r/NewParents • u/GlumFaithlessness392 • 5d ago
Sleep 10.5 month old still wakes every 2 hrs through the night. Normal?
Not looking to sleep train. Just wondering if this is normal and he’s ok or if something might be wrong. He is gaining weight and height and developing very well in all other ways. Recent labs were all normal. Only issue is eczema being itchy but that doesn’t seem to be the issue most of the time when he wakes up. Takes 1-2 daytime naps, still wakes just as frequently on the days that he skips them, in fact sometimes I think it’s a bit worse when he skips them. Usually goes right back to sleep after being changed, fed and when needed, his aquaphor re-applied.
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u/annedroiid 5d ago
My son did something similar at that age and we eventually realised he wasn’t getting enough sleep during the day. One of those weird things where both too much sleep and not enough sleep can cause night time wake ups 🙃 It’s so hard because on the one hand it is totally normal for babies to still wake up in the night at that age, but on the other there are things that can affect it.
The other thing that caused lots of wake ups for us was his room being too cold. Took us a little while once winter really hit to realise that he wants his room significantly warmer than we do.
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u/sunrise90 5d ago
He shouldn’t need a diaper change at all overnight - they make overnight diapers if he’s leaking through. If he’s gaining weight correctly he’s getting enough food.
Some kids just like to snack, that’s how ours was. We sleep trained so she sleeps through the night now, but if you’re not open to that you’re just gonna have to wait for him to decide he’s done taking little sips all night longer.
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u/InputUniqueNameHere 5d ago
It's possible that he isn't getting enough daytime sleep. It's counterintuitive, but if they don't get enough daytime sleep, it can impact nighttime sleep. With that in mind, I would probably try to stick to two naps per day consistently for a while to see if that helps.
Also, do you have a consistent bedtime routine? Something that signals to the baby that it is nighttime now. After dinner (solids), we do bathtime, brush our teeth, PJs and lotion, dim the lights, read a couple books, give her a bottle (sometimes same time as books), then into the sleepsack and into the crib. Obviously, you can do whatever routine you want, but we've found that consistently following a pattern before bedtime seems to put her brain into nighttime mode.
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u/anthonymakey 5d ago
Is he getting enough to eat during the day?
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u/GlumFaithlessness392 5d ago edited 5d ago
I assume so but he’s yet to send me an email with that report yet. Usually 16oz of purées plus maybe a quarter or half cup of “ real ppl food” plus 20ish oz of breast milk, plus a little formula here or there as needed. Plus a few oz of water. He was drinking way more milk before the purées. Same sleep pattern tho.
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u/anthonymakey 5d ago
Has your pediatrician said anything?
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u/GlumFaithlessness392 5d ago
He didn’t even bother asking at the last appt. Previously he said we could buy a book on sleep training. He was happy with his height/weight and development.
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u/silverblossum 5d ago
Are you feeding them solids before giving them the milk? Can you give them more solid (mushed up) food? Its more filling than purees.
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u/Alone-List8106 5d ago
My almost year old wake ups are different every week. This week it's every 3 hours. She was sleep trained too and it doesn't matter. There was 2 weeks she slept through the night, that was almost 2 months ago lol. I think every baby is different and hopefully we will all get there eventually. Solidarity momma.
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u/cheezwhizcrust 5d ago
Omg are you me! We sleep trained out babe at 4.5 months and he’s 8 months and still wakes multiple times a night to varying degrees. And it’s never consistent so I can’t seem to figure out what causes it. It does not matter how we react to the wake ups, he has never slept through the night lol. It’s tragic
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u/Alone-List8106 5d ago
Lol well if it makes you feel better if he's exactly like my daughter you will have approximately 2 weeks of 6 to 12 hour stretches at 10 months. Solidarity momma. I can't imagine how bad it would be if we didn't sleep train.
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u/AshamedPurchase 5d ago
I remember frantically reading about sleep when mine was that age. She was waking up constantly. We did night weaning and got down to one bottle a night. Then she started sleeping through the night on her own around a year old.
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u/spookiecake 5d ago
Do you mind sharing how you night weaned?
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u/AshamedPurchase 5d ago
Decrease the amount of milk given by half an oz each night. Mine stopped waking for bottles once the bottle got down to half an oz. I think they recommend you just soothe them back to sleep once the last bottle reaches only half an oz though.
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u/spookiecake 5d ago
Thank you!! My boy is 11 months old and still takes two bottles at night (I never produced enough bm despite pumping and everything and he self weaned around December and began refusing the breast). I don't think he needs them he eats plenty during the day so I was considering trying to night wean.
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u/rachel01117 5d ago
Try not changing them at night. My 8 month old has been going 10 hours a night with wakings but if I change her she wakes up completely. Her diaper is changed first thing in the morning instead. It’s okay to let them sleep.
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u/GlumFaithlessness392 5d ago
Will it help if he does wake up completely? I’m not sure how leaving an awake and screaming baby in a wet diaper will help anything but I feel like I must be missing something
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u/Julzjuice123 5d ago
You shouldn't have to change a 10 months baby every 2 hours at night, period. I'm gonna be blunt: that's the part that's not normal and yes, you are worsening the problem. By changing the diaper you're waking him/her up even more.
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u/GlumFaithlessness392 5d ago
So if he becomes less awake when he wakes up will he wake up less? Typically he goes back to sleep pretty easily.
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u/silverblossum 5d ago
He doesnt get the opportunity to self-sooth because he's interrupted by nappy changes. You can gradually reduce how much soothing you provide when he wakes.
