Parents feel overwhelmed by baby’s frequent nighttime wakings

“Hello! I apologize in advance if this post is all over the place. I’m stressed and exhausted. Up to a month or so of my son being born, he really struggled with day time naps. At night though, he was pretty good. He would wake up 2-3 times a night on a decently consistent schedule. Since 2 months old, he has slept through the night since. I think he’s teething, and is currently in his screeching phase. Fun times. Unfortunately I feel like he went back in time with his sleep. He has been up the e”

“Me and my husband have an ongoing resentment issue (mostly on my end) when it comes to conversations about sleep. Our lo (7m) just does not sleep through the night still. He wakes at least 2-3 times a night if not more. I am a sahm, while my husband works. I have always taken the over night shift starting from 11 pm. This often means that while we both don't get a lot of sleep, he does usually have a 4-5 hour stretch minimum. He tends to stay awake until his shift ends however, so he sometim”

“My baby won’t sleep until I nurse her back to sleep. Even if I bring her to my bed to cosleep, she needs to be nursed. She is not hungry, it’s just for comfort. I believe this association is causing her to wake frequently in the night and no one else can put her to sleep. I have tried rocking, pacifier, bouncing, patting. Nothing works until I nurse. I know some people will say this is normal and to allow it but I am not okay with this and it’s not sustainable for me to be up every hour with her”

“My baby won’t sleep until I nurse her back to sleep. Even if I bring her to my bed to cosleep, she needs to be nursed. She is not hungry, it’s just for comfort. I believe this association is causing her to wake frequently in the night and no one else can put her to sleep. I have tried rocking, pacifier, bouncing, patting. Nothing works until I nurse. I know some people will say this is normal and to allow it but I am not okay with this and it’s not sustainable for me to be up every hour with her”

“Hi all. FTM. My baby just turned 1 and it’s such a huge milestone for us. I’m wondering if anyone has ever experienced or dealt with sleep crying. For the past several months, our little girl has been crying in her sleep. To me they look like night terrors or some kind of nightmares. Our doctor said that she will grow out of it but they appear to get more frequent especially as we now try to take her to more places. I took her for her 12 month check up yesterday and she was hysterical there and”

“Can someone explain to me sleep associations from a scientific perspective? And to add onto that if my baby does have a sleep association how can they fall asleep independently, but sometimes wake in the night requiring some sort of assistance and other nights not require that in the middle of the night but in the early hours of the morning? I’m not understanding the science behind this. submitted by /u/Relevant-Raise-8835 [link] [comments]”

“Mom of 2 (2.5 and 1) and to start with long story short, neither of them sleep through the night. The older has maybe 8 times in his life, the little one never. I breastfed 2.5 until around 26 months, and am still breastfeeding 1. For the first year or so of each I have fed or cuddled/rocked to sleep - and we bed shared for the first 6-8 months for both but they’ve both been in their own rooms in their own beds for a solid amount of time at this point. My husband and I basically share responsibi”

“My LO is 12 days old today, over the last two days has been making 4-4.5 hour stretches at night. I’ve been pumping after feeds because she is only feeding on one side and it gives me anxiety about my supply. This just seems early for her to go this long this early - any other moms have babies making it this long overnight and still maintaining supply? submitted by /u/LeopardSea3253 [link] [comments]”

“We have a beautiful 14m old daughter who (for the most part) has slept pretty well since birth. In the past week and a half however, she has been waking every hour or so, pulling herself up into sitting position and crying endlessly. She'll only calm if we come in and hold her, rocking her to sleep in our arms. The moment we put her down she startles awake and the cycle begins again. Initially her bottom two molars were coming through, and we have been giving her pain relief each night. We t”

“Looking to see if it is normal to be so tired during the day while EBFing larger baby. I feel tired to the point that I’m needing daily nap and crash in early afternoon despite her consistently sleeping through night or doing one wake up. I feel like I can’t get anything done some days. My LO is 5 months, approximately 20 + lbs, EBF. She is 99 percentile for weight and height. I feel as tired as I did pregnant and am unsure if this is normal. I am a FTM, Breastfeeding 1.5 -2 hrs a day combined.”

