No sleep driving me mad can anyone help me!!!

[woose]

Hi all
My DD 5 months wakes up at night time literally every 15 mins. It is driving me mad. She never really properly wakes up she just cries out and I have to comfort her. The thing is I just keep giving her a dummy and I think she is waking because she wants that. I usually feed her once during the night at about 11.00pm and 3.00am but that does not seem to settle her. I started using the dummy because she was waking my DS who is 2.4 who is a very light sleeper, so it all stems from there really. Does anyone have any ideas about how I should approach this? We live in a really small house and feel like we are all living on top of each other. I think if we all had seperate rooms it would help and I could leave her to cry a bit to see if she would go back to sleep herself, but we don't at the moment, so it is a little difficult.

Is there anyone who could have your ds for a night or two? Or I did read on here somewhere about putting a fan in the older childs's room, the white noise sort of blocks out the baby noises. No personal experience of this but wanted to bump for you and give some support, it's so hard being this tired with another one to worry about too isn't it. Good luck!

No, nobody who could have DS unfortunately. My mother lives quite close by but at the moment she is nursing her father who is terminally ill and only has a few weeks. It is a tough time and so I have not really talked to her or anyone in the family about what I have been experiencing over the last few months. There have been a number of things that have been difficult looking after two and have needed some help but have not been able to ask for it.

I have also heard this thing about white noise but I think that you need to have done it from a very young age. Luckily though I have been playing classical music to DD very quietly whilst she goes to sleep at night and so I think she would be accustomed to the noise so if she went in the room with DS then maybe she wouldn't wake when DS wakes.

Have just thought, I would love some advice from people who live in small houses and have kids. How do you deal with sleeping? How did you get children to sleep well together in the same room? Sometimes I get frustrated as the people I know live in big houses and I don't think they understand some of the issues I face. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if my DS slept like a log, but he doesn't, we do have to creep around a bit.

DD is also 5 months and holds her dummy well although my first born was like this case.. always loosing it to the point I actually debated taping it on..heheh jk.

umm maybe try swaddling baby and rocking to sleep. It also may be that she is startling herself and swaddling is suppost to help with that. also sometimes if you get it just righ it make s good little dummy holder inner. so if it comes out a bit the dummy doesnt completely fall out and baby can find it on her own.

also with DD1 we used a slumber bear (makes noise of womb)to give her something to listen to so she wasnt always alone. it's motion detcted and noise detected to start it going again.. Or even just a light music CD. Mine and hubbys choice was Apex Twin ... you may not go for it but its just music with no words. it maybe that the utter quiteness wakes her and shes like wheres mommy and daddy with their voices and noise..

Hope it helps

Hi - we gave DD (now 13 mo) a dummy very early desperate to cut down on the endless sucking on my horrendously sore boobs! We cut it down to naps and night time only at about 4 mo but sure enough a lot of waking in the night was due to a lost dummy alone. Our solution was to put at least six - eight dummies in her cot at night. It had amazing results as seems that she could always find one however much she had moved around or flung things around. She has slept through from 7pm until 8am consistently now since 7 mo old - and now goes through until 9.30 am before making any noise at all at the weekend as she's so happy in her cot with her dummies and a few soft toys, knowing that she won't get her dummies again during the day apart from nap time. She is a very happy and well rested baby as are her endlessly thankful parents! I recommended this multiple dummy technique to a friend who has a nearly 2 yo and it has worked for her too so give it a go. Let me know how you get on...