ARGGHHH he just wont sleep!!!

xmaslolly76

My wonderful little bubs (5 1/2months) has suddenly started not sleeping at all he has gone from pretty much sleeping through (maybe waking once for his dummy) to waking every half hr or so and being a mardy little so and so. it is completely wearing me and my partner out i just dont know what to do.

We have tried thickning up his last feed, giving him a dream feed, putting him to bed later, putting him to bed earlier leaving him to fall asleep downstairs with us, the bathing feeding bed routine and i even tried controlled crying for a week but that seemed to make things worse.

He has started weaning recently and all has been going really well. He does seem to have gotten very hungry at night now and has gone from having no bottle until 7am to demanding 1 if not 2 feeds a night.

I know its probably only a faze and he will settle down again but i had to get it off my chest before all my hair falls out with the stress.

Who is this child and what happened to my happy little angel

ragz_2

Have you considered possibly he is suffering from a little colic/tummy trouble, perhaps brought on by early weaning? If he's waking that often I'd have thought there's actually something distressing him rather than it jsut being a difficult phase.

robin_banks

Teething ?, sounds about right for the age.

brians_daughter

Hi there! I know where you are coming from, my lo is 14 months and has never slept through so know what the sleepless nights can do to you!

My lo was awake more once we started weaning. How long have you been weaning? This upset my lo massively re sleep etc.

We found the follwing (i know they are all different but you never know)

Go back to old routine re bath bed etc - he will be wondering whats going on if you are chopping and changing

Is he teething?

If he is on 1 meal a day try splitting it - we did. gave 1/2 amount in am and then other half about 6pm, bottle 7 then bed

What is he having for his 1st foods? Baby rice is best by far. Fruit and veg can upset a baby when they are new to weaning - then gradually you can start to add a little apple or corrot to the rice and in a period of a week or so decrease the rice so its 'real' food with nurtitional value

Has weaning effected his poop at all? may be constapaited or the opposite

Is is still taking as much milk as before, nor dropped a bottle or anything?

Are you giving lots more fluids in form of water etc? my lo started to drink more water when i started weaning

Why is he waking? ie is it for a feed, a cuddle, does he seem in discomfort?

If all else fails take the solids off him for a week -10 days and see if he returns to normal.

Although he is 5.5 months, it still quite early - peadiatrics are going to start to recommend that babies arent weaned til 9 months - BTW i am not judging you here, i weaned my lo at 17 weeks on the advice of a peadiatrician as my lo had lactose issues, so please dont think i am knocking you - i am not! Just trying to assist!

HTH

mumslave

If he is having two feeds in the night, it may be that he is not taking enough in the day as a result to keep him going come the following night. I would cut back on the night feeds as much as you can, and push the day feeds up as much as you can/he will take. split feeding can help there.

I wont comment on the weaning thing, save to say there will be VERY few babies happy to wait till 9 months to be weaned. Even 6 months is a misson. All mine were before 6 months and this one will be too. When you begin weaning though, its important to remember that its just tastes at this age, milk is still the most important food source, so at his age, you should be giving all his milk first, then offering solids. By the time he is 7 months, you would give half the milk, then solids then offer the rest of the milk. By 8-9 months, solids first.

If he is waking for the dummy, I would consider replacing it with something larger. Mine had dummies, by around 4 months I had swapped it for a cuski: http://cuski.co.uk , but any baby comforter would do. Keep putting it in the cot with your wee one (even place a corner in babies mouth if baby is willing) at sleep times only. Alternatively, ditch the dummy and brazen it out for a while.

I brought all mine up with a set routine, that never waivered unless they were sick. So bedtime was always bath bottle bed. Its easy to start changing your routine when your baby starts going through a phase, but personally I think its the last thing you should consider changing, only when all else has failed.

