My 7 month old son was never really a good sleeper. He only sleeps around 2 hours a day in 30 min. periods and goes to sleep at 8pm. He wakes up a few times and sometimes nothing really helps him to go back to sleep. When I put him in the bed he falls asleep OK. I have to hold his hands in the night time and evening to fall asleep. Daytime we rocking him to sleep otherwise he will not sleep at all. It is not the teeth or any illness keeping him awake. Sometimes he just starts talking when he is up at night.

It is pretty common to start to wake more as he is learning new things, becoming more aware of his surroundings, and gaining new skills. As long as you rule out any discomforts it is part of normal infant development.

Sleeping patterns will change from time to time in the first year... usually just when you thought you had it down too!

Offer as little interaction at night time as necessary to help him settle back down. If he is just quietly talking to himself, no need to go in. Keep to a regular bedtime routine, and he will likely get back on track before long.