I need help. Ds isn't sleeping anymore

[Janna]

DH and I are at our wit's end and we're oh, so very tired.

 

Baby is 7 months old. He is usually a pretty good sleeper. Since Sunday, he's been horrific. His naps have been sporadic and short and his nightime sleeping has gone from bad to worse this week. Last night he was up every hour. The night before he was up 4 times. I need help figuring out what to do, especially since both dh and I are too tired to think straight and rationally.

 

He's fine when he's awake. Very happy, talkative, mobile (he figured out how to crawl Christmas morning). He eats fine - too much if you ask me. He has to be removed from his highchair after eating because otherwise he'll cry for more after he's already eaten an enormous amount (about 5 ice cube sized portions of food and a 4 oz bottle, plus 8 oz bottle for breakfast and before bedtime). He's not gassy. He has regular bm's. He doesn't have a fever. He's not pulling at his ears and he just had a checkup on the 16th - everything was fine (not that he couldn't have something going on now).

 

He is teething, but there is no tooth yet.I don't see a tooth and I don't feel a tooth, but his gum is swollen. I've tried Tylenol and that hasn't done anything to help the situation.

 

He is an active sleeper - moving around all over the place. Sometimes he's too cold, waking up with the blankets off him. Last night, he woke up sweating though. Sometimes when he wakes he is very wide awake - ready to be up and play. Other times he clearly wants to go back to sleep, but why he woke to begin with :confused:?

 

Seriously, I don't know what to do. I need to sleep. I don't know why he keeps waking up so frequently at night. I need help.

[OHGrandma]

Did you introduce any new foods about the time he started having problems sleeping?

[Ellie]

I'm not a big fan of letting babies cry it out, but, well, sometimes it works. You might try putting him down for regular naps and bedtime, being sure he's been fed and cleaned and cuddled, and walk away.

[sheryl]

Suggest talking with your ped for a sleep study and/or eeg.

[Rose in BC]

You know the part on the bottle that says "may cause (what ever word they use for restlessness) in some people" . . . well that's the case for my dd. I only give it to her in the day time. BTW, same with gravol. It knocks the other two kids out and livens her up!

[OH Kim]

Can you switch to baby strength ibuprofen (motrin, advil) to see if Jr. reacts to it?

[Janna]

I'm not a big fan of letting babies cry it out, but, well, sometimes it works. You might try putting him down for regular naps and bedtime, being sure he's been fed and cleaned and cuddled, and walk away.

 

That is what I just did. I walked away, went into our school area (where this computer is) and turned the monitor down all the way. All I can see are the lights on the monitor showing his screaming. I stopped looking at the lights for about 20 minutes. I just looked, didn't see any lights, went to check on him, and he's asleep.

[Janna]

You know the part on the bottle that says "may cause (what ever word they use for restlessness) in some people" . . . well that's the case for my dd. I only give it to her in the day time. BTW, same with gravol. It knocks the other two kids out and livens her up!

 

I haven't given him the Tylenol enough to know if it makes him restless. I mean, he already *was* restless, you know? The Tylenol didn't help any (didn't worsen it either), so I didn't continue to give it to him.

 

I know what you're saying though. Benedryl knocks everyone I know out, except my dd. It makes her very talkative! :lol:

[Janna]

Did you introduce any new foods about the time he started having problems sleeping?

 

Well, yes...but I have a hard time believing that a week later he would still be this way, and *only* when it comes to sleep. He only had the new food once and it was last Sunday. He didn't get a diaper rash, didn't spit up any, he had gas for one day, but that went away. I mean, it's truly only when he sleeps. It's hard to get him to fall asleep for a nap these days, but once he does, he naps very well. But at night time, he falls asleep immediately, but then wakes constantly throughout the night. He has never been this way before...

[Janna]

Yes, I could do that. Tylenol never worked for my other ds either, but Motrin worked like a charm.

[CalicoKat]

how many and how long of daytime naps does he take?

 

I noticed a change in nighttime sleep habits when I needed to cut out one nap.

 

Actually had to put on an alarm clock in their room because I was lazy and I wanted time to myself during the day cuz I wasn't getting any at night. :001_smile:

 

An hour was enough to keep the crabbies away and still let them sleep well at night. It was hard for me at first though. I miss those baby nap times.