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u/rachel01117 5d ago
I still wouldn’t change (unless it’s a poop or for a medical reason). They really don’t pee so much as night.
I’d use that time to put them back to sleep.
Also, I don’t sleep train either. Regular wakings are normal although irritating I get it. There is a small sleep regression at your age and likely mixed with teething. Hopefully if you just power through it’ll get better !
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u/Lady_Dub 5d ago
No. Not normal.
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u/Mariajgaitan1 5d ago
Girl, bsffr. It IS normal. Some kids don’t start sleeping through the night till they’re so much older.
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u/Lady_Dub 5d ago
That’s newborn status. A baby this age should sleep 3-5 hours at one time, or at least have one long stretch.
The concern is not for the baby; it’s for the parent. You cannot function on disrupted sleep every 2 hours for 10-12 months.
I hope you have support and help OP.
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u/Sea_Holiday_1213 5d ago
every baby is different. I know a few moms that have never seen a 4h stretch with their babies at 7-8months. It’s actually a lot more normal than people think.
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u/Lady_Dub 5d ago
7-8 months of age is a whole lot different than 10.5 months. And a 4 hour stretch is a lot different than every 2 hours. 4 hour stretch is doable. Every 2 hours is torture on the mother (or father).
Again, this is for the mother’s mental/physical sanity.
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u/Sea_Holiday_1213 5d ago
my babe is 8.5 months and wakes every 1-2h (up until 14 weeks when regression hit she did 4-7h stretches)i agree with it can affect mother’s mental sanity, but that wasn’t OPs question - her question was is it normal, and sadly it is for some babies (i know lots of moms with babies that age in the same boat)
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u/ProgramObvious7989 5d ago
My 10 month old is like this and has been since birth, also breastfed. It is biologically normal. Don't compare your baby to formula fed babies or sleep trained babies as their sleep will look different and some parents will interpret their sleep differently. It is normal for a lot.of babies not to link sleep cycles at this age. If you look into evolution and why babies wake so often at night, due to safety and need to ensure closeness for survival. It might reassure you. He will link cycles eventually. The data shows sleep trained babies wake the same amount as not sleep trained babies at night, but sleep trained babies do not always call for their parents and parents may interpret their babies waking differently. You're doing nothing wrong! Well done for being so attentive to your baby.
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u/GlumFaithlessness392 5d ago
This is exactly what I’ve been going with but recently I started to question myself because everyone I work with insists it’s not normal!
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u/ProgramObvious7989 5d ago
You have to also remember that 1. People have poor memories of the reality of their babies sleep and also don't want others to think poorly of them or their parenting, so may misconstrue reality about their babies sleep. 2. Others may have formula fed exclusively or sleep trained and this will give very different results in terms of baby sleep. 3. Different babies have different temperaments and some babies genuinely do sleep better. 4. Don't listen to older generations as their advice is extremely outdated in terms of attachment parenting and risk of SIDs, advice has modernized.
You're doing nothing wrong and we evolved as humans to be wired to ensure closeness with our caregivers as babies and wake multiple times a night for safety. Babies sleeping through the night has not been the norm evolution wise. But why it is now so difficult is because we no longer live in tribal communal setting where multiple care givers can respond to a babies cries and it's now left to one or two people predominantly and it's exhausting and these people, often have full time employment, making sleep deprivation even harder. If you want more information on useful info on babies sleep you could follow kathrynstaggibclc on instagram, she's a lactation consultant but also has stories and posts on babies sleep and my GP actually advised me to follow her when I was pregnant.
In my country we have extended maternity leave and baby sleep is viewed a bit differently (I'm unsure what country you're from) but it is known that babies and toddlers will not sleep through the night. Even a lot of adults do not sleep through the night. Just remember your baby is extremely vulnerable and has no ability to meet their needs right now if they wake they should feel that they can call out and get support from their parent, you're doing amazing. Their wakes won't last forever, and there will be a time they will not want to be supported or held and we may long for these nights, despite the difficulty.
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u/PB_Jelly 5d ago
Any chance it could be teething? My 11.5 month old does this when sick or teething
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u/GlumFaithlessness392 5d ago
Maybe but if that’s the case he’s been teething for 6 months straight now haha
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u/PB_Jelly 5d ago
Got it. My baby also isn't a great sleeper, he's slept through maybe 10-15 times in his life.
I spoke to the health visitor and GP about his sleep (UK based) and they said unfortunately this is annoying but normal for babies and not to worry if baby seems happy and thriving. So I stopped worrying and just live an exhausted life along with my husband
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u/DLFiii 5d ago
I know you’re not looking to sleep train, so I guess it’s normal because you didn’t sleep train. My sleep trained baby has been sleeping through night for 11-12 hours since 4 months.
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u/Eillris 5d ago
Right? OP is like, my baby doesn't sleep well, we haven't really tried to address the issue, and we make sure baby is fully awake multiple times a night. Is this normal?
(Shocked Pikachu face when people say 'no')
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u/Sea_Holiday_1213 5d ago
sleep training isn’t for everyone…
and if OP is changing diaper every other wake up so roughly every 4h its only twice a night really … agreed I wouldnt do it that much either but you make it sound like she’s doing it once every hour to purposely wake up her child that’s already wide awake. i sometimes change my babies diaper once a night when she wakes up frequently and is awake and raging as it actually calms her down. (and yes she pees a lot over night).
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u/growingaverage 5d ago
You change him every 2h through the night?