Sleep Training, Please help!

[littlej101]

If anyone can offer any advice on this subject I would be most gratefull.

I have a 5.5month old baby who is still not sleeping through the night, just before his 16week jabs he was getting better and had started to do a five hour stretch, however since his jabs he has reverted to sleeping like a new born.

He was predictably sleeping from 19.00-22.00, but now he half wakes every 30mins for the first 1.5 hours, screaming almost in his sleep. The first one is usually wind, which he can only pass by being picked up. After 22.00 we are lucky if he does 2hrs, without waking/screaming. He will stay sleepy for 12hrs, but basically wants feeding every 2hrs.... he seems to have gotten into the habit of feeding at night, and so isnt feeding as well in the day.

He has never been and big eater, only in the last few weeks has he started to take 180ml for his evening feeds. I have been combination feeding, and he has started first stage weening.

I have similar trouble with the daytime naps, guaranteed to wake after 30mins, and rarely am I able to get him back to sleep...yet in the car he will sleep for hours ( but only if we are moving, will wake if we stop in traffic!)

Will cry himself to sleep, but still wake after 30mins, then pattern continues. If anything he is more restless with this method.

Any help would be much appreciated (wink)

Tricky one hmmm (having a think) .......

Okay so am assuming you have a bedtime routine in place?

Is he too hot or too cold?

Do you have set times for feeding? He might be getting tummy aches esp if you have just started weaning.

Do you use a dummy?

Teething? Have you tried teething powder/ gel?

With napping in the day be consistant with putting him down, make sure the room is quiet and dark enough.

Sometimes imo too much over stimulation in the day can have a detrimental effect at night.

Not sure if Ive helped or not but hope he settles down soon!!!

thanks for your prompt reply.

Yep, regular routine of 6oclock bath 6.30 bottle 7oclock bed, I try to make sure he doesnt nap after 4.30 so that he is ready for sleep at 7.

I have recently started puting more covers on him as have noticed he loves going in his snow suit when we go out and he falls asleep easily then.

He has been like this since birth so I dont think it has anything to do with weeneing and recently stopped weening for a week with no difference.

He has never really wanted a dummy and except when his teething is bad will always spit it out.

yes we have found a teething solution that he likes, Anbusol.

Yes I have started to put him down consistently in the last month every 2.5 hours.

I have wondered about stimulation but in truth he has several play routines and although we go out fairly regularly we have always done this and it doesnt seem to bother him, I sometimes have to go out in order to get him to nap for more than 30minutes.

I have been hoping hill would settle down for the last 3months, alas no joy yet, as I type he is screeming away for the third time in my husbands arms since we put him down an hour and a half ago. :(

My DS is 6 months and very similar tbh. Am about to go to bed but will reply tomorrow and hopefully we can compare notes.
Have you tried White noise? Has helped to settle once he woken up, all the blooming time through the night :(
Sorry have no advice but you are not alone if that's any concellation!

littlej101 ... you could be describing my ds who is the same age! He was doing really well just before Xmas with just one night time feed, usually about 4am and we were gradually seeing him take this later and later. Then, the past few weeks he has been totally and utterly horrendous. He wakes before his dream feed - when before I would change the nappy and he'd suckle on hardly noticing. He now wakes at least once c 2am, then for his feed at 3am, then again usually c 5am and then again at 6am.

I'm on the brink of completely losing all my grasp on reason and reality. I feel like shit, my husband is completely shattered and ds is ruining his sunny temperament as he is so tired all the time but absolutely refuses to sleep. Last night he was up as above, and today he has had a grand total of 20 mins sleep.

We've tried all sorts and nothing works. Anyone at all who has any suggestions? Please?!

I'll tell you my experience, but it probably isn't what you're looking for.

I have had exactly the same experience with both my DC's. I found that the harder I tried to fight their wakings, the worse it got. In the end, I just kind of went with it, trying to meet their (apparent!) needs as best I could. They both slept on my lap on a cushion in the evenings until I went to bed and then co-slept with me. I just went with the regular feedings as best I could.

It IS completely exhausting, but did pass in a few weeks. I'm really sorry I can't be more constructive, but that's how I handled it and it DID pass.

Hi,

Thanks for your replies, sorry to hear there are others suffering too. This has been going on for about 2 months now, luckily he doesnt get grumpy in the days, hes the only one in the family who can survive on catnaps !

If anyone else has any other good tips, would still like to hear them.

Thanks.