6 months old - night sleep issues...

Does anyone have any answers why my DD is not sleeping from 6pm-10pm then will eventually drop off only to wake sometimes at 11pm and maybe 4am but she settles quickly. She will have a bottle, then solids and a bath, then bed between 6-7pm. Then she will sleep for half hour and wake, sometimes screaming every half hour.

Through the day, she will have 2 x sleeps. AM is about 1hr, sometimes 1.5hrs and PM is the same. At times, she will want 3 x sleeps through the day.

Her gums are fleshy and red and she seems to be getting her top teeth, this has been happening for about 6 weeks now, just red cheeks, irritable etc. In my BABY LOVE book though, it states that teething does not cause sleep issues. She is also very aware of her surroundings now, trying to say Dadda and Mumma and is becoming a real little person with her own little personality, could it be developmental?

Just wondering whether anyone else has experienced this behaviour at night.

Thanks for your help.

have you tried doing solids say around 4pm, bath at 6pm then bottle? may be enough to relax her with the warm bath and warm milk!
your doing so well belinda!! 6 months is also a big developmental time as well

I forgot to add, I've been keeping a log book and just jotting rough things down, since I've been on this new sleep routine. It seems like a pattern. She seems to wake around 7.30pm on average and not settle until 9.30-10.00pm, I've just looked back in my book this morning. Hmmmm....do you think I should just get her up until we go to bed?

AJP, I might try solids at 4pm then. Yes I'm thinking it might be developmental. Thanks for another tip!

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In my BABY LOVE book though, it states that teething does not cause sleep issues.

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Oh my lord - there goes that books credibility! LMAO. Teething is the main culprit of sleepless nights around here!

It is very normal for a baby to wake frequently. Both my babies have had 'late' bedtimes (9-10pm) it's just the way they were/are. It's only recently that DS has started going to bed around 8 (7.30 if I'm lucky hehe). That evening time has always been our best time for playing and bonding coz daddy's home and we can all relax and spend time together.. I say enjoy it :)

Babies go through so many changes in their first year, growing, development, teething, etc etc.. they can need extra comfort at these times, or extra feeds. It's completely normal. i have found my kids have more wakeful/unsettled times when reaching a milestone like crawling too.

I will add my kids have always woken frequently for feeds, so we haven't ever really 'slept through' so the unsettled times I'm talking about are very frequent wakings and being very upset.

If you are coping with the waking, then just try to ride it out. Things change all the time with bubs. Only you know what your baby needs, and it sounds like your meeting her needs very well :) Don't worry about things she 'should' be doing.. like going to bed at 7pm :)

Liz, perhaps I didn't explain myself properly. I would love if she stayed up with us!!! But she wants to sleep by 6pm! I don't "have to have her in bed by 7pm" if you know what I mean, that's definately not the issue here. She rubs her eyes constantly, she whinges and is generally so tired by this stage. After her afternoon PM sleep, I make sure she doesn't exert too much energy in her jumperoo or anything so she doesn't get tired either and can stay up. But she's falling asleep by 6pm like I said.

When I do re-settle her every hour after 6pm, she'll settle quickly but wake up again. That's fine but I have actually TRIED getting her up to sit with us and she starts rubbing eyes again, gets whingey etc. So it seems to me like she wants to sleep but can't. KWIM?

Aah yep - I know what you mean :) Have you tried playing music in her room, so there's a kind of constant noise? Perhaps the 'awake' household is disturbing her? It's a tough one. Has she always done it? or is it recent? It could be developmental and could change again next week.

I usually find by the time I've worked out what's causing the restlessness and have a plan ready that it's all changed again LOL.

id just ride this phase out belinda,
in that i mean keep doing what your doing, you know what she wants and thats obviously sleep, she jsut needs some help from you for teh first few hours to resettle!

Liz, yes she has classical music playing in her room, it sounds really relaxing. It is recent, since the new sleep routine has been implemented, maybe the last 10 days. Before this, she used to sleep in her bouncer in the lounge room with us whilst we would watch TV and she would sleep from say 7pm until we went to bed at about 10pm. Quite comfortably actually. She hasn't been in her bouncer though now for about 6 weeks. Before this routine in the last 10 days, she was sleeping in my arms!

Maybe it is developmental, hard to say isn't it? LOL ;)

AJP, true. Just wondering whether anyone else experienced this really. First time Mum and all :redface:

Hmm.. perhaps it's too quiet for her then? Maybe stick a tv in there and let it blare so she thinks she's in the loungeroom with you! LOL.

We went through stages where DS would only sleep in his pram, and it was handy coz I could jsut quickly rock him back to sleep if he woke. Can't remember when that stopped - but it obviously did. I just did whatever worked at the time :)

It is hard. You don't sound terribly worried about it, so that's good. I'm sure she'll settle soon :)

Liz, yes maybe you are right!! Unless I just turn music up!

Not too worried, just wondering whether it's normal because I'm a first time Mum and everything and this is definately the place to ask!

We have been experimenting a bit to try to help DS to sleep more soundly too - because he has been doing the frequent waking in the evening thing. The last two nights, we actually cut out his dinner solids & that has made the world of difference. The past two nights, he has woken up for a dummy at 12 & a feed at 4:30am - much better!!

Also, I found he was better if I made sure he had been up for 2-3 hours before going to bed - so I had to make his afternoon nap earlier, or put him to bed later.