[Marie in Oh]

Tylanol does nothing. Ibuprofin seems to help because of its anti-inflamatory properties. We don't use tylanol at all here-- for anything.

[phathui5]

If he's going through a growth spurt he could be waking up hungry.

[Janna]

He takes 2 naps, but wishes he could take 3. I cut out that 3rd one recently and he's not happy about it.

 

He takes a morning nap of about an hour and a half or so, an afternoon nap of anywhere from 2-3 hours and the evening 30 minute nap is what I cut out. But we deal with him being crabby pretty much from the time dinner is over until he can go to bed. He gets up and has breakfast around 8am, goes to bed at 7:30-ish.

[Janna]

That is in the back of my mind, but then I think, "how could he possibly be hungry? He eats so much more than my other 2 did, is already 18.5 pounds (and 28 in long!), and eats like an elephant already. I simply can't imagine he wants more...and I don't want him to think that every time he cries he gets fed, either.

[Daisy]

Ear infection? My kids always acted this way with an ear infection. If he is running a slight temp and you've been assuming it's teething, it might be worth it to get him checked. It's that time of year.

[jg_puppy]

I have heard the sometimes when babies learn a new skill (crawling, walking, etc.) that is messes up their sleep and eating pattern. They are just so excited about the new skill. Since he just learned to crawl that might be what is happening.

 

Jan

[Ellie]

That is what I just did. I walked away, went into our school area (where this computer is) and turned the monitor down all the way. All I can see are the lights on the monitor showing his screaming. I stopped looking at the lights for about 20 minutes. I just looked, didn't see any lights, went to check on him, and he's asleep.

 

 

(((Janna)))) I know how difficult this is, for both of you, but it just might be your solution. Twenty minutes is not very long, although it may *seem* like an eternity. You might only have to do this once or twice.

[Janna]

I have thought about that too...that he is just wanting to be on the floor where he can be moving and discovering. He truly is excited about his skill - it's very evident that he is moving with purpose.

 

I have thought this because when I put him in his crib, he immediately gets on all fours. But then when I put the blanket over him, he immediately gets down and puts his thumb in his mouth (everyone say, "awww"). But then he starts to cry moments later (everyone say, "boo").

[Janna]

Ha! It was only 20 minutes since I had stopped watching the lights. Total time of crying until falling asleep was 50 min.

 

I have had to do this in the past, with him. It's just that his cries are much more forceful now, and angry after awhile, LOL. I think I'm gonna have strong willed one on my hands...oy.

[Jami]

He takes 2 naps, but wishes he could take 3. I cut out that 3rd one recently and he's not happy about it.

 

He takes a morning nap of about an hour and a half or so, an afternoon nap of anywhere from 2-3 hours and the evening 30 minute nap is what I cut out. But we deal with him being crabby pretty much from the time dinner is over until he can go to bed. He gets up and has breakfast around 8am, goes to bed at 7:30-ish.

 

He may very well be overtired by the time you're putting him in bed then. If he's crabby all evening and you're holding off bedtime till 7:30, you may need to allow him to go to sleep earlier and wake earlier. I've usually found that good naps beget good nighttime sleep. And once they were too tired, they were restless all night. Good luck! :)

[seanda]

Well, my first thought is that this is a burst of growth and development. As said, new skills can disrupt sleeping habits. And around 6-7 months is a common time for a growth spurt. I would feed as your baby wants until you talk to the pediatrician. Nice healthy foods, as I am sure you are doing.

 

At this point I think this is just developmental but you certainly don't want to reward and encourage bad nighttime habits. If you don't have a good routine now is the time to try and put it in place. Keep everything dark and quiet at night. Do a bath and quiet story and/or song at bedtime. When he wakes at night interact minimally.

 

Then after the holidays... which will be a week or so after this began, call the pediatrician, if you are still concerned. You probably won't be. My guess is this will pass quickly.

[Quad Shot Academy]

I would head to the ped. just to make sure. I have had kids have this problem from fluid in the ears, acid reflux, and gall stones. It could also be a metabolic disease if he is truly hungry and eating an extreme amount, like thyroid issues. Or maybe he is just going to be a big baby. My first weighed 30 lbs at 3 months. He ate double than me at every meal. Now he is 8 and wears size 10 slims. I am all for letting babies eat as much healthy food as they want.

