Whoever said co-sleeping made babies sleep better is a LIAR

[mangohedgehog]

At wit's end. 6m old dd2 has co-slept since day one. She used to be a beautiful sleeper at 2-3 months and I was so smug about it. Oh, the hubris.

She now wakes 5+ times a night, demanding bf to go back to sleep each time. Oh yes, and thrashes her arms about all night while insisting on sleeping sandwiched up against me. I am 99 per cent certain she isn't teething btw. She is just incapable of falling asleep without me.

Having always had quite firm opinions on co-sleeping being the right decision for us, I now find myself considering extreme measures. I am returning to work in 3 weeks time and I am filled with dread at the thought of more nights like these. If night time acrobatics are her thing I would really rather she did them in her own room!

Would anything less drastic than a crying solution work? Should I try the No Cry Sleep Solution? Any other words of wisdom would be much, much appreciated. Thank you...

I shall be watching this with interest as I am in the same boat - co-sleeping, baby that used to sleep, and at the end of my sleep tether!

No words of wisdom to help you, but you aren't alone!

We ended up stopping co sleeping with no 2 early as I just couldn't hack the 2 hourly feeds. With no 1 I was happy(well happier) to let her just latch on herself but no 2 I'd had enough and moved her out . . .

i went back to work when DS2 was 7mo and had actually started co sleeping more at around the 4 month sleep regression time.

if I'm awake enough i put him back in his cot, if not he stays beside me. i do shifts so he's been in with his brother since about 6 months so that i don't wake him coming and going.

his sleep has been rubbish since 4 months i think, with only a few weeks here and there where he was down to 2 wake ups.

he's 8mo 1wk now and has started waking a bit less again after a total nightmare month of teething and 2 colds.

maybe try sneaking her back to her bed once asleep? i lie DS2 on a small sheet or a muslin so that it's all warm to transfer with him.

i remember DS1 being about the same and going a bit nuts when i went back to work so my plan is to do nothing again and see what happens! I'm not into crying at all and just couldn't listen to it anyway.

hope DD2 settles more for you. :)

6 months is a shit stage for sleep IMO. Co sleeping or not.

Read No Cry Sleep solution- it will help with your expectations and give you some tips you can use now.

Perhaps she wants her own space? Any opportunity to put a cot at the side of your bed (side down and pushed up) and transfer her in to their once asleep?

Don't listen to anyone who says their babies slept through because of their fantastic parenting - it's bull. Each baby will have his or her own personality and that will either be a good sleeper or not (normally not at this age!)

If you've started weaning on to solids, that too affects their sleep for a few weeks.

Good luck

thanks all , yes we have started weaning, I hadn't thought that could be part of it but it makes sense.

Is reassuring to think of it as just one of those shit stages, thanks FadBook.

I do think my presence is disturbing her jaggythistle. I'll try that muslin trick and see how I get on.

And will check out the no cry sleep solution too.

Let's hope this phase is on its way out by the time I start back at work... doubt I'll get that lucky though!

I had the same issue and it's easy to start thinking co-sleeping is the problem but it's not. I followed advice from the hand in hand parenting website here

www.handinhandparenting.org/news/49/64/Helping-Young-Children-Sleep

And my daughter now sleeps through the night and we still co-sleep

Agree with FadBook except its not just 6 months IME. I found co-sleeping didn't help sleep but made it more bearable to do the feeds. However DT2 started to comfort feed incessantly. In the end he co-slept with DH whilst I slept in spare bed. This seemed to space the feeds out. Although I get up to feed him back to sleep we all get more sleep.m

However he is 20 months so you may not want to take advice from someone so rubbish...

With dd I coslept from birth. I started putting her back into her after feeds (making sure she was fast asleep and winded) and she got better. We had blips where I coslept for my sanity (6-9 months was a blip with some good stretches). So try that? Also have a look at her diet - she might have tummy issues. Also she might be hungry. There is a growth spurt at 6 months.

Back into her *cot

I wonder if you can help me as I'm at my wits end!

I have a 6 month old baby boy and we are struggling with his sleep.

From birth he slept through and we couldn't believe our luck. Since moving him into his cot which was in our room first and now in his room he won't sleep in it at all.

I tried controlled crying beginning of December and it did work for a couple of nights but he still woke up in the night for comfort from the breast, and as I have 2 other children who have to get up for school, I didn't want him howling the house down in the early hours.

His naps during the day are non-existent unless he falls asleep on me after bf or if we are out in the car.

I brought him into our bed in December to get some rest after a bout of teething and illness now the only way he will go to sleep is if I lie with him and he suckles himself to sleep. He wakes up 3 to 4 times in the night to do this. Feel a bit of a failure as 2 other children were great sleepers from an early age. I should know all this 3rd time round!