Question re: my 10 month old & sleeping/eating

[Emmas Mom]

My DD HAD been sleeping through the night until about a month ago & now she's waking up once or twice a night again. We've tried letting her cry herself back to sleep but she's hungry & won't go back to bed until she has a bottle (she's on formula now). I'm not quite sure why she's "regressed" but I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this. She's eating almost all solids (suggested for her age) & likes just about everything. I give her dinner around 5:30, her "nighttime bottle" around 7:00 & she's usually falls asleep by 7:30 or so (in her crib most of the time). Does anyone give their baby dinner later?? Maybe if I tried giving her some cereal or something closer to bedtime but before her bottle? I'm not sure what to do. I work part time but still have to get up around 6:00 every morning (though she's been getting me up anywhere between 4:00 - 5:30...so I can't always get back to sleep). I'm contemplating getting a caffeine IV for my desk at work (only half kidding here), and I was just wondering if anyone has any suggestions cause I need some help & some sleep...or at least a shoulder to cry on! :( TIA.

[jk3]

That definitely happened for a stretch around the same age + it's happening now, sorry to say. For my DS, it tends to correlate with teething. When he's cutting a new tooth or a few he often wakes up in the middle of the night + a bottle is the only trick that calms him down. It can be rough. We just had a night like this last night + he was up at 10 (no bottle), 3:30 (bottle) and again and 6 (no bottle.) Cereal and other food combinations do not help him We give dinner around the same time + he usually sleeps through the night. I hope tomight is a better night for you + for me!

Jenn
DS 6/03

[diekatze]

Oh boy, I thought I am the only one who's going through this....

My DS is 10 month old too and he was sleeping through the night from 4th month or so. He was so good at night that everyone envied me. His feeding is almost same as your DD and sleep time.

Well, he started to get up during the early morning about week ago. Around 3 or 4 am. He did this in the past and normally I just hold him and rock him, he will go back to sleep right away.(I didn't sleep train him so he still needs my comfort in order to go to sleep or go back to sleep)

This time, it's different. He's fully awake crying or with big smile on his face ready to play. Three days ago, he was awake at 3:30am. Didn't go back to sleep til his normal morning nap at 8.

The other strange thing is, not only he wakes up during the night but refuses to go to sleep somedays. His bedtime is about 7:30 to 8:30 depanding on his daytime naps(was 2 but now 3 naps!) but yesterday he went to sleep at 2 am. I was so tired and frustrated since I was up from 4:30am day before and was crying. If this is normal event at night like one of my friend, I would be prepared and use to this schedule but I was able to sleep for good 6 hours a day since he turned 4 month old. I had to wake up my snorring DH who had to go to work at 5am... I felt bad but I just couldn't take it anymore.

I think it's teething, my DH thinks he's having bad dreams(falling dreams) and my MIL(lives with us) thinks he's having stomach pains. I do give bottle around 7:30pm like you do and she always complained that his stomach would be too full to have good sleep.

I am sorry that I couldn't give you any good advise but you are not the only one...Let's hope that this will pass very soon!!!

[Momof3Labs]

It could be teething, and it could be that she isn't getting enough to eat during the day. How much formula does she get during the day, and how much is she drinking at night? Solids at this age tend not to be very filling, so if she eats a large quantity of solids, she may be left more hungry at night.

It does stink, doesn't it, that once you achieve good sleep habits, something else comes along to interrupt them!!

[Emmas Mom]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! I know it could definitely be teething cause she's been teething up a storm but I guess I didn't think it was because when she first started, with her little bottom two teeth, she was sleeping through the night & it didn't seem to bother her. I don't know. She's taking about 6 1/2 ounces before bedtime. I offer her more but that's about her max right now. She takes on average four, 6 ounce bottles a day (early morning, late morning, 2-3 ish & just before bed) & maybe another 3-4 around dinnertime to tide her over. She actually takes more formula & less solids (about 3, stage 2 jars a day...breakfast, lunch & dinner).

I guess it is always something though! Still, they're so worth it! :D

[Momof3Labs]

It sounds like she's probably getting enough to eat during the day, so I vote for teething. Some teeth bother babies more than others (eye teeth are positively wicked!!), there isn't a good way to figure out why. Have you tried Motrin at bedtime and again when she wakes up in the middle of the night?

[netne]

We've gone through this too with DS. He's now 11 months and every few weeks wakes up a couple times during the night. Sometimes when I think it's teething we give him Tylenol or Motrin before bed.

I think it's also coincided with separation anxiety issues and achieving new milestones. Lately he's so excited about his newfound mobility that he'll just crawl around and stand up & down in his crib, giggling and chatting to himself. Then some nights I think he wakes up for whatever reason and gets sad/scared that he's alone in his crib. Those nights (actually most nights) he ends up in bed with us around 3 or 4 am. It works for us because I love that snuggle time, but it's probably not the solution for everyone. We're still nursing so he'll nurse a little then go back to sleep. Some nights he's a very restless sleeper and ends up back in his crib after some snuggling.

There's so much going on at this age, it's hard to separate out what's causing the night wakenings. But just trust your instincts to do what is right for your DD and know this stage will pass eventually.

[Emmas Mom]

I gave her some Motrin tonight, so we'll see. The Tylenol just didn't seem to be helping her much. She was literally chewing on my finger tonight so I'm sure there's something ready to pop up. Though she's not nursing anymore I do still love the sleepy snuggle time in the middle of the night. Even though it is exhausting during the day. I know it'll pass eventually, it's just hard when you're going through it!

Thanks again ladies!! It's nice to just know there are others out there & get some reassurance & good advice. :)

[gatorsmom]

I just went through this with my son (who turned 1yr 2 days ago). He was either hungry or teething at night too, so before he went to bed at night I'd give him Motrin (it lasts 6 hours, Tylenol only lasts 4) AND I'd give him a bottle of formula mixed with some rice cereal to thicken it up. That worked like a dream. The only thing I had to do is to cut some more holes in the nipple because the cereal would plug up the end and he wouldn't get it through!