My DD is nearly 1 and has always struggled a lot with sleep. For ages we did the whole co-sleeping thing where she'd bf on and off all the night. Daytime sleeps mostly in sling (wouldn't sleep anywhere else).
Now she'll not usually settle at all by being breastfed over night. So DH and I had to walk her up and down stairs for hours in the evening and over night. Nothing else worked. But often the second we tried to transfer her she woke.
So we're trying shush pat but a to begin with I'm doing it cuddling her. The first two nights she settled pretty fast after some angry crying but last night it took an hour for her first sleep and she was quite distressed. So far she's sleeping a lot longer which is great. But she's very very withdrawn and clingy in the day, wanting milk or to twiddle my nipples all day!!!
I'm still feeding her overnight (she's tiny and hospital said she still needs it). She literally is pawing at me every ten mins and looks so fed up.
My instincts tell me maybe she's not quite ready but DH and I have been at breaking point. We've hardly had any time away from her since she was born, no nights out together, no hobbies, no enjoyment for life in the past few weeks since her sleep got even worse. Feel even worse about the sleep training as she might be teething and has had a cold. Plus I would say she completely fits the 'high needs baby' model that Sears etc talk about, and there's evidence showing that not giving them what they need can be damaging.
But just don't see how we could have gone on as we were.
We've tried DH settling her but as soon as he takes her from me she's inconsolable.
Has anyone had similar experiences?