Sleeping through the night

[xchx]

This has probably been posted to death but I really want to get my 9 month old baby back to sleeping through the night. It’s s not just for my sake, I can tell my baby is also tired from all the night wakings. My partner is also sleeping in the other room as he has work so I’m doing this alone but on the other hand what could they do as I am breastfeeding.

I’m in a one bed so baby is in with me-but moving very soon. I’m contemplating giving up breastfeeding (although don’t want to) as I feel baby just wakes up out of habit as they previously slept through 8 -6am before hitting 6 -7months I don’t think there’s any teeth coming at the moment but I am aware of the sleep regression ..could this be the cause ? Baby eats loads of solids and has a lunch and mid afternoon breastfeed.

Waking every 3 hours at night so I keep trying to settle by just rocking or cuddling & giving comforter, also offering water which sometimes works at getting them back to sleep but most of the time baby gets hysterical so I give in & feed an co sleep for the remainder of the night but this is exhausting me as keeps fussing on an off to get back on the breast to comfort suck. I know some people are happy to do this but it’s giving me less sleep and I already have pnd which lack of sleep makes worse.

Do I need to try a gentle sleep training method ? I will never let them cry it out before anyone thinks I am saying that.
It’s just so tough to know what to do and really getting me down.
Any tips would be much appreciated

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

I can totally get that this is exhausting, but you could be right, it could just be a regression.

If you do feed him, does he go straight back to sleep? Is this easier than preparing bottles?

There are things you can do, without having to resort to letting him cry it out. 31 ways to get your baby to sleep is a good article and if you’re after a book, try the No Cry Sleep Solution.

Both of mine woke much less though once they were in their own room. One thing that might help the transition is sleeping with his sheets for a couple nights before you put them on his cot.

[firesong]

Mine stopped waking through the night when they were in their own rooms and around 9-10 months old. Unless you really want to quit breastfeeding I wouldn't at the mo as they might become more unsettled.

[xchx]

@JiltedJohnsJulie
Thanks for replying baby doesn’t always go straight back to sleep after feeding 😞 I hve mix fed in the early days so I know it’s way easier than making bottles your right. From what I google though you can night wean them from this age do you know if that’s true ?

Brilliant thanks for them links il have a look and il try the sheet thing aswell. Perhaps once I’ve moved theyll settle better in own room. So utterly exhausted today 😞

[xchx]

@firesong

Il just keep trying to power through then hopefully some nice sleep for both of us coming soon. Your probably right I guess quitting breastfeeding isn’t as easy as it sounds anyway don’t want to upset him. Did you just wait for your baby to naturally drop night feeds then?

[mindutopia]

You just have to sort of hang in there. The time between 6-12 months can be really rough with sleep. They tend to go through at least 2 awful months in there, right around the time they are starting to crawl/pullup/teething. My first one was ff but dropped all night feeds at 9 months. She still woke up at least once, usually 2-3 times until she was 3.5. 2nd one was bf and he spotted bf at 15 months. He started to sleep through more around just before 2. But when they are teething or ill, it all goes to pot, so you just need to keep going until it gets better. I think 9 months for a bf baby though is too little to be dropping night feeds, so you'll have a bit more to go, I think.

[Browniee]

Dont know if this is any help but thought I’d let you know what we did with similar age baby. My DD started “sleeping through” (by that I mean more often that not going 7-7 but maybe stirring a few times before going back to sleep, and all goes to pot when teething) once she was in her own room, as previously she had been in a next2me cot attached to our bed and I think I was disturbing her. But each time she woke I fed her (EBF at that point) because it was so ingrained in my head - baby wakes, feed baby.
When she moved to her own room I did start to try and settle her without feeding automatically at first - only for a few minutes with a cuddle and rock to see if she’d go back to sleep. Sometimes I’d feed if that didn’t work but she started going longer into the morning after a few weeks of this. I then dropped the dreamfeed to see what would happen and she started going a lot longer. I felt like this was a gentle approach to night weaning that worked for us - I was also pretty convinced she wasn’t hungry, as she was womping down solids in the daytime!
One thing that’s helped has been introducing a comforter now she’s in her own room (the comforter version of Ewan the dream sheep!) She finds it in the night and strokes it’s ears and I think that’s helped her to go back to sleep and settle if she does wake through the night.
I’ve stopped breastfeeding now as I’m heading back to work and I wanted to get her used to bottles a while before that happened, but i miss it now I’ve stopped. Also going downstairs to make/warm a bottle at night especially in winter is faffy when you’ve been used to breastfeeding and may equal less sleep if you did switch. Do what feels right for you, but I totally get the fatigue with nightfeeding at this point, especially when day times are so much more high energy at that age!!

[Browniee]

Just to add to that essay, I follow an account called careitoutsleepconsultant on Instagram who posts some gentle sleep tips which I’ve found useful and no leaving babies to cry. It’s all lead by you and your baby’s needs but might be worth a follow.