Have posted before, but now need a concrete plan and would love some input.
Dc2 is 4, nearly 5 months old. After promising beginnings (self-settling, long stretches at night) his sleep went tits up weeks ago and has got worse.
In the day he has three naps of around 1hr/2hr/1hr. He has these in pram and self-settles. Often needs rocking back off in the middle of the 2hr nap tho. He is a delight in the day as long as he gets a lot of sleep and isn't awake for too long (90 mins ish). Have never tried him in crib for naps since he left the sleepy newborn phase.
At night he sleeps in a crib next to our bed. Bath at 6.30 with dc1 then feed in dark, until sleepy or asleep. Down at 7/7.30.
He was self settling to sleep if not asleep already- this has stopped. As has him sleeping Ll evening. He now wakes very frequently all evening. Will settle with hand on tummy/cuddle to a point, but I usually feed him twice more during eve.
Then he is up every hour or so. Again will settle some of the time with hand on tummy/cuddle. But ultimately will only settle properly for night when in bed with me, feeding on/off through night.
This really doesn't suit me even though I do get more sleep. I want to stop co sleeping.
Health visitor advised starting solids as he is a big boyhis weight has plateaud. Not really sure how to go about this in the best way.
So my plan is to put him in his own room when he is 5mo and do pick up put down or some other method that doesn't involve cc.
I don't mind keeping some night feeds at this age. But not sure which ones to cut out first (at mo he feeds at say 9pm, 11.30pm, 1.30am, 4am but I think he 'snacks' while co sleeping) and how to best get him settling himself in cot.
Please help am desperate!
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4mo- where to start?! So exhausted
okthen · 26/03/2013 07:27
Is this the 4 month sleep regression?
We never noticed this with DD because even before she always woke every couple of hours 
but I was too tired to think of anything creative. So I just kept going with the sleeping style I hoped she'd adopt one day (in cot etc) and did shifts with DH. Can you share the load with your partner? We found it easier just to do that and chalk it up to 'nobody knows' because there didn't seem to be an obvious reason (when she was older we had some stuff that did have an obvious reason, like screaming when we left the room, so we did do something about that). But the general small baby waking all the time got better of its own accord.
As you say he is a bit young for sleep training so if you can do it with shifts so you feel human that's what I'd do for the time being.
I didn't limit the night feeds at that age but if you think he is hungry maybe some baby rice in milk at supper time might help? And then you could cut down the evening feeds?
I have recently tried pick up put down with my now 22 week old dd (she was 19 weeks) and it's gone ok. To begin with I didn't try with naps- kept these as they were in car seat or sling as she's always been a terrible napper. The first night it took 1.5 hours to get her to sleep 
but quickly improved and after a couple of days she was self settling quite happily at bedtime. She still wakes frequently at night, but not as much. I try not to feed if it's been less than 3 hours but it doesn't always work.
Recently she had been self settling for some naps too in cot, and has had some long naps too which is some kind of miracle.
There is lots if info about pupd on web here is first part with link to pupd method. I feed my dd in our bed while reading bedtime stories to my 3yo ds, then move to dd's room to put her down so I am not feeding to sleep.
My dd has always been a terrible sleeper- sometimes waking 8 times a night but this method has def helped us see there could be light at end of the tunnel!
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