waking every hour - NOT a NB

Ginny0211 · July 2012

Help please!

Last night was the second night in two weeks that LO woke up every hour. I lost count the 5th time she woke up....

For months now she has been usually waking up once a night with waking twice a night happening once a week or so. I was handling this, but waking up all night long... I can't function and it can't be good for her either. And her sleep at night seems to be getting worse, not better.

She doesn't have a temp and her gums don't seem to be bothering her. She is happy during the day.

She isn't waking up in hunger. She barely sucks when she nurses at night. She just wants to comfort nurse for a minute and then I can put her back down.

Everyone I have talked to has suggested CIO, but I do not want to do this. And there must be some reason why she is waking up all night.

What's going on? Any ideas?

jaymiegerard · July 2012

I'm thinking developmental milestone (crawling, pushing up to stand, babbling new sounds) and/or beginning separation anxiety (usually 8-11 months)...

If it makes you feel any better, my 10 month old still wakes up 5-10 times a night, and has only woken less than that a handful of times in his life, including the week after we sleep-trained him!

Hang in there, I'm sure it's just a phase!

tokenhoser · July 2012

Yeah, DS did this at exactly the same age. It was hell.

There isn't a real reason - it's just a stage. And your choices are: respond every time, have someone else respond some of the time, or don't respond every time. It's up to you.

I actually ran away from home to get 7 or 8 hours of real sleep after this went on for about 2 weeks. I was losing my cool and it felt like torture to go to bed and know I was going to be up every 45-60 minutes all night.

It also helped to have someone to give him to for a couple hours from 7-9 am so I could sleep then. That doesn't work if you're working. My MIL is an angel and came over in the morning sometimes, and for the worst of it my sister was staying with me and took him in the morning.

tarahnpaul · July 2012

For my DD, it's always teething or illness that makes her wake up. She is waking up around every hour currently b/c of a new tooth. I try to go into the night with a realistic expectation of what will happen. I know she will wake frequently, I will quickly nurse her (we bedshare) and we will both get back to sleep asap. Hoping/wishing/believing she will wake less frequently is a recipe for me to end up frustrated with her.

pixieprincss · July 2012

This is likely a (tiring) variation of normal and developmentally healthy. In our family, we just went with it. DS woke up every 2 hours from 7-12 months, but more if there was teething, illness, or a milestone about to happen. Thank goodness for bed-sharing and the ability to latch baby on and then go back to sleep! Was it tiring: YES!!!! But, now at 18 months he seems to have a very healthy relationship with sleep. He loves his floor bed where he starts the night. When he wakes and wants cuddles, he brings himself into our room where he spends the rest of the night. It has never been a battle of the wills (well 98% of the time it hasn't), so sleep is a very happy thing. Perfect, no? Easy, no? He still needs to cuddle to sleep, doesn't sleep more than 5 hours in a row, etc. But, I think our baby-led approach is paying off and will continue to in terms of life-long healthy sleep habits.

Ginny0211 · July 2012

Thanks everyone.

Glad to know i'm not the only one facing sleep deprivation.

Hopefully it is just a short phase.

ldcoffel · July 2012

Taking everyone's support for myself. DS wakes 8-10 times a night and it's getting worse. Hoping this ends soon.

Just curious if at 18 months, did he gradually sleep longer periods or just sleep one night?

mpstochlinski8 · July 2012

my LOs are doing this at least once or twice a week lately too. Normally they are up to eat once sometimes twice a night but I hear ya, waking up hourly is brutal!! hang in there, you aren't alone!

vegemom302 · July 2012

Just another one saying you're not alone. DD went through this a lot, it's brutal. DH and I would just take turns since she definitely wasn't hungry every time she woke up. I could never figure out why she was having these sleep issue phases, but I will say every time, as quickly as they started, they were over and she was back to normal sleeping. Hang in there!

pixieprincss · July 2012

ldcoffel:

Taking everyone's support for myself. DS wakes 8-10 times a night and it's getting worse. Hoping this ends soon.

Just curious if at 18 months, did he gradually sleep longer periods or just sleep one night?

He started moving to 3-4 hours at around 14 months, about when moved to more solids than BM. The 5 hour thing just popped up a couple of weeks ago-- around the time he dropped his second daytime nap (which, in all honesty, is a huge pain because he gets sooo fussy during the day.) He still will wake often on teething/sick/milestone nights, though.

emilyknelson · July 2012

DS was doing this exactly for a week and a half. Finally something had to give. I noticed he was moving around a lot and ending up sort of wedged in his co-sleeper. So we both moved into the nursery where he has more room in his crib, less noise, and dark curtains. Whether fluke or not he has been back to only waking once or twice since. I'm on a blow up mattress right now. Might get a twin to be more comfortable

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