Nipple as a dummy!

[mousie]

I have a nightmare seven month old boy - he is very active, been crawling from four months, hardly sleeps, hardly feeds etc etc. is very small partly as a result of all this. anyway, i can't get him to take a bottle happily, am still breastfeeding - and can't get him to sleep other than on nipple. same through the night - he sleeps in our bed since I am so shattered (have two year old daughter as well). I can't get anyone else to put him down - he doesn't sleep for long periods of time. won't take a normal dummy etc etc. is there any route other than to control cry him once I feel ready (which I don't, inspite of being worried and knackered..) Help!

My son is the same in some aspects, ie the nipple dummy! Won't take a dummy or bottle and only I can get him to sleep. Same thing with not sleeping unless he's with us and can get regular sucks. My dd was the same but I wouldn't bring her into bed as I thought it was wrong and as a new mum was keen to do all "right". Consequently I was always knackered and despite my best efforts she didn't sleep through til she was more than 3. This time I'm far more relaxed and am going with the flow, not the textbook. At least with him lying next to me i barely rouse when he suckles. I would like to be able to get him off to sleep without me so I could go out once in a while, but will do one day I'm sure. I don't know if thats helpful at all, but just to let you know you aren't alone and will get better eventually.
If you get a chance and aren't too tired to read, have a look at a book called 3 in a Bed. Very helpful, informative and reassuring.

I also read the "No crying sleep solution" book which gave good advice on how to stop the constant nipple comforting in bed.

Could it be that the lots of trickle feeds inthe night are eventually filling him up which makes him lose interest during the day? I know it's hard, but have you tried feeding every 2-3 hrs during the day/afternoon to see if he fills up before bedtime? When do you go to bed?

My ds (11wks) only just started taking the bottle this week as we suffered from nipple confusion in the early weeks. We introduced it at the 7-8pm feed (so both dh and I still had some wits about us), baby had to be very calm, bottle given by dh and me peeking through the gap in the door from outside the room! His favourite music was on in the background, plus a bit of Infacol on the teat to hide the silicon smell (used that to alleviate his colic-orange flavour).

Keep trying every night for a week, but don't get stressed about it as it may never happen. Some mums have posted they've got their little ones onto beakers straight away, so maybe give that a go?

Sorry I can't be of more help..this is all still so new for me!... good luck.

Like Karen99,I'd recommend the 'No Cry Sleep Solution' book - it's by Elizabeth Pantley and you can get it on Amazon. I've only just started with it but it seems pretty good - I'm hopeful that I can some of the tips in it to help my ds (4 months) to become a better sleeper. He sounds a little like your baby - very very active, not interested in feeding or sleeping during the day - feeds throughout the night and is in our bed too.

I'm hoping that some of the things in the book will help me out. Good luck with it!!