houly wake ups help!!!!

[lori21]

My 7 month old was a great sleeper until 4 monthes old but since then is a nightmare. I don't want to do cc so any suggestions would be great.

Here is what happens

consistent bedtime routine and a lovey. bf to sleep at about 7pm (although even if he falls asleep by self the pattern is no different). Wakes up every hour with either me or dh trying to sssshh him back to sleep, or rock and hum him back to sleep, or if all else fails I feed him. I end up sleeping on a mattress in his room at about 11pm and he will usually sleep for about 3 hours. Then it is hourly wake ups again with me trying to ssshh him, rock him, hum him or feed him back to sleep.

ANy ideas would be appreciated as 3 solid hours a night is just not enough for me!

[MerryMarigold]

put him in your bed. my ds slept in with us and slept quite well, 3-4 hourly wake-ups for feeds. he didn't get into a bad habit either, managed to get him into cot at about 9 mths with couple of days of cc (only for about 30 mins).

[lori21]

Thanks MerryMarigold. I often too have him on the mattress with me but it does not always help. I may persevere though with having him with me as it does mean I get a little bit more sleep!

[MerryMarigold]

Good Luck, Lori. I have also slept with ds on a mattress at times, but he seems to sleep best in double bed with both of us - not sure why. Maybe the single mattress is a bit of a squeeze for us, and so not as relaxed. We often nap together even now in the bed, he sleeps for much lomger when we nap together!

[lori21]

It is funny how they sleep better with someone else asleep with them.

had an awful night last night - awake every hour from 7pm until I gave up at 7am. I tried it with him on the mattress with me but it did not help. My dh gets really worried about him sleeping in / on the bed with us both, although he is often happier like that. Hopefully he will start sleeping better before I go back to work - good job I took extended maternity leave!

[dcb]

i know you said you don't want to do cc - i said the same myself until dh decided enough was enough - but we've just done it and (so far) it seems to have worked ok and it really wasn't that bad. dd is also 7 months - but she's never slept well. up until last week she was waking tewice overnight but then wouldn't settle after 3-4am so i would have to sleep next to her, but even then she didn't sleep well. i was exhausted and had had enough. read all the books - including ncss and considered pu/pd. i never really thought these would work although did use some ideas from ncss. on "holiday" last week we did cc. i usually give in as dh is a gp and needs to be on top form at work and do anything i can for a quiet life/sleep. however she learnt v quickly (3 nights)and although it wasn't easy, it wasn't as heartbreaking as i thought it would be - just more frustration really as i knew she was desperately tired. on our return home it still seems to be ok. she mostly sleeps between 10.30 (after dream feed) and 6 am! this is amazing for us as she has never done this before. she seems more content during the day and also seems to be napping better. of course now i've posted this it will all go haywire....

[MerryMarigold]

Yes, like dcb says, the cc isn't as bad as it sounds, though you do have to WANT to do it. We decided to do it when ds went in his own room at about 9 mths. Before that, he used to stay up with us and go to bed with us. The cc was bad for a few days, sometimes better than other days, but it was worth it in the end, especially to have the evenings back. But before he was that age, I wasn't able to cope with the screaming when he was alone in his room!

He still has 'ups and downs', especially if he is a bit ill or teething and tbh I am not hugely strict, but it doesn't seem to upset him if we occasionally let him fall asleep on us downstairs or bring him into our bed at 3am till the morning or whatever. And he seems very happy and well adjusted, so I guess that's a good thing! Also, found that if he is overtired, he won't go to sleep at night.

[lori21]

Mmmmm, I think we will do the crying thing in either half term or Easter Holidays if things don't improve. Did have a better nights sleep last night. DH ssshhhed him on the walkie talkie until 11pm,then I fed him. When he next woke up I offered water and did not feed him until 2am. He then slept till nearly 5am when I took him into my bed as he would not settle. He fell back to sleep till 7am when I fed him and he slept again till 8am. Not a huge improvement but having a longer sleep than 1hour is great and I don't feel too bad on it! My DH is a teacher and as you say dcb he needs to be on top form too so I do anything to keep lo quiet!

Lets hope I don't have to go down the crying route but I am coming round to the idea.

[amijee]

some and join us in the sleep is for the weak thread!

My 6 mth old ds is also waking hrly and I am at work! ( and a hugely stressful one!)

We are thinking about doing cc in a few weeks - I just can't see how it will all stop without. I, too, try to put him back to sleep without the boob but at the end of the day - that's what he wants and that's what he gets!

keep us posted of your progress

take care x