Sleeping FAQ: 6-9 Months – Night Waking

Is my 7mth daughter waking through hunger or sleep associations since a recent holiday?

My daughter of 7 months has been sleeping through the night from an early age, which has been great up until now. We went on a short holiday where her routine went a bit out of the window. Due to the fact we were out most of the day, her nap times were taken in a push chair and she tended to go to sleep later in the evenings.

Since our return she seemed to get back into her routine at first other than the fact she found it very difficult to go down to sleep during the day. Previous to our holiday she had had no trouble at all. Then the waking at night occurred. She usually falls asleep on her 6.30pm feed [without finishing it] and goes straight to bed. She will then wake at various times. It can be 2.30, 3.30 or 5.00am. My daughter finds it difficult to go back to sleep again. I sometimes take her into bed with me but this does not settle her.

Since she falls asleep on her 6.30pm feed I try giving her the rest at 10.30pm. She goes back to sleep after this but still wakes later in the night. I have thought I have not been giving her enough solids, but if I increase them she does not take all her milk. She has never been a good feeder and I always have trouble giving her the suggested amounts.

With her daytime naps I have now taken to going out in the car in the morning so she falls asleep for the first nap. She then goes the 2 hours at lunchtime. Sometimes she does not have a morning nap and struggles to keep awake for her lunch. But I can’t always do this and she is starting at nursery for 2 days a week soon. I am worried about how she is going to sleep then.

She already has two teeth and I have been giving her teething granules for this which seems to help. But could this be the cause of her restlessness at night? The sleeping times given are very approximate as her day and night time sleeping is very random.

My daughter feeds at 7.30am 100-180mls. She will refuse most of this feed and I try an hour later. She takes 2-3 tablespoons of cereal/pureed fruit or similar at breakfast. Lunch is at 11.45am and consists of 3 tablespoons of protein food, mixed with vegetables and fruit yoghurt. She takes 1-2ozs diluted juice with this meal. 3pm, 150-180mls milk. Tea at 5pm is a rice or pasta dish of 2-3table spoons and 2 baby rice cakes. She drinks diluted juice with this meal. 6.30pm 210mls of milk which she usually does not finished [see above].

She naps at 9.30-9.45am and 12.30-2pm. She settles at 6.45pm.

It is a good idea to try to improve your daughter’s daytime sleeping again by taking her out for a car ride at her morning nap time. As she is not sleeping that well in the day and falling asleep over her milk in the evening you may need to let her have a short catnap of 10-15minutes in her buggy in the afternoon.

Teething could well be the reason that your daughter is waking randomly in the night. A baby who wakes at the same time each night is more likely to be doing so from habit. A baby who wakes at different times and finds it hard to settle again is more likely to be waking from hunger or teething discomfort. Have you ever tried to offer her a milk feed when she wakes, to see if hunger is the cause? If she takes a feed and then settles again you will know that you need to look at her feeding in the daytime.

If you think that teething discomfort is causing her to wake then give her the recommended dosage of a suitable pain reliever such as Calpol. This should become effective within 20 minutes of being administered. If she settles after this time then you will know that teething is causing her to wake at the random times.

Are you sure she is taking 2ozs of protein at lunchtime? This is the amount that a baby of her age needs. At teatime you could try replacing the rice cakes with some pureed fruit and baby rice to help fill her up for the night ahead.

On the days when your daughter does not sleep at the morning nap, bring her lunchtime forward so she is not too tired to eat properly. On the days that she eats her lunch earlier she may also go down for her lunchtime nap earlier. She will then need a slightly longer catnap in the afternoon to help her eat well at teatime and not fall asleep over her bedtime feed.

A baby of this age is often becoming more mobile and active. You need to make sure that she does get enough daytime sleep so she is not so exhausted by 6.30pm. Falling straight into a deep sleep at this time can mean that a baby wakes early in the morning.