Feeling a bit desperate about sleep! Any words of wisdom or just solidarity appreciated!

[TunaJacket]

I have a 7 and a half month old.

He has never slept well!

He wakes up every hour through the night and only naps for 30 minutes at a time during the day.

We get him to sleep by bouncing him and then during the day we hold him for naps and for night sleep we co sleep so he is laid down in our bed and then immediately he is looking for boob so I feed him back to sleep again.

When he wakes throughout the night I feed him back to sleep. Sometimes he needs bouncing again but then wakes up when laid back down so is then fed back to sleep again.

I don’t want to sleep train. I want him to know we will always be there but my god, it really is hard.

Anyone else been in the same situation and babies did learn to sleep? I know he will eventually but I could really do with it being soon!

My baby is 16 months, has never slept through and still wakes every 3 hours.

No advice but Sleep deprivation is down right awful!

I’ve been there and it gets better. I promise. He will eventually sleep through. I found this age the toughest for everything.

I would try nurofen and anbesol liquid (not gel) and see if it helps.

Sleep trainings can mean lots of different methods. It doesn't mean loads of crying or leaving them.

Yep. 30 minute naps and waking hourly overnight from months 6-8 for a feed back to sleep.

My words of wisdom? Sleep train. It's gruelling work. But he now self-settles and sleeps through again because he doesn't have his former sleep associations.

Honestly? Your baby deserves to be getting proper sleep. There is no way he's getting the rest he needs for proper healthy development if he's waking every 30min.

Yep, been there!

I found the Beyond Sleep Training Project Facebook group a source of immense support, inspiration and advice.

m.facebook.com/groups/1844822782469496/

Stop feeding milk every time he wakes - I’ve been there at 7 months and it almost caused me to have a breakdown I swear!
At around 7 months I said 2 milk feeds a night max and if he wakes any other time I offered water and comforted back to sleep another way (he liked patting or a hand hold). Was hard at first as he was cross he wasn’t having constant milk but soon stopped waking constantly. Often became once a night wake after that for a quick feed and back to sleep. I’m now at 14 months starting the process of no milk at all in the night!

Sleep train. Do it without leaving him alone - stay and support method. Or just bite the bullet and do controlled crying which is quicker. People on here will say it's cruel but loved and looked after babies will never think you're abandoning them. They just get really cross that they can't sleep, then they get over it and everyone sleeps better forever more. I speak as someone with a 7 month old who did exactly as yours a month ago and now wakes once at night and does two 1.5 hour naps a day.

Agree with others, sleep training doesn't mean just leaving them. There's lots of methods, some where you stay with them. My DD was honestly a dreadful sleeper, up every hour and wouldn't nap anywhere but one me. She slept great once we sleep trained, she was such a happier baby and her development thrived (plus we were much happier too) so I think the poor sleep had been really impacting her. Best thing we ever did!