Since the start of the year, maybe Feb, my daughter has been wakening near enough every night an hour after being put to bed. I understand that she is not getting into the stage of deep sleep without wakening, but I don't know how to help break this pattern. Some nights she is easy enough to settle back to sleep, others it takes a good while. Last night she slept 3 1/2 hours before wakening and she will do this once in a while, not usually so long, maybe a couple of hours. Thought about teething, but it surely can't be that every night nearly, for months! She is in her cot in the evenings, then I take her into bed when she first wakens after we go to bed. I usually rock her to sleep in the evening after her bath, bedtime feed and story. Occassionally just lately she will need to be fed to sleep in eve, but not usually. When she wakens, she used to need fed to sleep, but nowadays is settled mostly being rocked back to sleep. Had thought about trying to get her to sleep in her cot, but she just crys, thought if she knew she was in cot before she went to sleep, might not get a fright wakening up there. Leave a light on nowadays too. Hasn't really helped. Just wondered if anyone else has experienced or known of this to happen and suggestions about how to handle it. It may just lessen as her sleep matures, but it's taking its time! Thanks.

Oh - I've experienced it! I know how tiring it is. All I can say is that it will pass...eventually. Its nothing you are doing, or aren't doing.
I know for myself, it really helped to stop searching for a reason. I always thought 'if i could just find a reason, than i could solve this'. Well, i never found a reason and really stressed about it. One day I finally said - forget it- my baby just isnt one of those kids who sleeps for long stretches. sure she did before, but not now. and once I accepted it it helped me tremendously. I wont lie - i was still exhausted and was still frustrated at times, but not all the time like i had been.
Reading The No Cry Sleep Solution really helped me too.
And just bringing her into bed, rolling over and popping a boob in helped too!
One thing I did find is that sure enough if there were 2 or 3 nights in a row that were particularly bad (im talking up at 2am for 3 hours to play) that i would see a tooth on that 4th day.
Just keep saying "this too shall pass" and think about how when your dk is 12 you wont be able to cuddle her all night long! LOL
big hugs.
And remember NAP WITH HER IN THE DAY - nevermind the dishes/laundry/cleaning!

Thanks Bibble for replying, it really helps to hear other folks experiences too. I think the frustration and I hate to admit it, annoyance is the biggest thing for me out of not getting slept more than a couple of hours at a time. I feel so guilty about it and although she is still young, I'm sure she picks up on what I am saying or my mood and she doesn't deserve it. I must deal with my feelings better as I don't want to put my lack of coping skills onto her and make her feel bad. I do now sleep sometimes during the day as it was really getting me down and I kept catching colds etc so I am looking after myself a bit better. What age was your wee one when she started sleeping better? She has just started to crawl as I am writing this (been crawling a couple of steps now and then over past week) so HOORAY! Maybe she will tire herself out more now!!?! I have read no cry sleep solution but found I was already doing a lot of the suggestions in the book, with no improvement, so we will just have to bide our time. My daughter did the same as yours and slept better, much better (8 hours at a time) when she was a little baby - strange! By the way, what do all the abbreviations mean? EG DD, DS, DK, DH ?

DS, is darling son, DD is darling daughter.
DP or DH darling Partner or husband.

I found my littles sleep patterns are always affected my whats happening developmentally. I read somewhere that this is doe to brain chemicals dipping at night which allows the neural connections to be made. Whenever they were doing something from starting to sit to talking and everything in between this affected their sleep patterns.

I found it passed as soon as the baby reflex went and the development part was firmly embedded in their brain.

Try putting her in your bed. She might just need to be close to you.
My DD started doing the same thing at about 9 months of age. She will be two next week and she still does it. Sometimes she wakes one hour after putting her in the cot, sometimes it is three hours after putting her down. Same story- bath, feed, story. She wants to be with us.
Now, it is impossible to expect a parent to go to bed so early but what I have found is that if I take her to our bedroom, put her in my side of our bed and lay down with her for ten minutes or so she goes right off to sleep for the rest of the night. Then I can get back to my chores/other baby/husband.
I have a bed-guard/rail thing by Baby Dan so that she can't fall out when I am not there.

I agree, it helps us enormously. My son is a very light sleeper and I know that if he were not sleeping in our bed nobody would get any sleep because we would be up and down to him every hour.

I also agree with what KateB says re developmental awakenings. Last Saturday he wouldn't go to sleep till 1am and then woke at 6am bright as a button - I couldn't believe it!! Sunday and Monday he came out with LOADS of new words, one of them being "lasagne" Thought that was funny....just shows you how often I talk about what I'm cooking !!

we don't have a bedrail but use plumped up pillows a bit away from our son either side of him. He's 18 months now so can get of bed himself but we would hear him before he hops out or hear the pitter patter of little feet....!

Hope you get some rest!