Has anyone got any advice or tips to help me get through this - I know it's all a phase and things will get better but I've been saying that for 6 months and I'm reaching the end of my tether now.
DD2 is 6 months and has never slept well. SHe has silent reflux which is currently treated with the highest dose of Omeprazole, this seems to have it under control although it's still not completely gone. Daytime naps have until recently always been on me, usually on the boob, I can now get her into the swing or her hammock for the odd nap but she will only sleep for 30 minutes. Evenings are a nightmare and we're up and down to her until 10-11pm. Night times have no set pattern, our best (rare) nights have been 2 feeds about 4 hours apart, but more commonly we're up every 1.5 hours with her. The HV advised cutting down the nights feeds and this seemed to work initially, she still woke frequently but I didn't automoatically put her on the boob but then she started teething really badly and the waking got more frequent (although she didn't want to feed as I think it hurt her gums). The last few nights she's gone back to feeding every 2 hours day and night, is this a growth spurt? Or development spurt - she's just started sitting up this week.
We started blw 2 weeks ago and she's doing really well, loves her food and there is nappy evidence that she is definitely starting to swallow plenty. She was a 1 poo a day baby pre-weaning then went to 1 every 2 days and in the last couple of days is averaging 3-4 poo's a day - is this a reaction to solids? Is it normal or could it be an illness? She doesn't seem upset by it, in fact they seem to come a lot easier than when she was going less frequently when she used to get quite upset when poohing.
She still sleeps in our room in an Amby hammock. The paediatrician recommended getting her out into her own room in a cot to help her sleeping. We're planning to put both DD's (DD1 is 2.8) in the same room and need to decorate it first so it might be another month before we can do this. I don't want to move DD2 in there first as I don't want DD1 to think it is her room rather than a shared room.
Other issues which may be relevant - she's exclusively breastfed and won't take a bottle or cup. She has a congenital heart defect which although is very serious I don't think has any influence on her sleep, however it has stopped me getting out and taking her to baby groups and activities as I was waiting for her first surgery. She's now had her op and is fully recovered so I think getting out more might help tire her out?
Apologies that this is such a scatty post but I'm trying to make sure I get everything written down, and it's actually quite a useful exercise to just get it out of my head! Anything that anyone could suggest to help us get more sleep would be great as I feel like I'm being a horrible Mum to DD1 as I'm so tired all the time and in the brief windows where DD2 is asleep I'm paranoid about anyone waking her up.
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Help! Reflux, teething, blw and poo - so many issues, so little sleep.
madcow78 · 30/09/2010 12:23
Well I can help with silent reflux and poor sleep. The first bit of your post really resounded with me - DS slept on me for the first 4 months of his life, day naps on me til about 7/8 months.
First of all 6 months is classic growth spurt time. So put aside any hopes for better sleep just yet! I would ignore advice about cutting out night feeds unless you're sure she's taking more in the day.
But I found that having a routine really helped with DS's sleep as he was so easily unsettled that he need day naps. At this age, he only slept for 45 mins at a time. I'd put him down for his first nap about 90 mins after he first woke. Next naps - awake for no more than two hours (so aiming for him to be asleep by the two hours). Also an early bedtime (half 6) worked wonders when he'd had a bad run of nights.
With silent reflux, I've read that it's very common for there to be food intolerances - so be careful with your solids as this can mess sleep up even more. I found this with DS. So stay away from acidic food (tomatoes, citrus food), dairy and soya until you're sure it doesn't make the reflux worse. I've held off on acidic stuff and won't try until DS is 1 (I tried them in the early days). Dairy and soya - he is intolerant to.
Agree with Aitch - don't bother with tea. We introduced tea at 9 months. DS, with his reflux, seems to have a much more sensitive tummy. I still have to be careful giving green veg and eggs as give him terrible wind at night.
Is she rolling yet? If you do move her into a cot it'll be quite a change for her (I assume you'll put it on a slope?). Consider putting her to bed on her front with her legs tucked under her taking the pressure of her tummy - maybe try with day naps first. Once my DS could sleep on his front his sleep massively improved! First time he did it, he slept til 3am 
At 6 months, your little can still get tired quite easily so perhaps take her to a group once a week, get out for fresh air every day and taking her along to activities for DD1 (she'll be happy to watch her big sister I'm sure!).
HTH
both of mine were in hammocks, they loved them so i DREADED putting them into a cot...
they couldn't have cared less. 
oh, except that both slept better when i remembered to put the fabric sidey thing on the cot, v rude awakening otherwise. i think you are technically not supposed to put them on for a while, in case they strangled themselves 
[h&s gorn mad] but i ignored.
mad you can still pop her in the high chair and let that be her more experimental meal
If her favs are tomatoes, it's unlikely she's reacting to them. From what I've read about BLW (and I bow to aitch as she knows a lot more), babies wont touch food that they react badly too. My DS is very suspicious of anything red - tomatoes, raspberries etc. He'll taste then do a yuck face. Other stuff - goes straight in Look for rashes around the mouth and see if she's more unsettled. But the medication may well mask it anyway.
Try and give a bit more tummy time. I know it's hard with the reflux - we used to prop DS up with a rolled up towel.
I found it easier to settle DS on his left hand side then roll onto his tummy (supporting his chest with one hand and rolling with the other). After a while I could put him on his front and he'd shuffle into position. Similarly I could only put him down asleep and then around 5/6 months once he could roll, we started to put him down drowsy. Took a while then he started to settle himself.
We propped up the cot using cotblocks under the legs. We also had a wedge but once DS started rolling he'd end up at funny angles!
i don't have expert knowledge other than the fact that i have read heaps and heaps of people talking about weaning on my site...
re the 'they won't eat it' thing, i think it's broadly the case, yes, but absolutely not to be relied upon. eggs, for example, kids seem to trough down on but react to later.
dd1 (4) however, has always loathed raw tomatoes, but it took quite a while before she showed any sensitivities to them cooked, and that was only for a short while and it stopped. likewise kiwi fruit, she always refused it at nursery, however last week she was at a school pal's house and felt the peer pressure thing... cue rashy mouth and tears that her tongue felt spikey.
so i would tend to respect a child's firm dislike of a food, if they pick it up, lick it and refuse it, but it doesn't always work.
if it was a refluxy baby, i would avoid toms just cos they're well known to cause indigestion in adults, so for no other reason...
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