Getting desperate - 7 month old, multiple wakings, wind?

[Moobaloo]

Help please I can't do this much longer.

My 7 month old DS has never slept through the night. He was bf for 4 months but I had to use shields as he never could latch, I eventually discovered he had reflux and shields made this worse as he swallowed air. He was much happier being bottle fed so we switched to HIPP formula.

However he has still never slept through. He will settle ok and sleep in his cot but wakes 3-8 times a night. Sometimes he can be settled with a dummy but usually he won't settle without a feed. He is drinking 12-14oz formula a night in smallish snacks. He has three bottle feeds a day (21oz) and three meals BLW.

He stirs and koans and kicks his legs and will cry if not soothed/fed quickly enough. Won't self settle. Is furious if you offer him water. Starts out in his cot but comes in with me at some point as I'm shattered. Doesn't sleep any better in with me.

I think he is struggling with some form of digestive wind... He seems to struggle with farts/pooing at night and then poos in the morning and is a delight all day and a misery all night. I don't think he's lactose intolerant. His poos are wet and creamy yellow (HIPP formula) but occasionally more solid, I put this down to more solid food now. He still seems to struggle before he has wet poos though.

His cot is propped up at one end. He isn't sick with reflux since being on formula but I leave it propped in the hope it helps. He seems comfiest on his side but rolls onto his back in his sleep. Falls asleep with a dummy but spits it out after 5 minutes and doesn't seem bothered it's gone. I do a little massage before bed and he burps well after bottles. He has water with every meal.

I feel like I don't want to do sleep training because I think he doesn't want to wake up, rather that he wakes because he's uncomfortable, but don't know what I can do to help him.

Any advice? The only things I've found re. Wind and sleep seem to be for little babies. I can't take much more of this continually broken sleep!

I don't really know what to suggest aside from sympathy. You seem to have covered all bases and have already have covered anything I would suggest.

Something to consider would be indigestion/reflux. Although he is not sick, he may still be suffering that burning/acid feeling in his chest (like pregnant women often get - I remember how I suffered at night when pregnant).

I am not in much of a position to advise,as my 6 month old also still wakes regularly through the night. But one thing I have found that you didn't mention in your post is my DS tends to get cold at night. He likes to be much warmer than the official guidelines suggest, so i always put him in an extra layer now. he seems to wake up when he is cold and wants to feed, I suppose as this warms him up.

Have you explored the possibility of cows milk protein intolerance? It's not uncommon in babies with reflux.

The reaction is variable, but in my eldest it took the form of wind/gas pains. He improved markedly when I cut dairy out of my diet (he was only a few weeks old, and exclusively breastfed, when he was diagnosed). My daughter is CMPI too - cutting out dairy improved her reflux (didn't cure it, sadly, though I have read of cases where a dairy free diet does lead to resolution of symptoms).

Assuming you're in the UK, there are hypoallergenic formulas available on prescription. You can also buy them over the counter (but they are £££). If it's feasible for you, perhaps you could buy a can and try it, and go to your gp for a prescription if you notice an improvement?

The other thing which comes to mind is tongue tie - has your son been assessed? My eldest (now 27 mo) also really struggled with breastfeeding in the first few months (I had to use shields too), and with reflux. I had him seen recently by a specialist dentist in London (Dr Levinkind) who confirmed he has a tongue tie. My son isn't an ideal candidate for treatment at the moment, given his age, but your son could easily be treated if necessary.

Grumbelina beat me to it suggesting tongue tie.

It can affect sleeping and can cause digestive/wind problems and being unable to latch would also point to it being a possibility.

DS1's ties and high palate went undiagnosed until he was almost 6yo. His sleeping was appalling and nothing I tried worked, ever. I often wonder how he would have been if we had known about his ties back then.

Thank you all. I live in a very rural place in the uk and we are very short of nhs staff in all areas. I asked a midwife about tongue tie and she just looked at his mouth and said he didn't have it. He's bottle fed now, could that still affect him? I should have tried harder to get help bfing but there really is nothing here (nearest LLL group is a 2 hour drive) and I was scared of him losing weight again and being readmitted to hospital.

Having read some more online I'm considering silent reflux more and will look into that.

I tried to not feed him last night and he screamed for 2 hours on and off before I gave in. He fell asleep the moment he finished the bottle and did 2 x 3 hour stretches wig another feed in the middle. He farted quite a bit during the screaming.

Funnily enough dp thinks he's too warm! We have a thermostatic heater in his room and I think he's pretty snug.

Re dairy.i cut it from my diet for 6 weeks while bfing and didn't notice a difference but it's still so etching I consider a possibility. He doesn't have typical lactose intolerance symptoms. I would like to try him on goats milk but it is ££ and we don't have a lot right now but we can afford some soon so I will be trying the Holle goats milk follow on formula too.

My 7 month old is still bfing 5-7 times a day plus 3 meals. 3 feeds a day doesn't sound enough. Have you tried feeding him more often in the day?