Dd not sleeping again

Hi sherryd Reading your posts brings back memories of the sleep regressions issues we faced, as I mentioned in the earlier post. I can't comment on the food as we didn't have this problem but I did try increasing DD's intake of dinner to see if that would prolong her sleep and most nights she got grumpy which I knew was a sign of tiredness. Also, when she was waking at 4am-ish, she refused to take milk so I was guessing she was having enough food during the day. Like you, I was living a life of waking at 4am and having to hold her and shush her until she fell asleep and when I tried putting her back in the cot, of course she would wake. I couldn't fall asleep again and had to get ready for work. Eventually I found that no matter what I did, she would even refuse to fall asleep in my arms in the mornings. At that stage I sought some advice and almost everyone recommended brining her bedtime forward. So for the first week we brought everything back by 15 minutes and then the following week by 30 minutes so that she was being put in her cot to sleep by 6.30pm. This made a big improvement and she started sleeping through to about 5.15am. She also stopped waking up throughout the night. This age is difficult because not only can they be teething, they might also be ready to drop their afternoon nap. Our DD would drop her afternoon nap every second day for about 2 weeks before deciding to drop it altogether. By about 9.5 months she was having two naps a day. Finally the only other suggestion I can make is that if you haven't done so already, consider trying to sleep train her so she learns to fall asleep on her own. We did a mixed approach to controlled crying. I would sit with her and console her if she cried in her cot but didn't pick her up unless it was a distressed cry. Each day I would let her cry for a little longer and then as she got more comfortable laying in the cot on her own, I would stay out of sight but in her room until she fell asleep on her own. Eventually what ended up happening was that if she woke at 4am or so, she would fall asleep again without my intervention. Since about 10.5 months, DD has been going to sleep between 6.30pm to 7.00pm. She sleeps through the night without a break and if she does wake, she falls asleep on her own and within minutes. She usually wakes between 5.30am and 6.30am which is fine with us because we have an early morning routine with work commitments. In the past few weeks we have even got to the stage where we put her in the cot, say good night and then walk out and shut the door. These things take practice and lots of hard work. good luck : )

Actually you can give whole eggs from 6 months (per current guidelines, they did used to say to wait but it turned out it didn't reduce the risk of egg allergy, in fact a recent study even showed an increased risk of allergy if waiting too long), and I do use whole eggs but you could just use yolks if you wanted to (seems like a waste of the whites though). I use regular cows milk, before 12 months it's ok to use milk in cooking and give yoghurt/cheese etc but it shouldn't be their main drink/replace milk feeds. If you are already formula feeding though formula would have more nutrients and less sodium than cows milk so it would probably be good to use, not sure if it would affect the consistency at all. (I breastfed so wasn't going to open a whole tin of formula or pump half a litre of breastmilk just to make custard, ;) ) <em>edited by kiwispiers on 18/06/2012</em>

Hi sherryd, my dd is 8,5 month old and even though she is a very good eater she tends to stick to the same food in the evenings. I guess the more tired they are, the more difficult it is to feed them new food/textures etc. She is very adventurous in terms of food during the day but not when she is tired. Her routine is the following: wake up around 6:30am - 1 full bottle of formula little breakfast around 8am: Wetabix with some milk, banana pieces or porridge morning nap from around 8:30am-10:30am lunch at 11am: Veggies or veggies & meat with either potato, rice or pasta afternoon nap from around 2-4pm 1 full bottle of formula when she is up dinner at 6:30pm (can't do it any later as she would refuse to eat when she is too tired): she loves Holle 5 grain porridge or spelt porridge which I mix with her formula and some fruit bath with her older sister at 7pm 1 small bottle of formula before bedtime fast asleep by latest 8pm My older dd has always been a very difficult eater so I am pleased that dd2 is not (so far, I keep my fingers crossed!). But they both do not experiment with new food in the evenings. Maybe try to find some food that she likes / which is easy on the stomach and give it to her for dinner. And maybe introduce new food slowly and not something new every single day. Hope I could help a little. Good luck with it all & have a nice day

When DS is off his food I make him homemade custard, basically I add 3 eggs to 400 ml or so of milk, blend well, microwave for about 5 minutes add a banana and blend again. This is a good source of protein and easy on the throat/teeth. He's just had a cold and I've added blueberries to the mix as well to give him some extra vitamins. At least you can feel like they are having somethng healthy, even if its not meat and vegetables. You can freeze whatever she doesn't eat.

