Help - 7 month old started waking 2-3 times a night after sleeping through - and can't settle.

[clarita]

I'd welcome suggestions about how we can try and help my daughter settle herself when she wakes in the night. She had been sleeping well 7-7 or 7-6 since 5 months but a few weeks ago she suddenly started waking several times a night and won;t settle unless I go and breastfeed her. She clearly isn;t hungry and just wants to comfort suck. When she wakes at first it's just groaning and it sounds like she might settle but after 15-20 mins she usually fully wakes up and starts getting angry. We've tried to settle her with cuddles but once she realises we are around there's only one thing she wants - boob!

She has 2 naps in the day - a short one around 9 and a good 2 hours at lunchtime (i often have to wake her). She goes down well for both naps and if she wakes in a daytime nap can usually settle herself.

I am back at work and have a toddler so it's really tiring me out having to get up and feed several times a night - plus it feels like we're going backwards.

Does anyone have any suggestions about things we could try to settle her? We've tried leaving her to settle herself for up to 40 mins (most of which she's grumbling for, not crying hard).

Thanks

I loved the book baby whisper maybe it has some suggestions. Maybe extra hungry just enough to wake up and ready to play. Try one bottle or breast feed before you go to bed called a dream feed. Didn't work with my boy until he was about the same age as your DD. Also She might be about to drop one of her naps and its just a short phase before she does that.

Have you tried the "pick up, put down" method? I haven't used it myself, but a group of us with non-sleepy babies are on a thread in the "sleep" topic and some of the other posters have tried it. I think you pick up the baby as soon as she starts to cry and then put her down making sure she touches the mattress each time but picking her back up as soon as she cries. Some of the posters have had success with it. I've probably described it really badly so if you want to post on the thread, please do. It's called something like "co-sleepers, help me with my non-sleeping baby" and was started by Chairmum Miaou. (Sorry not to link - am on blackberry so can't link.)

Hope you find a solution!