Im going nuts! Why wont she settle at night?

[redwallday]

My DD is breastfed but has a bedtime bottle given by DH. At night she sleeps well (mostly) but getting her to bed is a NIGHTMARE! She has a bottle at 8 and is obv so knackered by about 9 but wont give in. Some nights she is up till 1am. Shes not hungry she just cant settle herself. She usually bfeeds to sleep but now even that isnt working. Im having lots of stress and screaming at night. Its stressing me out so much its untrue. Her routine is the same every night but some nights bedtime goes on for 5 hours!!

Help!

I should also add she is 21 weeks old!

She is currently screaming in her bedroom with DH trying to calm her with another bottle as she was crying and unable to settle herself on the boob.

HI I don't have any answers for you just to say around the 4 and 5 month mark were the worst for me (was more down then when DD was a newborn). It used to take me hours to get her to sleep then around 5 months she just fell into a routine of going to sleep at 9pm regardless of what I did. Then a few weeks later she brought it forward to 7pm without any effort from me, this after months of me trying different bedtimes and bedtime routines. I guess what I'm trying to say is they settle into things themselves, and this too shall pass!

Also have you looked at the daytime sleep, perhaps she needs a late afternoon nap to prevent getting overtired?

I am no expert, but am just coming out of 4 month sleep 'regression' with my dd. She is calming down again at 5-5.5 months.

things that helped:
Putting her in the cot for quiet play during the day
Calpol - some nights it was definitely teething pain
Little calming shoulder rubs
Complete darkness (dd very easily distracted at that age!)
Dummy (although now trying to wean her off it!)

A couple of friend's babies has been through similar stage at that age and it did help knowing there was light at the end of the tunnel.

Good luck, it will get better.

hi am also experiencing some sort of regression with my DD who is 5.5 months old and exclusively breastfed. She never has slept through the night, for a week or so she went through the night with no feeding just shush patting her back to sleep when she woke up once. Then we went through her waking up once a night for a week and now she is waking up several times. Have resorted to giving her a dummy when i think she's not waking cos of hunger. So just to put it more clearly she goes to bed around 7pm, stirs anywhere between 10-11pm so i give her a feed, then she wakes up at 2am, i give her a dummy to shush her, then she'll be up again at 3/3.30am so i'll feed her. She then wakes up at 5/6ish and so give her a dummy and then feed her around 7.30am..

I've just started weaning her today as she certainly is showing signs of being interested in food etc..and hoping this will make a difference to her sleeping at nights.. she naps very well during the day, 1hr in am, 1-2 hrs in afternoon and about an 1hr around 5ish..

Wondering if formula at night will make any difference but worried it might affect my supply of milk as it did with my DS when i introduced formaula to him. Any suggestions/tips/advice??