My 6 Month Old Suddenly Very Fussy at Night

When my son hit 6 months, he also came out of his normal pattern. I would be able to put him in his crib sleepy and he would fall asleep on his own and sleep all night. When 6 months hit he would cry like no other!! I would have to rock him to sleep or have him in our bed with us until he fell asleep. He would also wake up during the middle of the night, which he rarely did before. I wasn't sure what was wrong and tried changing his eating pattern prior to sleep. He is 7 months now and just now getting back to his previous sleep pattern. I still have to mostly rock him to sleep unless he's just super tired and occasionally wakes in the middle of the night, but it's getting better!! Hang in there!!

Not sure about the weaning and the stress. My baby was fussy at night and would try to stay up until midnight if we introduced new foods at supper instead of at lunch. Hope this helps. May even be teething. Give some Hylands teething tablets.

As I'm sure many have stated....could be teething. How about her ears?? Have you had them checked? Does she sleep flat in a bed during the day or does she take her naps propped up in a swing or being held or something like that. My daughter was super sad at night due to pressure in her ears...she has since gotten tubes, but in the meantime, I started propping her bed up a little and it helped. Good luck!

Hi W.,

If the crying was stress related I would think she would cry during the day too. I am thinking ear ache. My daughter had them alot. My only clue was waking up in the middle of the night crying. She did not have fever or pull on her ear.

No feeling guilty. You are a loving mother and daughter. A positive to weaning is that your husband can enjoy cuddling while feeding too.

I hope you find the answer you are looking for.

If I had to guess, I would say she is teething. It seems like things start to shake-up around the 6 month mark - sleeping patterns change, etc. I would just continue to do the routine that you have set in place. Put a sippy cup of water in her crib at night to chew on. If she takes a pacifier, put multiple in her crib - maybe 2-3. Also, you may want to change her diaper in the crib if dirty. Also, give her some orajel and try to soothe her without taking her out of the crib. Baby Motrin works as well. I hate to tell you this but the teething stage is not fun - some kids have a harder time than others. Good luck!

Try putting her in bed with you. She may be missing the closeness of nursing with you and just need a little more snuggle time. Co-sleeping is safe and great for attachment . . . and it does not have to last forever!

My boys only ever caused us trouble at night when they were teething . . . try orajel and/or tylenol before bed. You may also want to barely lift the mattress so she is on an incline - if she's teething it may hurt more to lay flat (causes more pressure) . . . Good luck and just remember nothing lasts forever.

Actually, I'm trying to get some help for my daughter who is having the same problem with her 7 month old son. She is exhausted and is at her wit's end. I hope you are able to get some help soon. I know it can be very difficult.

Hi,
Likely causes could be one or more of the following: the weaning was too early, she is picking up on stress and wanting more comfort at night especially if she's being held less during the day because of weaning or the stress issues, teething, growth spurt, and/or starting solid foods. My son slept all night like a rock until we started solids at 6 months. Then he woke up every few hours because he was trying to digest all the new stuff and had a lot of gas as a result. If it's gas try Mylacon, bicycling legs, burping, and rubbing tummy in the pattern of a 7. If it's growth spurt offer a bottle. If it's teething the worst part is when the teeth are coming through the gums - you can give tylenol for about 5 days. In all cases be sure to give lots of skin to skin contact day and night. Please consider getting a sling or wrap so you can wear baby and go about your day/evening. One of the best baby books I've read about helping baby through all sorts of things especially sleeping without CIO is The Baby Book by William and Martha Sears. It also talks about the benefits of baby-wearing. Most importantly, don't beat yourself up for doing what you have to in life. Just try to comfort her as much as you can during this time. My son is turning 1 this week and still wakes up multiple times at night when he is teething or having a growth spurt. Just remember that in a few years you'll look back and remember all the extra special moments you had snuggling with your baby that can only happen when they are this small. :)

I actually do not think that it is stress at all and you shouldn't feel guilty about not being at 100%. It was a short amount of time and you were taking care of something very important. As long as your child was well taken care of during that time, held, fed, changed etc. you should not feel bad about being distracted with a very stressful and unavoidable situation. I actually don't think it is teething either, however it is a possibility. My guess is actually that it might be acid reflux. Since it is only happening at night, which is when acid reflux is usually the worse because we are laying down. Since you have recently weaned her, she has obviously had dietary changes that could be contributing to any reflux or upset stomach. Not to mention, she may be angry because she wants to nurse. IF you feel that bad about weaning her, then start nursing again. If you let her suckle, your milk will come back and if you have trouble geting it to come back, your doctor can prescribe you some meds to make it come back in. Those are the things that I would consider. I personally think that I would take her to the doctor to see if he can help you figure out what is wrong. There is no sense in spinning your wheels and not figuring out what it is when the doctor can probably put his finger on it pretty quickly. Your baby could also have a mild ear infection which could display these symptoms that you are describing. The ear infections hurt most when laying down at night due to the change in pressure in your ears. I think it is worth a trip to the doctor just to have her ears checkec, discuss reflux and maybe starting nursing again. Just some thoughts, take them or leave them. However, it would probably get you all back on a sleep schedule faster if you let the doctor help!

My first thought was teething! Try putting some Baby Orajel PM on her gums?? THEN you mentioned stress and weaning. Does she take a paci? She just may need to get use to something else to soother her to sleep. Try to get her attached to a lovey or see if she will take paci. ALSO, try to notice if she tugs her ears or rubs her head. Mine would FREAK at laying down when they had ear infections. They would be fine sitting up, but laying down was apparently heck on them. HTH and keep hoping this passes soon!

It's probably both, a growth spurt and stress. This just happened to a friend of mine and it only lasted about 2 weeks and then her daughter was back to her normal sleep cycle. Also, could your daughter be teething as well?