“supportive comments only! I am not going to sleep train. Just looking for anyone who has had a similar situation. My tiny angel is perfectly healthy, meeting all milestones, truly happy and well adjusted BUT he still doesn’t sleep more than an hour or two. He refused the bassinet and crib and I had to get some sleep so we cosleep (again, not looking for advice on that part). I was trying to night ween by water down his milk gradually and reducing the amount but I feel like he wakes up more than”

“Hello My 11 month old son has NEVER slept through the night. He is 100% breastfed. His sleep was always terrible but lately, he literally wakes up every 1 to 2 hours nightly. From birth, he has never woke up less than 3-4 times nightly. It ranges from 3-8 times, every single night. The only thing that settles him is breastfeeding. The trouble is that because he had many difficulties latching, I never introduced a pacifier. Because of that he's highly dependent on breastfeeding for soothing.”

“Our daughter just turned 1 year old and she cannot sleep throughout the night in her crib without waking up and crying. Around 6 months old, she wouldn’t sleep in her bassinet. We’d put her down and she’d immediately wake up and start screaming. It didn’t matter if she was awake or asleep or falling asleep, she wouldn’t have it. My wife and I started to co sleep with us in our bed (we knew the risks) because it was the only way to get her to sleep & stay asleep through the night. Around 9-10”

“I’ve gotten really stuck in my head about baby sleep and could use some perspective. My 5-month-old rarely falls asleep while nursing. For some reason, I always imagined that when a baby is tired, you put them on the breast and they drift off to sleep. But that’s almost never how it works for us. When he’s tired, cranky, rubbing his eyes, and clearly needs sleep, nursing often seems to make him even more awake and active. He’ll wiggle, squirm, kick, and stay awake instead of settling down. Most”

“Hi everyone, I have a 1 and 1/2 month old baby and I’m struggling to put him down to sleep. He usually falls asleep in my arms after feeding. I keep holding him for a while before trying to put him down, but almost every time I place him in his crib/bassinet, he wakes up or starts becoming very uncomfortable. He starts squirming, pulling his legs up toward his belly, moving his arms and bringing his hands to his face. Sometimes he starts crying and seems unable to settle. He can sleep quite peac”

“The baby is 7 months old and we started to give 3 meals a day. Fruit in the morning and afternoon and a lunch with carbohydrates, protein and vegetables. Ever since his sleep is awful. Waking up every hour... -He is breastfeed and I don't substitute for any nursing sessions. So he is getting the same amount of milk as usual. -the last meal is 4 hours before bed and it is a fruit snack -he is also a lot more mobile now and shows interest in crawling but is not there yet and I don't think”

“I need advice on how to transition my 10 month fomo baby from feeding to sleep to brushing his teeth right before sleep. He has 8 teeth now 😭 and I know it’s not good for him to go to sleep right after having a bottle. He sleeps through the night 6/7pm - 7am , he also does not use pacifiers and he’s bottle fed only. Not sure where to start I really don’t want to ruin his sleep schedule. He tends to be hard to put down for naps and bedtime, bottle feeding him right before has literally been savi”

“I have a three week old and a high energy almost 3 year old. I am breastfeeding and pumping 2-3 times a day. I’m getting next to no sleep at night and cannot “sleep when baby sleeps” through the day because I have a toddler to keep alive and entertain as well. I am running on adrenaline but feel myself crashing. She does go to daycare 3 days per week but unfortunately tomorrow is not one of those days and I am running as solo parent while my husband works and I’ll have no backup. Newborn is in a”

“Hey all. I think my daughter (17 weeks) recently hit the 4-month sleep regression, and I’m looking for some solidarity and advice. She was never a great sleeper, at best we very got a 5–6 hour stretches a few times, but she usually woke every ~3 hours. Over the past two weeks, things have gotten harder: she now fights sleep at night to the point of meltdowns and often only falls asleep once she’s completely exhausted. She’s also been waking up about every hour - two hours overnight. We checked i”