I guess it's just a matter of experimenting & seeing what works. But this worked for us.

Ezz, I haven't given her solids at night for a while now (oh apart from 1 or 2 nights last week and she was unsettled then too). I thought I would give the solids a good go again last night to see if she slept better but nooooo....she screamed for 2 hours!

Thanks for that, I guess it is all a matter of experimentation.

My ds goes thru these stages! I know what youre going thru!!
It does get better. I found he seemed to adopt a soothing song and needs to hear it just to settle : Beethovens Fur Elise. (and to add to the playlist now - Why Worry and Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits.) Its seems to help.

Teething could def be a cause, as could hunger/overful, thirsty, growth, noise, no noise... the list is endless!

Good luck to you!

Mmmmm... DD also used to go through stages where she would wake more frequently. Still does every now and then. it could be teething (don't believe them when they say it has no effect. Some bubs sail through it, some have real troubles). It could be developmental. Around this age they get more mobile and find it harder to settle.
it could also be that she just needs some time to adjust to her new routine. It sounds like you have move things around a little for her. So it's all a bit different for her and it will take a little time until she feels comfortable and safe with her new routine.

Saša

Update, my DD has an upper respiratory infection, just red throat, no bacteria though so no need for antibiotics. She will go to bed at 6.30pm at present as she is REALLY tired and then wake at 7pm screaming (this is usual lately) so last night, I picked her up and she slept on me in front of TV for 2 hours (she let me hold her in lounge room this time without the continual crying and rubbing of eyes) and then I put her to bed at 9pm and she seemed fine, only waking at 3.30am and settling quickly then up at 8am.

Tonight she also slept on me for 2 hours and she's been in bed for about 30 minutes so far. She likes the sleeping on me anyway so I hope that is not confusing her routine. Love her sleeping on me though, it's lovely :)

It's gorgeous when they sleep on you! I was going to say my DD did the exact same thing as yours for about 8 weeks. And absolutely no explanation whatsoever! Ithought about teething, hunger, hot, cold, tired, not tired, noisy, no noise, comfort and on and on through every scenario only to come up with NOTHING. At first she woke every night about an hour after going to sleep happily and easily and then over the weeks it got later and later that she woke. No it is about 10.30/11pm and she goes back to sleep now within minutes of a feed. But before that she was awake 3 to 4 hours nearly every night. So it has gotten later and later without us doing anything. We even went to a sleep school ( a gentle one...) to no avail! I just couldn't find an explanation so I have put it down to developmental. One of the first times she did it I thought it was teething so off I went to a late night chemist for baby nurofen, gave her the dose and it still took her an hour to get to sleep! Hope little one's throat is ok.

i am going through exacually the same thing , we're about to hit 7 months and this has been going on for 5 weeks .
like you i have tried everything , even co sleeping and trying to introduce a dummy . we all ready have 11 teeth so yes it is possiable teething but she has been handeling this well .
we have a similar routine to yours as well . so maybe its just a wonder time , but its bordering on me going insane with lack of sleep . my dd is waking every hour through the night .

i hope somthing changes soon for both ours & babies sake !

Little Miss Chez, you have chosen a beautiful name for your DD, you have great taste ;-)
I know how sleep deprivation can get you to the end of your tether. I've been there a few times and I'm not proud of it. My DD was a great sleeper mostly (well, in my eyes she was) but she went through stages when she wasn't. And there seemed no consistent explanation. Sometimes it was teething, sometimes it was developmental, sometimes it was seperation anxiety, most times, I have no clue. The worst was around 10-12 months. And believe me, I was going insane, ask my DH.
Please keep telling yourelf: This too shall pass! It feels like there is no end in sight, but it is going to get better. I guarantee it!

Belinda, I looooove DD sleeping on me. Some nights, I just lay in bed with her sleeping on my chest (this is how she slept or the first 2 months of her life). But, at nearly 1, she was getting so heavy that I would wake up after a few hours and feel a little short of breath. Most times I could gently roll her off my chest and into the crook of my arm and she would keep sleeping there. It is so nice to have those cuddles and the deep connection you get from this. BUT, only as long as you feel good about it. If you start to resent it, it is time to try and gently change things around.

Saša

Little Miss Chez,
great to find your post as it seems we are going through exactly the same thing! My girl was born 1 day after yours and changed from a great little sleeper to a great little waker (sometimes waking 1/2 hourly, ie not really sleeping much at all!) at about the same time as you described... about 5 weeks before the 7 month mark.

We are still struggling with sleep patterns here at the 7 1/2 mark... I am clinging to the thought that this too will pass... have things improved in your house?

(Sorry to hijack the post - just had to respond to someone with a mirror situation!!)

Mmm you can add me to the "me too!" list. DS is 6.5 months and has been wakeful for weeks now. I'm so interested to read the OP say between 6-10pm at night. This is his WORST time also. Plus he wants to feed 3 hourly through the night :doh:

I think it is getting better in that evening period though. He wakes constantly if he's in his cot but he's in our bed now and he seems so settled there...

Don't know what will happen when he starts crawling though! Doh!

Anyway it's nice to hear it might be just the age/stage thing. :wall::pray:

Rahja, when he starts crawling you could get a bed rail. I used that for quite some time, although I did transfer DD into her cot after she crawled out of bed once :-(
She still joins us in the early morning, some time between 5am and 6:30am and I love those cuddles. Plus it has the added bonus of another hour or 2 of sleep.