Help - my 1 year old wakes up every 1.5 hours and really struggling - looking for advice or pointing to people that can help!

[Babymama1989]

Background — my little one has always been a bad sleeper, multiple wake ups, short naps etc.. he had a lot of chest infections when he was small and eventually I bought him into bed with me around 4 months to survive - he’d wake up 3 times for a bottle then go back to sleep - nightmare for some, but bliss for me!

Today - over the past few months those night wakings have multiplied to around 6 (every 2 hours on a good night, hourly if he’s poorly) and I now have the added fun of trying to take away his precious formula to whole milk which is making the night and screaming unbearable, I caved last night and got formula out..

I’m good on little sleep and I go to bed not long after him but It’s not feeling manageable at all anymore and not sure what to do? Do I just go cold turkey on all bottles for a few nights and hope for the best? Do I stick with whole milk or go back to formula for a bit ? Will I ever sleep again?

Additional notes

• I’ve tried all variations of sleep pressure and naps, it is not that
• He eats well
• I do not want to put him in a crib or let him cry it out - please don’t offer that advice
• I’m a single mum, I work full time, I have no village - it’s just me and him.

No advice op but solidarity, a good night for us is 4-5 wakeups. But I do have support from dh. I’m not ff so I don’t know but Is there a reason you have to stop formula? I know the advice is 1 but do you know why? I wonder if it really matters? Perhaps someone else here will know. how many bottles is he having overnight? If it’s just one I’d be tempted to keep it. Could you slowly water it down with milk so he gets used to the cows milk?

personally I’m convinced some children are just bad sleepers and that’s all there is to it. Sorry I know that doesn’t help

Oh that's rough. I'd also be tempted to try a slow transition from formula to cows milk, start with almost all formula, just a little cows milk, then gradually more and more.

Any indication he might be uncomfortable? Any signs of teething? Did he have reflux at all when younger?

It’s not so much the formula as the bottles. Bottles shouldn’t be used after age 1 because they’re not good for the development of their mouth and they’re really bad for teeth because the way the milk washes over them in a way you don’t get with breastfeeding or with a cup. Also whilst it’s fine in the day, overnight even milk from a sippy cup overnight should be avoided (breastfeeding is different obviously) because it’s ruinous for teeth. I don’t think cow’s milk or formula is really here nor there although most people are keen to swap as soon as the formula is no longer needed from a nutritional standpoint as it saves a lot of money and faff.

OP may not what you want do but I’d go cold turkey and bin all the bottles. Doesn’t mean you have to leave him to cry in the cot but offer water and cuddles and hope he comes out the other side sleeping better. If nothing else it’s better for his teeth. If he doesn’t want to drink cows milk then fine, as per NHS guidelines 2 portions of dairy a day in food e.g. cheese sandwich and a yoghurt meet their needs.