Week 19 in the lack of sleep house. no teeth. no improvement. going mad. any advice/experience/anecdotes to make me feel better?

[lummox]

Have a 19 week old 19lb baby and for the last five weeks have had major sleep problems.

I didn't really want to, but did start to try wean him this week. Maybe I did it a bit half heartedly - tried 1 tablespoon of baby cereal made up with EBM once a day for three days. If anything it seemed to make things worse, so I've stopped.

Apart from those three spoonfuls of baby cereal he's been exclusively breastfed.

Don't know what to do for the best now. When it started I thought it was a growth spurt so best to feed more often and ride it out. Then he got very, very, very dribbly, red cheeked and grumpy so thought it was teething and we would just ride it out.

Five weeks later no teeth and surely it can't still be a growth spurt (although he still puts on about 10 oz a week).

I'm at my wits' end. Have got so desperate that I bought some books on how to help your child sleep (Richard Ferber and Elizabeth Pantley). They both seem to say that you should cut down the amount of feeding at night. I'm prepared to try that (particularly the Pantley/no cry way) but it goes against my instinct that he is hungry when he wakes.

Hope this makes sense. Feel like a zombie so apologies if not. Would be really grateful for advice.

Lummox - we have the same baby! I could have written your post myself, only difference being DS2 is 22 weeks and he has been like this for 7 weeks! Think it is a combination of hunger and teething and am praying for even one good night sleep at the minute. Just wanted to let you know you are not alone.

Really appreciate that, swirl. ds my first - how was your ds1? can I at least dream that I might get a better sleeping model next time?

Lummox, DS1 wasnt as bad as this - he was sleeping through the night at 5 months although do remember a few bad weeks with teething. DS2 seems to be much more hungry. He is a heavier baby than DS1. Am giving him some formula now as getting ready to return to work and he is gugging it down. One of the problems though is he is stocking up at night and taking less during the day. DS1 did this too but cant remember how I got it turned round! Think I might offer water in the night if this is still going on at 6 months.

Hey lummpox, my secodn DS much better sleeper than first. Have them quite close together and I guarantee you will sleep much better with number two (wonders oif there might be a bad reason for that...)

my son didn't sleep through the night until he was 9 months old lummox

what's your daily routine, including food and milk?

i do know a very annoying woamn who says both her sons slept through from birth. she does exhibit signs of madness though...

She is either lying or delusional or drugged them, GoN.

Lummox, I know it's your instinctive feeling that he's hungry but he may not be, or not very - thing is, by that stage one's got so used to feeding them when they wake that one assumes it is hunger. I know I suddenly clocked that with DD1.

So what is he like at night? How often does he wake up and for how long? Loads of people put it down to teething at this age but IME all babies dribble/get red cheeks/chew fist at this age and most don't get teeth until 6 months. There are exceptions, mind you - both my two for instance but I wouldn't rely on a tooth to get you out of it. Can't imagine that amount of solids is going to make a difference to him either.

I think she may have just said it to make me feel bad, mi, it came out when I had to knock back some work she was offering me due to exhaustion induced dementia with DS1

Thanks for replies.

Routine-wise: up around 7. During the day 3 one hourish naps - morning, lunchtime and early afternoon. start bath around 6, asleep around 6.30/6.45. dream feed about 10. Feeds in the day are a bit haphazard, but 2/3 hourly. All feeds are just breastmilk.

Am lucky in that he always goes to sleep pretty easily but he wakes every two hours throughout the night. Provided I feed him straight away he goes straight back to sleep (having fed for 5-20 minutes). All attempts at getting him to settle by cuddling/talking just end up with me still having to feed him but he is also very upset.

GoN - what bad reason for ds2 sleeping better?

Swirl - am also thinking of formula - have you found that it helped?

MI - how did you work out your dd wasn't hungry?

Bozza - think you are right that teething thing is a bit wishful thinking as it would mean that this was temporary.

Lummox, just sending you some Junie solidarity. You say you think the solids may have made things worse, how so? I.e. waking more now than before?

Hi trib. Not really sure about the solids thing, but just before we started we got two 3.5 hours stretches (two separate nights). So maybe was daft to try them. In the end, probably because I wasn't really keen, we gave him such a small amount that it probably didn't make much odds either way. Have been kicking myself for trying it nonetheless. Solidarity much appreciated. How's the sleep going your end? Is Welshie's sleep lady the answer?

lockets - is it rude to ask what you have tried? Have you tried this idea of limiting the night feeds (to a certain number of minutes for bfing or an amount for bottlefeeding)? Really don't feel it would be right for ds but starting to think that anything has to be better than the lack of sleep.

We're doing okey here for the night sleeps lummox (famous last words), I think it would be definitely worth your while having a chat with welshie's sleep lady. Dunno if she might charge a bit extra for calling La Belle France but I guess you could offer to call her to mitigate that expense.

Personally I would increase the solids and see what happens, but if you would really prefer to wait longer before introducing (and it seems like you would), then don't. Did ds seem ready for solids or was it more just sleep deprivation/desperation?

no advice...but know how you feel...my 7 month old today baby wakes up tons.......11 times last night

poppsycal I would have lost count after about 4 times! hope you get some more sleep tonight

i decdied to keep a tally chart last night ,...i am that obsessed....

Popsycal - good grief. Does he go back down easily?

Trib - sorry, I should know this from the June thread, but have you introduced solids? Has it worked?

Trib - should have said I would happily pay for a reverse charge call from New Zealand if it would help me get some sleep at night.

srarted solids about 5 weeks ago..he is worse if anything.....

fallen into the trap of the 'magic boobie' I am afraid
now I am back at work it is becoming crazy
ds2 is a whole different kettle of fish to ds1 (who, might I add, wakes at 5am every morning,,,)

popsycal - sorry, am a bit sleep-deprived and dim. what would you have done differently? have got three months before doing proper work, so might be time to sort it out?

No, lummox, ds is too little still (15 weeks, 14 lb 7) but sleep lady was confident it would help him sleep through when he is old enough. (She was rather hesitant to suggest it because of current policy, but when I said my hv had suggested it too, she perked straight up). Actually my hv has suggested it as a way of helping ds' reflux rather than his sleep, which so far is pretty reasonable anyway. Not as reasonable as some of our Junie babies - lucky old bubba getting her ds to sleep through from 1030 to 730 from 4 weeks! - but not bad. Still knackered though - unfortunately my sleep is very poor if disturbed, so combination of night feeds and dh snoring has turned me into a psycho anyway.

well....
I inadvertently became a 'co-sleeper'....friends persuaded me to co sleep when ds2 was tiny so that breast feeding was easy. It went against my gut reactions but I did it as it meant at least I got 'some' sleep.......

I wouldn't co-sleep if I could do it again......we just feed and nod off.....keep telling myself to stay awake and put him back in his cot......but it is just easier at 3 in the morning to wop out the boob, rool over then drop off again.......

Personally I think it sounds like habit and that he doesn't really need to be feeding that often in the night. His naps seem reasonable and also the daytime feeding. Unfortunately I don't know what to do about it or I would have done it with my two!

solids does nto help them sleep....honestly it doesn't