8 Month Old Wakes Every 2-3 Hours

Request for sleep advice

Dear Sleep Store

I have been a customer of yours since my first son was born in July 2007, and you have many wonderful products. Something that I really really really wish you sold though, was sleep. Actual sleep, restful sleep. I'm starting to forget what it's like!

My second son Isaac was born in August 2009, and he's a terrible sleeper. Where I'm stuck is during the night. He goes to bed fine. I feed him about 30 mins before bed, and put him in his cot awake.

He'll wake about 2-3 hours later, and then I'm up every 2-3 hours during the night. Last night he was up 5 or 6 times, sometimes hourly.

He's a big boy, 11kg at 6 months and he's really really hungry. I pick him up during the night and he truly seems hungry, he nuzzles into my shoulder and squawks until I give in and feed him. Once I thought maybe it was teething (he has 4), but pamol didn't make a difference.

If I put him down without feeding him, he screams. Really really screams, which breaks my heart and wakes his brother up, which just creates more problems.

I don't know what to do. I am so tired, what I wouldn't give for a good night's sleep.

Extra information we requested

Where does Isaac sleep? ie your room or his? If in his own room, is the door shut?

Isaac sleeps in a cot in his own room. We usually leave the door open, (both day and night). His room is between our room and his brother's room.

Baby monitor?

We have an Angelcare sound/movement monitor, but I don't use the sound part as I can hear him from our room and the rest of the house without it.

Sleeping bag or bedding?

He sleeps in a Woolbabe summer weight bag (at the moment). Currently in long sleeve pyjamas, but no other blankets.

Tell me about your routine and sleep times in the day, and how do you settle him in the day?

Our day routine is fairly flexible. He has 3 to 4 day sleeps (depending on how long the sleeps are), but the timings depend on when he seems to be tired.

If I watch for signs that he's getting tired he goes down ok, and will usually self settle. Sometimes he'll sleep for 1 to 2.5 hours, sometimes only for 30-45 mins.

The shorter sleeps I have tried waiting to see if he'll settle again but he rarely does. I've never been a strict routine person that must feed/sleep baby at certain times, but we do follow the same "pattern" each day.

What sleep training have you tried to solve to night waking and for how long did you stick to it?

Haven't tried any kind of sleep training, as I really don't know where to start.

Is he eating solids well in the day?

He's still not eating much in the way of solids. I try every day, but he spits most of it out. Isaac's brother Liam was similar at the same age, and plunket advised not to force it, so I've been doing the same with Isaac.

What time does he wake in the morning and go to bed at night?

Isaac usually wakes around 6.30-7.00am, and goes to bed between 7.00-7.30pm. I feed him about 15-30mins before bed, and he goes down in his cot while he's awake. Occasionally he won't settle, so I'll get him back up out of bed for maybe half an hour, then put him back down still awake and he's fine.

Is there anything you’re not prepared to try???

I don't like the idea of letting him cry (and I think he's maybe still a little bit young), but I would be willing try if it was the only thing that might work. Otherwise happy to give anything a go.

At 8 months of age we would suggest that most babies are comfortable on one feed overnight (i.e. between bedtime and the morning). A good place to start can be offering either a dreamfeed around 10pm, or feeding the first wake after 9pm. To teach Isaac how to self-settle his parents need to have a strategy for teaching him how to self-settle for other wakes. There are a few different strategies and no ‘one size fits all’. We recommend choosing a self-settling strategy that you can be the most consistent with – as this is what will make the biggest difference.

One strategy we suggest is called Verbal Reassurance. This is where baby is put to bed, and then checked on/reassured at increasing intervals until they are asleep. This helps baby to 'self-settle' or fall asleep without needing to be helped back to sleep.

