes to bed about 8:30-9pm. I'm not sure if it's the later bedtime, or if he just grew out of it, but he generally sleeps until 5-6:30am now.

Ezz, oh ok. Well she won't stay up until then. Gets really whingey and falls asleep straight away, around 6.30pm-7.00pm. Any suggestions on trying to keep her up? She doesn't seem tired ATM but she did have a 2.5 hour sleep today which is a first in a long time.

Same thing has been happening here, although its been going on since about 6.5mths.

Now she wakes at 1am and around 4am.... i fed her both or one time.
She was worse, with the constant crying and wimpering in her sleep, Trillian suggested that we have a smaller dinner and low GI foods and this has really helped.
Her main meal is at lunch time 12pm and her dinner (usually a multigrain sandwich with avacardo or hommus) is at 4.30-5pmish... she goes to bed at 7.30.

She was worse when she went to bed later - use to go to bed at about 8.30-9pm
I have tried to impliment the sleep/feed times that were suggested in the save our sleep book (i dont have it, someone told me the times) This has also helped, although she needs the night times feeds (probably cos she is BF), but the last week i have only had to feed her at 1am and not at 4am, although she still wakes.
The times are
7am get up, milk feed
8am solids
9.30am sleep
11am milk feed
12 solids
1.30pm sleep
Milk feed when she wakes or around 3pm
5pm - solids
5.30pm bath
6-6.30 milk feed
7-7.30pm bed.

It took a while to get her to this (2 weeks) as i didnt want to force her into this pattern, just kept busy until these times for the feeds and she is now doing well on it.
She has a cold atm so we have gone backwards and Im the same as you queenbee she is in our bed when i am too tired, but i seem to get les sleep - especially as she likes sleeping on me

HTH :)

Dayl, Fraser doesn't have solids too late does he? I'm thinking he is having some dinner with you guys, just picking? Sammiejane made a good post about solids. I give Madeleine her dinner around 4.00pm. Maybe I shouldn't be and seeing if that makes a difference.

She loves her milk, 260mL per feed x 4 a day...I think she is a milk girl more than a solids girl...is anyone else's Bub like this? Sorry Dayl to hijack again, I too am experiencing the same things.

QB - Yep, I found very early on that he doesnt tolerate solids very well too late in the afternoon. His main meal is at 2pm and he just has custard or oatmeal or similar) at about 5pm and a bottle as he is going to bed at 6.30pm.

Oooops, he just woke up, so I'll BBL ......

I cut out Madeleine's dreamfeed last night and gave her pasta at around 5pm and some dessert around 5.30pm. Then bath and bed at around 7.30pm. She woke at 10.00pm but I re-settled her. She slept right through until 5am!!! Maybe she just needed filling up OR maybe the milk in her tummy that late caused her a pain in the tummy? Unless it is just because she is sleeping with aircon on. Ahhhh trial and error!