# Ten month old sleep issues. Wakes up crying often.



## huminbird

My son is ten months old and for a couple of weeks now we have had a hard time sleeping. He has been waking up many times during the night crying. He used to do this about once a week or so now he may wake up three or four times during the night crying.

Is this possibly a regression? I read that they can happen around this time. What is a sleep regression?

For a while he was a champ sleeper and would regularly sleep 6-8 hours strait at night. That lasted for months. Then teething happened and that was a rough time for sleeping but now he has his four front teeth and I doubt that any more are coming in.

Now he wakes up about 6 or more times during the night. Three times to nurse and the other times to comfort nurse for a moment or two or just crying for no reason I can tell. This is very unusual for him. He probably cries about 20 minutes a week max. He is not a fussy baby now. He used to be before I cut out eggs and milk from my diet.

I don't feed him many solids yet because he isn't interested and the last three poops he had were not his usual breast milk watery stools but more solid. Enough so to plop them into the toilet out of his cloth diaper.

He is happy during the day and I just can't figure out what is wrong lately. Is it just a phase?

Thanks!


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## foreverinbluejeans

It could be teething, a growth spurt, or recent immunizations.


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## Dynia

IME, a lot of babies go through this at 10-12 months. I remember thinking I was not going to survive it with DD1. She was up every 45 min to an hour. The good news is that it _does_ pass. It _will_ get better. I've already started bracing myself for it with this one.

I think it's just a really tough time for babies. Growth, newly mobile, teething, separation anxiety... lots of things at once for such a new person.


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## kaliyah'smama

Our DD is going through the same thing - she is almost 10 months. The last four nights have been completely out-of-the-ordinary for her. She, too, wakes up crying, grabbing at me, nearly pushing me off the bed. Nursing her at every waking used to be a great option but now she is thrashing about while she nurses during all these wakings, kicking me, scratching me and generally very fussy.

It is helpful to read that this is just another stage and that it, too, will pass. I've learned to anticipate continual shifts in parenting - with attachment to nothing (I feel I sometimes, especially when tired, easily subconsciously "attach" to the idea that something difficult will never dissipate and this is futile). Non-attachment to all things, easy and difficult, is my practice.

Huminbird, will you continue to post how things are going? I'd like to continue to share our experiences during this tender time.


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## huminbird

We had another challenging night last night. He woke up to eat every other hour and woke up at least once between each of those to just fuss at me.

I have become resigned to letting him sleep on me most of the night. He was doing really well in his little bed butted up against ours but thats not working so well now. He wants to be cheek to cheek with me all night long. It doesn't help that he is kinda sleep crawling and bumping his head against the wall in his sleep.

I don't think he is teething and we are waiting to vaccinate so those aren't the issues. He is getting separation anxiety lately though. Maybe he is afraid when he can't feel me and see me right there all night long?

I like the idea of not allowing myself to get attached to one stage or behavior. That is a good way to look at it. It is easy to say "hey this is great, I hope he does (fill in the blank) for a long time." but not very practical. Growth is fluid and ever changing. Sometimes I just need to step back and see the big picture. Something that is hard for my sleep deprived mind to see.

Thanks for the replies.


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## kaliyah'smama

When I wake my husband to try to take a shift with her, rocking, and holding her close, his ultimate response is, "She is CRAZY for you right now - you are all she can focus on." And this really does seem to be the case.

We have a crib in our room. Until two nights ago it was used primarily to hold clean laundry (which sometimes didn't get folded for days/weeks) and, most recently, it was used as a training ground for DD to pull herself up to stand while I put those long-neglected away.

Two nights ago, we put DD to rest there at 12:30 am for the very first time. We were wondering if my "ever presence" next to her was the very thing keeping her awake. She slept in that contraption until 5:30 am. This hasn't happened in months. We couldn't believe it.

She has spent between 2-3 1/2 hours in the crib the last couple of nights which seems to work okay for her.

She continues, however, to wail when she wakes - regardless of where she is when it occurs - and still pulls at me as though she is terrified she won't be able to get close enough to me.

This new struggle continues....but will eventually shift....

Anything new on your end?

Any other 9-10-11-month old experiences out there?


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## calpurnia

my 9.5 month old was up every 1.5 hours last night.

when does this regression end?


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## blizzard_babe

I'm sitting here with my sleepy 10.5 month old on my lap, at 6:30am (we've been awake for an hour and a half) because he woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep.

Wait, let me clarify. He'd go back to sleep, but if I dared to do something awful like, you know, move my arm from the horrifically awkward position it ended up in (I can only sleep in a very specific position), he'd wake up and cry.


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## Aquabelly

We are having similar issues with our 10 month old. I think that his frequent waking (he sits in his sleep and tries to crawl and/or stand up) is developmental and hopefully he'll sleep more soundly soon...

In the evenings, I nurse him to sleep and place him in his crib beside our bed. He wakes frequently during this time looking for us (he stands up and looks towards the bed, crying). I nurse him back to sleep. When he is in bed with us, he will wake and try to crawl away--sometimes with his eyes completely shut!

I'll be following this thread to see how our LO's progress!


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## calpurnia

does anyone else's baby always wake up for 1.5 hours or so in the middle of the night? like from 1 till 3 last night :yawn she's always tired & drowsy but just won't drop back off to sleep again!


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## FullMetalMom

My dd went through this around that age when she got really strong separation anxiety. She would go from sleeping to a full out cry and she barely ever cries. I started sleeping with her again during that time and she eventually got over it.


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## moonmom08

I have a 9-month-old...pretty much same thing. First wake up is 30 min after bedtime, always crying. This has been going on for about a month or so. When I go to her, she is either crawling around or standing in her crib (it is right next to our bed). Either she needs to be patted/nursed or she can be inconsolable for up to an hour or so. Then again about 1 hr 15 min after that, same routine. After I come to bed, she is up to nurse and then comes into bed with me. The rest of the night is usually not too bad...she'll be up 2 or 3 more times and will nurse and go right back to sleep. No more crying, though. It's the early night before she settles that's tough. Now reading this, it seems pretty clear that it is separation anxiety...she's knows when I'm in the room or not.


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