“I’ve nursed my daughter for far longer than I thought I would. I used to think our journey would end much sooner with her starting to sleep through the night or with my nursing job with irregular hours putting a strain on my supply. None of which has happened. I want to continue nursing during the day but stop the night sessions. We co-sleep so her waking to feed is not a problem as long as I’m home, but my job does mean I work nights sometimes leaving my husband alone with our kids. The first n”

“14 months old and he has been a terrible sleeper his whole life. He’s CONSTANTLY on the move. Constantly fidgeting as I’m putting him to bed and for naps. He never shows tired cues, never wants to calmly sit down for literally anything. Meal times he’s also trying to climb out his high chair. Then he wakes up every two hours at night (previously it was every 45 minutes, from 3-11 months). Not because he’s hungry or cold or lonely or whatever. Just… because. I adapt to his busyness most of the ti”

“Me and my wife have a 6 week LO. I have always been a deep sleeper but since we have had a kid, it has gotten worse. I won’t wake up to alarms, the baby crying, phone calls, etc. Because of this, I don’t sleep during my shifts at night but it still causes problems as i struggle to wake up when it’s my turn to watch the baby. Does anybody have any tips for waking up from deep sleep? submitted by /u/hiHowAreYou134 [link] [comments]”

“He will wake up and nurse for less than 10 mins then go to sleep. I’ve tried waiting to pick him up and other soothing methods, but he will fuss until I pick him up. He sleeps in a bedside bassinet right beside me. submitted by /u/Such_Attorney2687 [link] [comments]”

“My LO is 6 months old and has historically been an excellent sleeper. She started sleeping through the night (10pm-5am) at 12 weeks. My wife and I were spoiled to death with that. Now, she barely can sleep for 1-2 hours straight at night and we are losing our minds. We are still room sharing at the moment, I’m convinced we need to finally set her up in her own room and start sleep training. Idk it’s been like 3 weeks of her no longer sleeping through the night. submitted by /u/Midwes”

“Our child has never been a good sleeper. Since birth he was a motion junkie, hated the crib, always wanted to be held/worn and we spent a lot of time on a yoga ball getting him to sleep. We didn't have sleep regressions, we had short progressions where his sleep improved for some time, but it was always a struggle. I think he had two or three 6-hour stretches, but generally does not sleep more than 4 hours even at night. We pushed back and constantly tried getting him used to the crib/baby b”

“My LO is almost 4 months old and I ebf. For naps and night time the only way to get her to sleep is for me to feed her. I know this is biologically normal etc., but I would like some freedom and for someone else to be able to put her down. She primarily only contact naps too so it is a lot. Please tell me how you moved away from feeding to sleep? submitted by /u/Basic_Fig2202 [link] [comments]”

“I feel like I am at my wits end tonight. I am so frustrated. My baby turned 4 months today. She has never been a great sleeper. For the past few weeks things have been awful. 4 month sleep regression? Not sure. Is it even a regression if things never improve? The issue we are having is that we will put her to bed and she will wake up every 10-45min for the next two to three hours. It is so frustrating. Then when she finally "goes to sleep" she wakes every 2-3 hours. At this point, I do”

“Hey Everyone, All signs are pointing that our 7.5 month baby is looking to drop her 3rd nap now. - starting to be cranky during and after the 3rd nap - had a huge false start last night 3 hours after put down that lasted 3 hours The biggest issue with dropping to 2 naps is our girl just struggles and struggles to nap enough in the day still, we know its coming eventually but we feel snookered at the moment. Today for example; - Woke at 630am - First nap at 9:15am ( napped for 60 minutes in a rar”

“My baby is struggling with sleep - which means im not sleeping. How is everyone sleep training? What jas worked? She nurses to sleep. Im finding everything hard. Pick up/put down doesnt work- she just screams bloody murder, chair method doesnt work, also screams bloody murder, ferber obviously doesnt work. Send help. I need sleep, she needs sleep. Listening to her scream breaks my heart submitted by /u/SuspiciousTrip000 [link] [comments]”