Finally I agree with the stomach upset comment. If he is eating well, but suddenly wanting feeds in the night, it could be to comfort him because of pain in his stomach. I would consider cutting out weaning for 3 days or so, just offer milk and see if this shows improvement.

brians_daughter

mumslave wrote: »

I wont comment on the weaning thing, save to say there will be VERY few babies happy to wait till 9 months to be weaned. Even 6 months is a misson. All mine were before 6 months and this one will be too.

I agree, my 1st was weaned at 12 weeks, but that was the 'norm' back then. When I saw peadiatrician (sp?) with ds2 he advised early weaning but did say that WHO etc are going to be introducing guidelines saying 9months is the earliest you should wean.... these people obviously dont have kids with appetites like mine do!

csh_2

xmaslolly76 wrote: »

My wonderful little bubs (5 1/2months) has suddenly started not sleeping at all he has gone from pretty much sleeping through (maybe waking once for his dummy) to waking every half hr or so and being a mardy little so and so. it is completely wearing me and my partner out i just dont know what to do.

We have tried thickning up his last feed, giving him a dream feed, putting him to bed later, putting him to bed earlier leaving him to fall asleep downstairs with us, the bathing feeding bed routine and i even tried controlled crying for a week but that seemed to make things worse.

He has started weaning recently and all has been going really well. He does seem to have gotten very hungry at night now and has gone from having no bottle until 7am to demanding 1 if not 2 feeds a night.

I know its probably only a faze and he will settle down again but i had to get it off my chest before all my hair falls out with the stress.

Who is this child and what happened to my happy little angel

Hi XL, Kieren is the same just now (16wks) and I'm putting it down to the 4 mth growth spurt. He's slept all night from about 6 wks so its been hard getting up in the night again!
Hes not ready to be weaned but is starving for milk all day! Hes on bottles every 2 hrs at the moment and a 7oz bottle at 3am.
Hes pretty restless all night even when asleep. I'm expecting this to last at least a week, maybe 2.

ETA going by the DOB in your sig hes 20.5 weeks? Not 5.5mths so a lateish 4 mth growth spurt could be likely.

kindofagilr

mumslave wrote: »

I wont comment on the weaning thing, save to say there will be VERY few babies happy to wait till 9 months to be weaned. Even 6 months is a misson. All mine were before 6 months and this one will be too. When you begin weaning though, its important to remember that its just tastes at this age, milk is still the most important food source, so at his age, you should be giving all his milk first, then offering solids. By the time he is 7 months, you would give half the milk, then solids then offer the rest of the milk. By 8-9 months, solids first.

.

He's not 9 months? he was born in Sept last year so just 4 months?

mumslave

brians_daughter wrote: »

I agree, my 1st was weaned at 12 weeks, but that was the 'norm' back then. When I saw peadiatrician (sp?) with ds2 he advised early weaning but did say that WHO etc are going to be introducing guidelines saying 9months is the earliest you should wean.... these people obviously dont have kids with appetites like mine do!

The only way I could see a baby lasting till 9 months with no solids would be for the parents to be feeding hourly/two hourly day and night with milk. As if parents arent under enough pressure with a newborn.

My first born I was actually advised to wean her at 3 and half months. She had silent reflux and solids were meant to strengthen her weak stomach valve, plus stop things coming back up on her so easily. My second was on seven 8 ounce bottles by 4 months and began waking regularly in the night for more and my last baby, being a he, was weaned at 3 and half months too, starvin marvin that he was.

I dont really believe early weaning is the issue, but how its gone about. Although mine were all weaned earlier than is now recommended, they had no dairy/gluten and so on before the age of six months, just baby rice, apple, pear and carrot puree.

mumslave

kindofagilr wrote: »

He's not 9 months? he was born in Sept last year so just 4 months?

I think you must be confusing something...my reply about the 9 months thing was to brians daughter, not the OP and her baby.

brians_daughter

mumslave wrote: »

She had silent reflux and solids were meant to strengthen her weak stomach valve, plus stop things coming back up on her so easily.

Snap my 2nd one had reflux (along with lactose issues). Its awful for them isnt it ?