Help! I'm exhausted!

[Sarahbearx]

My 5mo is goes to bed at 6.30 every night by being fed to sleep straight after his bath and usually wakes up about 3hr later, is fed back to sleep and goes until about 12.. Wakes again, then from then is awake every 2 hours to be fed back to sleep until about 6am when he's up!

I feel like I've done something wrong by feeding him to sleep as now it's the only way to get him to sleep at night, even for naps in the day.

Not sure what to do as I keep being told he should be sleeping through the night by now. How do I adjust things, do I let him cry? I don't particularly like the idea of that.

I'm a single mum and I'm exhausted 😴

[Stargirl2707]

No advice I’m sorry but just to let you know my 11 month old is the same. Fed to sleep, still wakes every 2 hours and has never been any different.
I just figure he’s waking because he needs me and if that’s just for a snuggle then that’s ok. He feeds back to sleep almost each waking. I’d love him to sleep for a longer stint.
I guess our babies will do it when they’re ready.
You’re doing a great job, keep going xx

[Missmonkeypenny]

You have done absolutely nothing wrong by feeding him to sleep. Self settling is a develolmental thing, some babies can do it early on and other cant. DD slept through from birth, DS is 8m and is waking every 3 hours ( thats 8m regression ) but has never done more than a 5 hour stretch. Can you co sleep so je can just latch on ( assuming you BF from your post )

[Lockdownseperation]

Sounds normal to me. My youngest is a bit older still now at least once a week I go to sleep with her. I know 6 .30 is mega early but if your tired then just go to bed then.

[BlueJag]

Are you breast feeding?

[Sarahbearx]

I am breastfeeding xx

[Sarahbearx]

Thank you!

It's nice to hear that others are in the same boat. Was starting to really worry.

Sounds like he will figure it out. Think I will definitely try Co sleeping and see if that helps xx

[Feminist10101]

Not sure what to do as I keep being told he should be sleeping through the night by now.

Go no contact with these idiots. They haven’t a clue what they are talking about. Stop listening to them.

Your baby waking at night is completely normal. She is 5 months old.

[BadgertheBodger]

My bottle fed baby woke every 2/3 hours for the first 18 months of his life and it was shitty and difficult but I honestly don’t think there’s anything we could have done to make him any different than he was! It is so hard, especially as a single parent. Enlist any and all help you can, co-sleep, prioritise sleep (naps as well - for you too) and get through. You will come out the other side. Even when it feels like it won’t ever be better, I promise, it will

[Feminist10101]

www.swansea.ac.uk/humanandhealthsciences/news-and-events/latest-research/sleeplessnightsnewresearchfindsbabiesshouldwakeatnight.php

[Feminist10101]

[BlueJag]

Breast milk is excellent and digestible so they get hungry quickly.
Towards the end I started to give him a bottle of milk in the evening and he did sleep for longer. I stopped all together at 9 months.

[Happyhappyday]

@Feminist10101 that link has a pretty misleading title, all the research shows is that they OBSERVED that most of the babies they sampled were still waking in the night. No causation and no reason explaining why that they “should”. Its pretty shoddy research!

If we’re looking at observational studies, Crib Sheet found that sleep training IS very effective, very quickly if applied consistently. You don’t have to agree with it and you don’t have to do it, but it does appear the evidence supports it as an effective method to get baby to sleep more.

[Uponmytiptoes]

[quote Happyhappyday]@Feminist10101 that link has a pretty misleading title, all the research shows is that they OBSERVED that most of the babies they sampled were still waking in the night. No causation and no reason explaining why that they “should”. Its pretty shoddy research!

If we’re looking at observational studies, Crib Sheet found that sleep training IS very effective, very quickly if applied consistently. You don’t have to agree with it and you don’t have to do it, but it does appear the evidence supports it as an effective method to get baby to sleep more.[/quote]
It's also incredibly cruel and damaging. It amazes me that people still suggest this!

[Itllbeaninterestingchristmas]

It is exhausting but normal. You could go to bed when he does. And/or tweak the routine slightly so you get 3 hours from 9-12 and then from 12ish -3ish. I’ve done both as it’s easier for me to sleep at 9 and then I get 6 hours in two chunks.
I found once mine was on solids something savoury such as beef stew before bed meant he stayed asleep longer. This doesn’t work for every baby though and by longer I mean 4 hours instead of 3.