My son wakes excessively during the night

[lynseybec]

Does anyone have any advice as to why my 6 month old son will go to bed absolutely fine at 7pm, but always wakes between 9-10pm cryin n restless, but he's not hungry because he refuses a bottle, this may not seem bad to some people but as he is recently sharing with his 8year old sister its causing a few sleepless nights for us.

[upsydaisy]

Sorry to hear that lynseybec - I wonder if he is experiencing some tummy discomfort? Is he weaning? Of course it could be a million and one things - teething, growth spurt, too light/dark/hot/cold etc He's maybe waking from one cyle of sleep and struggling to get himself back to sleep again. Has he always been like this or is it just since sharing with his sister? Maybe if you could give us some more details - egabout his routine one of the very experienced and helpful mums (like Redcrx) will come up with a solution. Best of luck x

[redcrx]

it could be a few thing.
wind
teething
just wanting to be close to mummy/ daddy

[redcrx]

awww. thankyou upsy. I thought your reply was better than mine, i forgot about weaning and the growth spurt

Im not on good form at the moment as i have a 9 month old just getting over the sickness and diarrhea bug but I shall try and help with more info

[lynseybec]

thank you so much for ur replies, upsydaisy and redcrx. up until bout 3 weeks ago he had a 5-6oz bottle at this time of nite but now hes on more solids he doesnt need this top up feed but for some reason still wakes for it n wont settle til hes been picked up n had a cuddle with mummy! iv been tryin to leave him n jus keep returning to check hes ok n got his dummy but as he's sharing a room its difficult to leave him too long but also dont want to go straight in n pick him up as he'll get used to this n prob want it all time. any suggestions recieved with many thanx x

[redcrx]

well hes probably got used to his quiet time bottle with you. did he go into the room with his sister at the same time as dropping the bottle? It may just be the change in routine which has unsettled him.

Upsy was right about a growth spurt at 6 months but then Id think he'd be more likely wanting a bottle than cuddles.

If youre weaning him, how far have you got? what sort of thing does he eat and at what time? Is there anything he eating late which could give him a tummy upset? are his nappies ok?

of course, you may go through everything at it is just a phase hes going throuigh and changes as suddenly as before.

[zzxxee]

when my kids were little i used to feed them something light before they went to bed like a yoghurt and then a bottle of milk this made them fat and heavey and they slept all night

[zzxxee]

i would also put baby in with you until hes more settled in his own cot of course as i dont think its fair on your 8 year old to have sleepless nights if shes getting up for school

[lfc5eurocups]

After exploring all the other suggetsions, you may want to try the following which I have seen advised on other baby sites. Which is to go in just prior to his waking time (if you are awake) and gentaly rose him, not to wake hime but just so he comes out of his deep sleep. They reckon this breaks the cycle, and they will soon drop off again. However, personally all children are different and we all just find a way of coping and grabing any sleep we can however we can. My 3 year old still gets up and comes into our bed, no matter what I have tried, even bribary and coruption!!!
Good luck