“Baby is 9 months old and my husband and I are exhausted from waking up 4-5 times a night. We decided to do the Ferber method last night. Took 40 mins of off and on crying but it never got intense.. then the baby slept through the night for the first time ever!!!!! We tried the same method for naps today… she slept beautifully unassisted for both naps! Tonight’s bedtime took 14 mins. I was honestly on the fence about sleep training based on what family had told me but wow, what a game changer! &#”

“Sleep training here. I’m a high needs sleep person, and with our first he couldn’t settle himself until we did the Ferber CIO method at about 10 months old. This time around I was determined to have a child who can self soothe and it’s going pretty well. She’s almost 5 months old and can put herself to sleep. I also don’t sweat the small stuff and my day-to-day nappy bag has been condensed into a small backpack lol. How about you guys? submitted by /u/ROSIESARCH [link] [comment”

“My baby is 6 months old and I still nurse to sleep. I really love doing this as it gives me an opportunity to connect with them and it’s generally very calming for me. My baby has slept through the new a few times, though generally does not. They also do not fall asleep by themselves. To me this is normal, but I keep feeling guilty, as though I’m depriving my baby of learning a skill? My husband believes they should be falling asleep by themselves at this point and sleeping through the night, an”

“My baby is 13 months and we have stoops breastfeeding throughout the day and we just do it for bedtime now, she does have the occasional feed during the night but it’s normally once. Does anyone have any advice on how to make it easier? I tried today with what I do for naps but she screamed for 2 hours until eventually calming down and falling asleep. She goes mental when my partner tries to get her to sleep and will only sleep for me. We co sleep as well which I’m wanting to transition out of b”

“I’m back again with yet another problem. My almost 11 month old is now rejecting everything that’s gotten him to sleep previously. For reference, we usually rock him to sleep and cosleep, no cribs and we never sleep trained. We always have had an awful sleeper, none of that worked for us. He’s always been an incredibly light sleeper and still wakes 2 hrs at a time, crying and needing to be patted down to sleep. We’re both exhausted but used to it, so oh well I guess. Now, he’s totally rejecting”

“Our son is 3 weeks old. During the night he has a hard time falling asleep on his own. During the day we breastfeed and during the night we usually use expressed milk in a bottle so mum can just pump and go back to sleep. Now, the grandparents (mom's parents) stay with us for a while and help around a lot, which is very welcome. The grandma is also very good at getting him to fall asleep. During the night they also help with the bottle feed and putting him to bed. He usually falls asleep on”

“FTM exclusively bottle fed baby. My baby is 5 weeks old drinking Good Start forumla using Advent glass bottles. Many feeds throughout the day i find he will eat a bit, fall asleep and wake up about 10-15 mins later crying he’s hungry. This cycle can go on for 40mins to 2 hours for one feed. We’ve tried the usual advice, strip baby down to diaper, feet tickling, going up the size in nipple, matching the dent in the ring to the hole in the nipple, but nothing seems to work! It is not every feed, i”

“Does anyone else have a baby who sleeps with their mouth open? I’ve read that long-term mouth breathing can affect the development of the palate and jaw, so I’m wondering how concerned I should be. My baby often sleeps with their mouth open, even though they don’t seem congested. Has anyone experienced this? Did you talk to your pediatrician or an ENT about it? And if so, what did they recommend? submitted by /u/MICK-234 [link] [comments]”

“I am officially not interested and assisting my daughter how to sleep. Most of the time lately she just sits there and suckles. Its effecting her night sleep and her potential transition from 2 to 1 nap. I would like to take this change in peace without crying wining or thrashing. If I just lay her into her bed and set my hand on her chest she will just thrash and pull to her knees then sit up even if I just lay next to her as well. I cannot stand the crying, I can make my husband help but hes n”

“Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice and real experiences. My baby is 9 months old and has been exclusively breastfed. Over the last month, night sleep has turned into a total struggle: waking up constantly and using my breast as a pacifier. Sometimes drinking milk, but mostly just comfort-nursing to get back to sleep. I’ve tried introducing an actual pacifier, but the baby just spits it out and starts crying. During the day, solid foods are going well (goat's milk yogurt for a morning s”

“Hello group. So my 27 month old son still does not sleep through the night. He will wake multiple times, but usually around 1 am and 5 am (seems in between sleep cycles) and immediately call out for us. He stands in the crib and jumps and screams like crazy until we come. Sometimes we can get him to lay back down but will need to rub his back or stay next to the crib until he falls back asleep. Other times he wants to be picked up and rocked in the rocking chair. He’s never been a great sleeper”

“I am currently pregnant with my second and want to night wean my 12mo. I'm fine still breastfeeding during the day (now around 4 times - waking up, after naps, before bed). Right now she wakes 1-3 times a night to nurse, but every once in a while she sleeps through the night so I know she'd be fine. I'm also planning on tandem nursing when I have my baby. She'll be 20mo then and probably down to 2-3x/day, but I definitely don't wan't to nurse her in the night when I have”

“Ever since my daughter was born, I cannot, cannot handle false starts. You know when she's so ready to go to sleep but just...won't? Now she's almost 2 and she started trying to trick me into putting her to bed because she wants a milk bottle. Then she gets it, drinks it, and it's all fun and games again. So now I have to gauge every night whether she's actually sleepy, or whether she's just pretend-crying for it. I hate it so much, and I have no idea of how to change it.”

“My 4 month old is probably cluster feeding and recently has begun falling asleep at the breast and bottle. That's probably normal right? At what point do I give up and just let him sleep? I've woken him up like 3 times and am now covered in breastmilk cause he keeps latching, eating a little then falling asleep and my boob leaks all over me 😅 I wasn't able to breastfeed my first past a month so this is all new to me, every month something new happens with my boobs I swear. sub”

“How the heck do you get your baby to sleep during the day? My baby is 4 weeks old and it takes everything to get him to nap during the day. I know he is so overtired but we can’t get him to fall asleep before he gets to that point. Is this just how it goes for a while? submitted by /u/WhosLou [link] [comments]”

“Pure curiosity cause I know every baby is different with different sleep neds, schedules, rhythms, etc. What time roughly does your 9 month old wake up each day? Ours is sleeping all night. Used to wake 8-830. Now it is 7-730 every day. submitted by /u/fullnessofjoy2021 [link] [comments]”

“Just curious my breastfed baby is 7 and a half MONTHS*** and wakes up anywhere from 5 mins to an hour im freaking exhausted when did tour baby sleep through the night? Or scratch through the night let's say a 4 or 5 hour stretch lol No sleep trying advice please just naturally started doing it? I dont want to leave my baby to CIO thank you all submitted by /u/Pixie-Rose333 [link] [comments]”

“When did you allow your LO to spend the night with their grandparents or another trusted adult? My son is 14 months old and has never spent a night away from me and I’m just curious as to when others felt ready for overnights. submitted by /u/EntertainmentThin662 [link] [comments]”

“Hi! I am a FTM to an almost 4 month old! She started sleeping through the night at right around 2.5 months old and during that time I got lazy and did not wake up to pump and also my period returned. Fast forward, for the last week my daughter has been popping on and off the boob while feeding. I’ll try to burp her in between breast and she is just crying like she’s starving. Because of this I decided to pump to see if it was a supply issue and I only got 3 ounces in total. I use to get 10 ounce”

“My LO is almost 9 months, and the last week or so has decided to spend 2 hours between 9-12 just screaming and kicking. Most of the time their eyes are closed, and they can only get to some part of sleep if I'm holding them and bouncing with them while standing. The screaming fits will come in periods of like five minutes then sometimes then can go back asleep. I'm not a CIO parent ( I can't emotionally handle it and my first born would throw up easily when they cried so I don't”

