Struggling and exhausted, losing patience

[Loufer]

Hi there,
Sorry this is long but I just want to explain so I am not drip feeding. I have a 5.5 month old DS who for the past 3 weeks has been waking up every hour or 2 at night and has to be rocked back to sleep each time. He is formula fed and normally takes 1 bottle during the night but has to be rocked back to sleep after the bottle, he stopped falling asleep taking the bottle at around 6 weeks old.

So just to explain a bit around 4 and 5 weeks ago he got his first and second tooth so the unsettled sleep was a cause of this but now 3 weeks after both teeth are fully up he is still waking at least 6 times every night. He also cannot settle himself to sleep and has to be rocked or taken for a walk in the buggy for naps. I have also tried co-sleeping but he still wakes up and has to be rocked off to sleep anyway.

He was always difficult to get down for naps and always seems very stressed and angry when going to sleep but up until 3 weeks ago he would settle himself off at night in the cot and also be put in awake after his night feed and go back off to sleep. He does take a dummy as he had colic for the first 10 weeks and this was the only thing that soothes him.

I have tried putting him in the cot every night but he screams the place down eventually and gets very stressed so leaving him to cry is not an option and not something I would be comfortable with.

I just don't know what has changed in the last 3 weeks other than the teeth that are now fully up and do not seem to be causing him any pain. I am wondering is the rocking him to the problem and if so does anyone have any tips on how to gently wean him off the rocking as I am exhausted at this point and something needs to change. Thank you for reading this ! One tired mummy 😴

I had this with a bf baby. Is it wind? Try gripe water. Pain? A preemptive dose of calpol sometimes works. Is it stomach ache? Was with mine and he was diagnosed with cmpa.
Sometimes a different size dummy as teeth can affect how it feels
Is he too hot/cold/hungry?
It’s very hard mine did this on and off for the first year. Even now he’s not great. I’d try calpol before bed first, just for a night or two as the key is to break the waking cycle

hi @gonewiththerain i dont think its wind or teething pain because as soon as i pick him up and start rocking him he goes straight back to sleep. I do have some gripe water though so i might try giving him that today to see if it makes any difference. I have also tried calpol for 2 nights and it made no difference. He fine during the day and happy so I dont think its stomach pain. He wears a sleeping bag going to bed and i have checked his hands during the night and there normally luke warm. I really think he just finds it hard to settle to sleep and when he wakes cant settle himself back but i just dont know what to do about it

Also last Friday night he only woke once for a bottle and went back to sleep. I heard him stir at around 6 bit he settled himself back off and woke at 8 so it seems sometimes he can settle himself. That was the only night in 3 weeks though every other night its at least 6 times he wakes with last night been the worst so far he must have woken at least 10 times. I really don't know what is going on or what to try anymore but it is really breaking me.

It's a huge time for development and that can disturb sleep. My DS had periods of really terrible sleep in his first year and every time it stopped it coincidened with a new development (rolling, sitting, crawling, walking).