DS slept through the night from 7 weeks although since christmas this has gone wrong. He has been teething and I believe he has liked the comfort I give him in the night and waking every night, once or twice every night, for anything between 20minutes and 4hours! The last four nights have been the worse and I am sleep deprived and cranky. I now feel we have several problems to tackle to help things improve.
- He wants his shawl. He was swaddled in it from birth and we have progressed to a sleepbag although he needs to hold his shawl to go to sleep and have it tucked into his cot. He refuses milk if he is not wrapped in or holding his shawl or is in his outdoors skisuit.
- He feeds to sleep and likes to be rocked.
- He is becoming more reliant on his dummy.
- His regular waking which i can find no cause other than teething but I cannot see how this would cause him to wake every night and why he immediately settles when I pick him up if he is in pain.
When he wakes up I keep him in a dark room, don't stimulate him or feed him. SOmetimes I offer water, paracetamol or teething gel. I resort to rocking him or co-sleeping with him which takes up to four hours (this was Sunday night!)to work although normally it is between 1-2 hours.
He naps twice per day and goes to bed at 7.45, usually wakes around 7/8am.
What would you do? Controlled crying? No tears? Start by removing dummy? Stop feeding to sleep? How do you put baby down awake in scenario of controlled crying/no tears if he is sound asleep after feeding?