“Going on 2 weeks now my lo has not been wanting to go to bed at night. He can be super tired yawning and showing signs of sleeping even getting cranky and as soon as it place him on the bed it’s like he was never tired. I’ve tried taking a nap away he will stay up till 5pm and then he cranky and want to sleep which I don’t let him I’ll wait till 8:30 to put him to bed and that’s when he goes to bed without a fuss. Day to day schedule: wake up 9am-nap1-2 sometimes till 3pm and then bed time at 9p”

“This isnt directly related to breastfeeding, but im desperate! My baby is 2 months old and EBF. He came home and for the first month and a half of life, he slept amazing. Once he reached his birth weight again, he would sleep 5-6 hour stretches in the night. Im a ftm but i wasnt naive, i knew it wouldnt last long. Sure enough, at like 6 weeks, he cut down to 2-3 hour stretches. I expected it, i wasnt surprised, just disappointed. He also has to be nursed back to sleep, so im usually up for 30-60”

“my 14 month old wakes up multiple times a night to breastfeed. when is it biologically normal to night wean? he’s clearly not ready IMO but he literally barely eats food all day. he breastfeeds 3-4 times during the day then maybe 1-4 times at night submitted by /u/marissaaaababyy [link] [comments]”

“I am absolutely dying. Our baby has regressed in sleep so badly for the past 1-2 months with a significant worsening in the last 3 weeks. We used to cosleep between the ages 4-7m and he could largely sleep through the night but as his motor skills developed I found it disrupting to be woken up by his movements or vice versa so we tried to transition him to the cot (initially for half the night and now the full night). It’s been 2-3 weeks now and he’s currently waking up EVERY HOUR. We are severe”

“This is my second baby. First time around breastfeeding did not work out so its all new to me. First two weeks went great. Baby nursed well and fell asleep on the boob a lot. Seemed happy and content. Now at 4 weeks, it seems I produce way to much for her. If I let her drink as long as she likes she spits up and is in pain, crying her eyes out. Sometimes so long the next feed moment is already there. If I stop her, 9 out of 10 times it still is not early enough. She is still in pain and spits. S”

“Hi guys I have a six month old baby girl who's a good sleeper except that she needs my nipple in her mouth for the entire duration of her nap. It's called breastsleeping, I know it's biologically normal and have enjoyed it but I've rejoined work and obviously it's getting difficult. When I try slipping my nipple out, she immediately wakes up and roots for it and will end the nap unless the nipple goes back in. Anyone who experienced this? When did it end? submitted by &”

“My 6 mo exclusively breastfed babe has always been fed to sleep for every nap, followed by a contact nap. If I try and transfer he wakes within minutes regardless of how long I wait. Have you been here?? If so, how did you help baby fall sleep in their cot? Please, explain the steps you took like I’m five! The only other way he can fall asleep is if I bob him in the carrier for 15 minutes but he’s a big boy and my back can’t handle it anymore. I’m spending hours feeling trapped in the nursing ch”

“My 6 week old has reflux and generally only sleeps soundly when being held upright. I'm EBF so up at night for that too. I've started getting insomnia and am struggling to sleep on my limited sleep shift (my wife has just gone back to work, long days including prescribing medications so she needs to be rested). She has the baby from 9-12, but I feel like I'm either feeding LO or laying in bed just not sleeping (or worrying about not getting enough sleep to be safe looking after the b”

“My daughter is 20 months. She still is breastfeeding to sleep. That’s the only way I can get her to sleep, and when she wakes up in the middle of the night I have to nurse her back to sleep. She sleeps in my bed because of this. My husband can get her to sleep but it’s by staying up with her until she’s tired enough to fall asleep which can vary between 10pm- 1am. I just feel like I’m failing her. I can’t do the cry it out method. I’ve seen where mothers have breastfed for 2 years but I just fee”

“My LO has started to roll into their side and belly when falling asleep. I know that the best practice is to roll them onto their backs, but then we're all awake and crying together from exhaustion. We have them swaddled with one arm out, and we are working on moving to both arms out. Any advice or thoughts? Is it okay to just leave it and let the kid sleep? submitted by /u/chellumvellum [link] [comments]”