6 month sleep regression!? Sleep issues and advice needed!

mierasm1

My LO is 6 months and has been sleeping through the night since he was 8 weeks.  The past five nights, he falls asleep fine, but after about an hour of sleeping in his crib, he screams at the top of his lungs. I go in and pat his back or turn on his music and he is in fine the first couple of times this happens, however it continues to happen every 20-45 minutes all night. He will scream and if I pick him up he usually stops, but will start again the second I lay him down in his crib.He naps fine all day long in his crib and has no issues during the day being in there.  He eats 9 oz before bed so isn't hungry and I always check his diaper, temperature, etc. and nothing is wrong. We have 2 night lights on so it isn't pitch black and a noise machine.  I try to let him cry it out, but usually only last 5 minutes or so because he is screaming so loud it sounds like he is in pain.  This happened 4-5 times from 8-10 last night so I finally brought him in our bed and he slept fine. He did wake up once at midnight screaming, but it was in his sleep so I unzipped his sleeper and tickled him and he stopped crying and went right back to sleep.  I don't want to create bad habits by having him sleep in our bed all the time, but can't stand to hear him screaming ALL night long. I am wondering if this is temporary or if this will keep happening.  Has anyone else experienced a similar situation and what did you do to help it? He is such a happy baby and so full of laughter all day long that I can't figure out why all of a sudden this happening.

 

 

thehillsarealive0000

That is tough. Sleep regressions are normal and he will probably get back to normal soon. Is he teething?

mierasm1

He drools and puts everything in his mouth, but never seems in pain. He has no teeth yet, so it's hard to tell. He has been drooling and biting everything for last couple of months so I don't think he is.  I just don't have the heart to let him scream for long periods of time because the more he screams the more worked up he gets and it's even harder for him to fall back. When he wakes up from naps or the morning he never cries either. He will play in his crib for awhile and gets excited for his mobile, so him screaming is definetly not somethign I am used to as he is typically very good at self soothing (until last week).  I'm just at a loss of what to do.

 

 

mben1119

Could be teething pain, or a growth spurt. Have you tried feeding him to see if that helps?

IDreamInPink

Same thing happening here! 6 months hit, and it has been downhill at night. I am the "Ferber Failure" Momma from the earlier posts.

I just try to keep telling myself that he isn't going to go to college waking up screaming every two hours... So eventually it has to pass... Right!!??

Icarusalsoflew

My little man did the same. He had been sleeping 10-12 hours a night from about two months and in the past couple of weeks has been waking up every 1-2 hours crying. He can be soothed back to sleep typically. He is absolutely teething, though. His two bottom teeth have broken through.

mierasm1

He eats 9 oz at 8 so I know when he wakes up screaming at 9 he isn't hungry. I have fed him a few times between 11 and 12 which calms him, but don't want to start having him need night time feedings since he hasn't needed a bottle at night for a few months now. Plus when he wakes up at 7 he plays for an hour before even wanting a bottle.  He also has never taken a pacifier so unfortunately a pacifier won't help any.

 

 

TabClark

This has happened to us too! If he sleep in bed with us we get a good night of sleep, if he is in his crib we get no sleep. We feel like we don't have a choice. We both work full time (long hours), so we need our sleep.

mierasm1

Same for us. DId it eventually stop or is it still happening for you?

emdaly

Could it be gas or upset tummy? Has he always had the 9oz at the same time? Maybe try to break out into smaller feedings? Good luck!

mierasm1

He has eaten 9 oz at the same exact time for the last 2-3 months. He is 21 lbs at 6 months so is a big, hungry boy. We haven't introduced any new solids in the last few weeks nor has anything else changed. so I can't guess what would be causing gas or a upset stomach.  He falls asleep eating the bottle between 7-8 and used to sleep until 7 am so not don't really want to change his routine too much.

 

 

mierasm1

Thanks! I will try tylenol in his bottle at night and see how it goes. He throws up the teething gel when I tried that. Wish  me luck!

mben1119

mierasm1:

He eats 9 oz at 8 so I know when he wakes up screaming at 9 he isn't hungry. I have fed him a few times between 11 and 12 which calms him, but don't want to start having him need night time feedings since he hasn't needed a bottle at night for a few months now. Plus when he wakes up at 7 he plays for an hour before even wanting a bottle.  He also has never taken a pacifier so unfortunately a pacifier won't help any.

