Thanks for your reply ches. I realised that I started him on follow-on milk the night he started screaming so I've tried switching back the last two nights (he's on solids and bf for all feeds except one bottle at bedtime as my supply is zilch then). anyway, things seem back to normal. I mean, he's been waking early but it's after 5 and he's not screaming so I can cope It may not be related to the formula, but in any case I'm definitely feeling better about things.

Don't worry, the only thing you've done "wrong" is not be a mind reader. Is he teething? Have you tried ibuprofen or maybe something for gas? The rocking is him learning how to crawl. Gross motor development does muck up their sleep, but screaming and needing physical comfort does sound more like teething or maybe even early onset separation anxiety.

I desperately need a strategy ladies on how to cope and get DS back on track. He has always been a pretty decent sleeper. Sometimes we have to leave him mussing a bit for him to fall asleep but he's never really be a proper crier. He was sleeping through about half the week and the other half he'd wake and need a little reassurance and maybe his dummy to get back to sleep, but overall it was all pretty stress free.

Then all of the sudden he's turned into a nightmare sleeper and I'm left feeling like I've gone seriously wrong somewhere. He's actually still napping fine, but for the last 5 nights he has hardly slept at all. He's been waking up screaming at 3, 3:30, 4 (oh bliss - that was almost reasonable!), and last night - 2! And this scream is unbelievable - like he's is some serious pain. The first few nights I needed to be touching him or else he would start screaming again. And more and more he's just restless and shuffles around his cot and rocks on his knees as if it were the middle of the day. If I try to leave the room, the crying begins again.

The first night I stayed in with him for 2 hours before DH took over for another 2 hours. We could get him to lie down but if we took our hand away he would start screaming again. Brought him in for an hours sleep with us before it was time to start the day (he woke us). I've been doing babywhisper's pu/pd but it doesn't seem the most effective tool as he only cries/screams half the time and the other half its the roaming around the bed or rocking back and forth on his knees, full of energy. I've tried feeding him, which he enjoys, but it doesn't help him to sleep. Offered him water, which he refuses. I've been spending less and less time in his room before bringing him into bed with us because frankly, we are both exhausted. Last night I tried to settle him for 45 minutes of screaming before I took him to bed with me. He went to sleep without too much fuss then but then woke up after two hours ready for the day.

I'm feeling lousy and like a rubbish mum and like I've really missed a trick. I have no game plan and start dreading the night earlier and earlier each day.

Please can someone tell me this is going to end soon and give me some sort of strategy for how to deal with it and help him back to normal again? He's such a lovely smiley cheerful baby during the day (though he's been getting scared of big groups of babies and kids - went to the lido and that was sort of his nightmare situation, bless) I don't know what has come over him.