How to do the 'verbal reassurance' technique

• Put baby into bed awake (at least 5 minutes after last feed finished), dressed in an appropriate sleeping bag or sleepsuit so there is no loose bedding.
• Turn on the white noise, ensure baby has plenty of dummies if she uses them and baby has a comforter (as long as she is over 7 months of age) to help her self settle.
• Say your 'verbal reassurance phrase' such as 'night baby baby, see you in the morning' and leave the room.
• Wait for 5 minutes then do your first 'check-in'.
• Wait for 10 minutes then 'check-in'.
• Wait for 15 minutes then 'check-in'.
• Repeat every 15 minutes until your baby has gone quiet. If baby is quiet and settled, there is no need to check in as this may disturb her in the process of falling asleep.
• Do the same thing every time your baby wakes in the night.
• Also use for day sleeps if your baby has issues with catnapping, getting to sleep or has been relying on feeding or rocking to get to sleep.

For verbal reassurance to work quickly, Isaac's parents will need to be very consistent. This doesn’t mean they need to drop all night feeds – as above we suggest feeding either around 10pm for a dream feed, or feeding the first wake. The key with keeping night feeds whilst teaching babe how to self-settle is to feed right away rather than settle for a period and then feed – this can be confusing.

Further towards the gentle spectrum would be Gentle Withdrawal. This involves gently backing off the nighttime support over a couple of weeks whilst remaining in the room and slowly moving further away each night. You can read more about the gentle withdrawal technique here.

We also recommend looking at Issac's night time layers (PJs and Woolbabe) to ensure he is warm enough. Here's a guide to layering your baby's clothing for sleep.

It will be a good idea for Isaac's parents to shut his bedroom door. And during the night, we recommend also shutting mum & dad's bedroom door. They make also want to use ear-plugs since their bedroom is right next door. This could be useful just for the first night or two while they are teaching Isaac to use his self settling skills. Their toddler will likely be disturbed by Isaac learning to self settle during the night...but as he is likely to learn quickly, and overall disturbance will be much reduced from the constant waking that Isaac is currently doing!

Isaac's parents will find that his appetite quickly improves during the day when he is no longer having numerous feeds during the night. At the moment so much of his calorie needs are being filled by night milk feeds, he just doesn't need much food during the day!

We also recommend looking at Issac's sleeping bag to ensure he is warm enough. If his room falls below 18 degrees, he will need a winter weight bag.

Also they could look at whether he is comfortable sleeping with his head up against the side of the bars. If he would be more comfortable in the middle of the cot, a Safe T Sleep would be useful for keeping him settled in one place.

Your baby is over 7 months of age, so we also recommend introducing a comforter. This will help Isaac to self-settle. We recommend Cuski as they can absorb Mum's scent and are made from breathable fabric.

Playing some white noise on repeat all night is also likely to help make the self settling happen quicker. Yogasleep has a range of noise machines that play white, brown or pink noise and nature sounds.

The final thing we recommend Isaac's parents do is to look at Isaac's daytime routine. Babies of this age tend to thrive on consistency and a bit of structure (and it’s easier for caregivers too!)

Here's what we recommend for babies around 8 months of age:

Customer Feedback

"Hi guys

I would just like to thank you so much for publishing that case study on the 9month old baby waking several times during the night Zaria is 7months old and she was sleeping till 5am then she started teething and wouldn't sleep through the night.

She was waking twice during the night and I just didn't know what to do to get her to sleep through.

After reading that article we tried it that night. The first night she woke at 1am and cried off and on for an hour using your technique. It sucked listening to her cry that long but she did go back to sleep.

The second night she woke at 3am and went back to sleep after 10mins. The third night she woke at 5am and went back to sleep after a couple mins. We cant get her to sleep till 7am but she is sleeping till 6.30am and I can live with that - so much better than getting up in the middle of the night.

We have now had over a week of Zaria sleeping till 6.30. I'm so glad I found your website, the products we have bought have been great esp the miracle blanket and the sleep info is brilliant. I haven't found anywhere or anyone else to give info that feels right and you know you can trust.

Thank you so so so much.

Michelle"