Where to start with sleep training!

[Gobins1]

My son is nearly 7 months old. He currently sleeps (or doesn't) in bed with me and my husband sleeps in the spare room. This is the ONLY way he will sleep at the moment. He is fully weaned but still wakes every hour or maybe 2 to feed. He won't take a bottle and I have tried everything people have suggested.

I basically feel completely stuck. I'd like to a. Stop breastfeeding b. Get him in his own room so that my husband and I can get our bed back c. Get him sleeping longer. Where do I start? He is my 2nd baby. The first wasn't a good sleeper but was in her own room at 5 months. We had to be more relaxed this time as he had silent reflux so couldn't be laid flat. He currently sleeps propped up in a pillow-hence why he's in my bed so that I can be near him in case he rooks under it.

Any help for the above would be great. I need a break and I'm worried that this will impact on my marriage!!

How can he be fully weaned if he's still breastfeeding? He doesn't sound weaned at all. 7m is very young to sleep train but you'd help yourself if you got him at least in his own room and cot. Try for naps first maybe

I meant that he's on 3 meals a day. Only breastfeeding at night and in morning in theory but also feeding all through the night.

Wouldn't that mean that I'm up and out of bed to go to him rather than being able to feed him in bed and snooze through the feed though?

Have you got space in your room to set up his cot in a side car arrangement? Start by getting him on his own mattress with the feeling of still being in with you. You can then work towards getting the side back on the cot but still tight to the bed, then in the same room but away from your bed, then finally in his own room. I agree that 7mo is a bit young to be really cracking down on him given what you want is a long way from where you are, but not too young to start a few gentle steps in that direction.

I'm confused about the fully weaned bit too?

Sleeping longer will come as solids become more established and self soothing is learned, but some babies are unfortunately just crap sleepers and it'll happen when they're ready DD1 I'm looking at you.
Tips for sleeping longer that have worked for me: Try different variables eg temperature. I have one 'cold' child who dances in puddles in mid winter wearing a summer dress and wellies, and one 'warm' one who is only happy bundled in blankets. Make sure you are filling them up with as much milk as possible during the day so they get their quota then rather than waking for it. Noise/quietness levels to find what works best.

If you've tried everything to get him to accept a bottle, I don't know of anything I can suggest to wean him from breast to bottle that wouldn't make sleep a lot worse in the short term. I'd tackle either the sleeping arrangements or the bf first, but not together.

At 7mo he needs more than 1 daytime bf. They have a 'quota', and if they don't get it during the day they'll have you up at night for it. At 7mo most of their calories should still come from milk.

To give a comparison, my DD2 is 6.5mo and has one 7oz bottle (dream feed) and 4 or 5 bf (one is a night time feed). She's BLW, so not eating as much on the solids front as a TW baby, but she's getting on very well and won't be that far off.

Thanks! I'll try the cot thing most definitely. The hv suggested stopping bf during the day to stop him relying on it so much but (as you said) he then started waking for it at night! He takes a sippy cup during the day but doesn't get as much as he would if he breast fed. He's on 3 meals with puddings so I know that he's getting his calories!!

I'all try the gradual cot exchange and see what happens. I do need to focus on 1 thing. Think I'm just feeling a bit trapped with the bf at the moment. I've been trying to stop for weeks including 2 attempts at cold turkey. He didn't give in!