I'm still confused, does she normally wake during the night or not. If she does then try the earlier bedtime for a week or two.

well you said 5:45, which is too early for me :), and mentioned her being a bad sleeper, does she not normally wake in the night at all then? If she normally sleeps right through and its simply been just 3 nights of night waking and off her food then I would probably assume she actually has a virus/sore throat etc and just be kind to her in the night rather than rushing to change milk, diet, routine etc. Hopefully she will be back to normal in a week or so.

I buy salmon tail fillet as it tends not to have bones and I wrap it in tin foil and bake in the oven (with olive oil, fresh herbs, lemon zest etc). I agree, would definitely try moving bedtime earlier, you might still have nighttime wakeups, although hopefully less as she won't be getting that second wind (when she is tired at 6:30 then wakeful at 7, her brain is releasing chemicals to keep her awake as you are giving her cues that its not bedtime just yet, those chemicals can affect night sleep). I would try putting her to bed by 7 for a week, and keep a record of her wakings for that week, just to see what happens.

Hi Sherryd - I agree with the ladies - sounds like it could be a combination of sleep regression and/or teething. If she is tired around 6.30, perhaps that is the time to get her to sleep for the night? She might be overtired by 8pm...My DS has always been asleep by 7pm (sometimes earlier at that age) and our bedtime routine would begin around 45 min prior. This involved calmer play/reading book etc followed by bathtime, story/lullaby, milk in darkened room and then bed. I would try not to have any naps after 4/5pm and 3 hours of naps should be enough at this age. Also if she is waking super early, try and treat it as a night waking still - soft shhing/patting etc. If you go in and act like it's morning she will expect to get up. For us, anything before 630 was still night time lol. Even now if he wakes earlier he's quite happy to play in his cot until I get him at 7am. If she is not eating so well perhaps offer more milk before bed or even a hungrier baby formula? Not sure if this will help, but I've had friends with bad sleepers who found this helped them as a certain level of satiety seemed to get them into a deeper sleep. You can also try red meats, my DS loved pureed lamb and vegies at that age, or try pureeing some fish like salmon. I was always surprised that my LO loved the stronger flavours. I also used to mix avocado with other fruits - he loved it with pear cooked in a bit of cinnamon. At that age I used to give protein at lunchtime and then at night mainly veg/fruit with some small baby pasta or rice. Mainly simple food at night that wouldn't be too heavy on the tummy.

Have you noticed any other changes? Waking at night all of sudden and refusing food all of a sudden might be something as simple as teething. They lose their appetite when teething. Other signs are normally things like shaking their head ( as if saying no), rosie cheeks, biting on anything and everything and random crying. If you think teething is the cause of the problem invest in some Dr Sheffields teething gel - Amazing! It may not be teething but babies do go off their food for all sorts of reasons. One day they eat the next they don't - it is perfectly normal for them to do this from time to time so please don't worry. All you can do is keep trying and she will eat when is is hungry and wants too. I know it is alarming when they refuse food continuously but it is unlikely anything to worry about. As you said she loved the avacado and banana therefore it is more than likely her just deciding she doesn't like something. You will find that happens a lot - One day they eat something and can't get enough of it and the next they refuse to eat it, if you go back to it a few days later they may eat it again. If she is refusing the spoon you may find it easier to get her to eat finger foods. At 7.5 months the experts say 2-3 hours of naps a day should be enough but every baby is different and if she is sleeping more it is because she is needing it. The only thing I could suggest is bring forward her bedtime again - unbelievable that an earlier bedtime usually means a better nights sleep. My DS is 16mths and is still a terrible sleeper and a 5am riser. He has never really slept through the night for long periods at a time. Some babies are just bad sleepers. I know that doesn't help at the moment but I do feel you pain and hope it imporves quickly. If it doesn't improve then there are plenty of sleep therapists out there but most of them use methods that not every mother is comfortable with. Good luck!

Hi sherryd We went through the same thing with our DD at this age. I remember posting about it and asking other ladies the same question as you are now! There is something called the 8 month sleep regression - Google it to learn more. There is also the issue of teething and side effects can include constant waking and poor appetite. We found with our DD that every time she has a tooth coming through. Check with your doc though if her appetite doesn't return.