[Ellie]

Oy, indeed :-)

 

Still, that isn't bad, as long as he did actually go to sleep and didn't cry until he threw up or anything :-o

 

My dc--only 2--both took one 2-hr nap a day instead of several shorter ones. I preferred that. They woke up around 8, and went down for a 2-hr nap at noon. Then they were awake until around 8, when I put them to bed. Older slept through the night from 7 months old on; younger dd, who was a nursing baby and slept with me until she was about 10 months old, slept through the night by the time she was a year old...but both were still taking that 2hr nap daily. Love the two whole hours.

[joannqn]

My kids always had periods of nighttime wakefulness when they were going through a growth spurt. Usually they'd also be teething at this time. Nearly always, I'd see height/weight growth, teeth, and/or new skills by the time they started sleeping again. I'm sure it will pass.

 

Hylands Teething Tablets and Hylands Colic Tablets always helped mine calm down. If they had been crying for a while, it usually knocked them out in minutes.

 

And yes, he could be hungry. Growth spurts take huge amounts of energy (calories). BTW, your son is a couple pounds lighter than my children were at that age. Mine all hit 20+ pounds around 6 months...so he's not that big. :)

[Quad Shot Academy]

I forgot to add that when we saw a nutrition specialist at Children's hospital, when my youngest was 19 months old, she said that he needed 1,800 calories to maintain his 20lb weight and 2,000 calories to actually start gaining. I was shocked! She said once babies start crawling, they never stop moving, so they need more calories than say a 4 year old who stops to read, color, watch TV . . .

[Sue G in PA]

I was also going to say he might need more to eat. My little guy started crawling about a month and a half ago and pulling up to a stand before that. Yeah, I know...we were all shocked by how early he started. Well, I've noticed that breastmilk alone is not satisfying him (duh!) and he eats enormous amounts of real people food (mac and cheese, yogurt, some baby food, soft pieces of fruit, crackers, etc.). Last night we woke up 4 times. Ugh. Before that he had just started to sleep through the night. I'm going to try feeding him a big snack just before bed now and see what that does. :grouphug: Janna. I'm right there with you.

[Barb_]

Well, my first thought is that this is a burst of growth and development. As said, new skills can disrupt sleeping habits. And around 6-7 months is a common time for a growth spurt. I would feed as your baby wants until you talk to the pediatrician. Nice healthy foods, as I am sure you are doing.

 

At this point I think this is just developmental but you certainly don't want to reward and encourage bad nighttime habits. If you don't have a good routine now is the time to try and put it in place. Keep everything dark and quiet at night. Do a bath and quiet story and/or song at bedtime. When he wakes at night interact minimally.

 

Then after the holidays... which will be a week or so after this began, call the pediatrician, if you are still concerned. You probably won't be. My guess is this will pass quickly.

 

Bingo! I read all the responses first to see whether this would be mentioned. This would be my guess as well. You say he just learned to crawl...oftentimes new rollers, crawlers, walkers, etc will be Just Too Excited to sleep. We call it a brain spurt in our house. Whenever the baby is waking all the time for no reason, you can usually bank on a big developmental leap. Hang in there, nap, and it will likely sort itself out in a week or less.

 

Barb

[Janna]

Just thought I'd let you know that I took ds into the Dr yesterday. It was the last day we had insurance (since dh lost his job) so I figured I might as well. Turns out he has an ear infection. I am surprised because he never pulled at his ear, never had a fever and was happy as a lark all day - just didn't want to lay down for naps or bedtime.

 

My other 2 dc never had even one ear infection. I always thought they did so I would take them in but it would be something else going on and not an ear infection. In this circumstance, I didn't think he had one, so I waited 9 days, took him in "just because I can, one last time" and it turns out he does. My view on my mothering skills is fading, LOL.

 

I'm glad I took him in!

[Quad Shot Academy]

I am so glad you figured it out! None of mine have complained about their ears. My 4-5 year old had his drum rupture once and almost two more times and he never complained. He was even sleeping through the night! He complained about everything else, so I don't get it. I had an ear infection when I was 16 and I was utterly miserable. Thanks for the update!