 

 

Unfortunately, if your baby is hungry they're going to cry until you feed them. It isn't like if you feed him a few nights that he's going to wake up every night expecting food. Sometimes babies get hungry overnight.

mben1119

kbruington:

mabenner1:

mierasm1:

He eats 9 oz at 8 so I know when he wakes up screaming at 9 he isn't hungry. I have fed him a few times between 11 and 12 which calms him, but don't want to start having him need night time feedings since he hasn't needed a bottle at night for a few months now. Plus when he wakes up at 7 he plays for an hour before even wanting a bottle.  He also has never taken a pacifier so unfortunately a pacifier won't help any.

 

 

Unfortunately, if your baby is hungry they're going to cry until you feed them. It isn't like if you feed him a few nights that he's going to wake up every night expecting food. Sometimes babies get hungry overnight.

I disagree here. I think that he WILL get used to the routine of waking up for a bottle if she feeds him when that's not the problem. I doubt he'd be hungry an hour after eating 9oz....

I guess some babies do, maybe I'm lucky that DS didn't. He weaned himself of night bottles around 6 months. My kid eats like a, well, I don't know what, so he would be hungry sometimes that soon. I could be off-base, just offering what I had experienced. My first assumption would be teething pain, though.

mierasm1

I feed him on demand at all times. He has woken up 2-3 times in the past 3 months to eat and that is all. It isn't his hunger cry and I'd have no issues feeding him if he was, however don't want to use food to soothe him when that isn't the underlying issue. If he woke up a couple hours after he ate and cried I would feed him, however it starts less then an hour after his bottle.

k8edgerton

Option A: Sounds like your baby is playing you to have mama come into the room. You are there when they fall asleep but when they wake up you are gone (cry... cry... mom comes) -- Viscious cycle.

Option B: If it's not that... then it could be teething and your LO could be in pain.

Option A: I would really try to not eat to sleep at night and I would make sure you are putting them down drowsy but awake. I would also let your baby cry for a bit to see if they are able to work it out on their own. Once they realize that you won't run at every beckon cry... they will realize that its sleep time.

Option B: Try a dose of Tylenol before bed. If it fixes the problem then its teething.

Also, I would take away the "music to sleep" -- Same type of deal. When the music is off... Where did the music go ma? Waaah Waaah! 

k8edgerton

mabenner1:

mierasm1:

He eats 9 oz at 8 so I know when he wakes up screaming at 9 he isn't hungry. I have fed him a few times between 11 and 12 which calms him, but don't want to start having him need night time feedings since he hasn't needed a bottle at night for a few months now. Plus when he wakes up at 7 he plays for an hour before even wanting a bottle.  He also has never taken a pacifier so unfortunately a pacifier won't help any.

 

 

Unfortunately, if your baby is hungry they're going to cry until you feed them. It isn't like if you feed him a few nights that he's going to wake up every night expecting food. Sometimes babies get hungry overnight.

That baby could easily get hooked on the bottle at night.

 

If the baby is taking in the proper amount of food during the day then they should be fine at night. Since she stated ounces -- I'm assuming that she keeps track. Babies need at least 27-32 oz. a day. If the mom knows they get that than not feeding at night is no big deal. If the baby is EBF and you don't know how much the baby is getting (that's a different story).

mierasm1

Thank you and I think you are right. We now feed him and wake him up after his bottle and snuggle in my bed for 20-30 minutes and I put him in his crib awake.  He wakes up 4-5 times before midnight but just does 1-2 min of crying then puts himself back. I haven't been running in and will let him cry for a couple minutes to see if he can work it out and thankfully he has been!  I think he is habitually waking up and just needs to learn to go back to sleep on his own. I was worried he was in pain or something was wrong, but as the days go on I think he just wakes out out of habit. Every night since I posted has gotten better )  Thanks everyone.