4-month sleep regression coupled with a chesty cough - please tell me this will end...

[lbandrb]

DS has never been a good sleeper and I'm currently doing all I can to 'reprogram' him, with a routine, all naps in his cot, putting him down awake, encouraging self-soothing, extending naps etc. I'm getting help from my HV. Unfortunately, his sleep was already dreadful with the 4-month regression and now it's nose-dived with a chesty cold (have been to the doctor to get it checked out).

At night he's waking circa every 35 minutes. All night. And usually takes some time to resettle properly - he falls back asleep immediately but will keep waking unless I stay soothing him till he falls into a deep sleep.

I'm pretty desperate as I'm already spending lots of time leaning over his cot trying to prevent him from waking during his naps, and get him back to sleep when he does. It's utterly exhausting, 24 hours a day.

Please can someone just encourage me that this will pass?! I can't bear it much (any) longer...

It will pass! For now, do whatever you need to do to help him sleep while he's poorly. I'd just started having some success with gentle sleep training my DD when she was about 5.5 mo (helping her learn to self-settle) when she got a stinking cold and we had to spend a couple of nights sitting up in bed, holding her upright in our arms as that was the only way she could sleep. It felt like such a massive step back (back to the very very early newborn days) and was exhausting. But once she was over the worst of the cold (a day or two) she was back in her cot and once she was fully better (about a week) we got straight back on track with the self-settling etc. Do you have a DP who can help out at nights? In situations like this my DH and I will split the night - so we at least manage to get a chunk of a few hours sleep each.