I've got myself in a muddle and am so tired I can't see a way forward. Please help!

[Minithemoocher]

My DD is 6 months old and after a hellish night last night I feel like I'm doing this all wrong.
I'll try and explain what's happening in the hope that someone wise will come along and help. Sorry if it's garbled, I'm really tired!
So, she goes down at 7:30 at night awake after a feed and 9 times out of 10 settles herself to sleep with no help from me within a few minutes. All well and good.
She then has an expressed bottle as a dream feed (given by DH) sometime between 11-12. She then used to wake just once more for a feed at about 4. Recently she's started waking any time from 2, having a small feed and then waking again at 4/5 or 6. I'm pretty sure she's not hungry at 2 so last night I sent DH in to try and resettle her. Cue 2 hours of crying. I took over at 3 and eventually fed her. She still didn't go back to sleep and fussed until 4. She then woke again at 6, had a feed and then slept till just gone 7.
I'm also not able to get her to nap in her cot. She'll only sleep in her pram after being rocked to sleep.
So my questions are:
Should I be trying to cut down night feeds or is she too young?
If she can self settle at 7:30 is there a reason she can't do this at other times?
Is it ok that she's still being rocked to sleep for naps? I used to be able to put her in her cot and shh pat to sleep but that went out the window during the 4 month sleep regression.
I'm starting to doubt myself. If you have any advice please do share!

no advice...my dcs just did what they pleased! heres a for you. hope you get a better nights sleep soon

Thanks fatty (it seems rude writing that!).
My DM keeps just telling me to feed her more solids but we're doing blw so I'm not worrying about how much she's eating.

From a Mum of two rubbish sleepers, one of which got better and the other I'm waiting for - it will improve! So much disturbs their sleep, especially in the first year, teething growth spurts, developmental stages, tummy ache from new foods. My advice is to try not to over analyse and remember it will get better eventually. Do what works and when that stops working, try something else. My DS2 was having 2 feeds a night at 6 months and stopped completely at 10 months. Breastfed only, wouldn't take a bottle. Sorry I don't have any concrete advice, but also, my 10 month old goes to sleep brilliantly on his own at bedtime but still wakes 3 - 5 times and I also rock him until he is sleepy for naps then put him in cot. I'm just enjoying the closeness as I'm not having anymore and as a Mum of a 5 year old DS, I know they don't want cuddles for long!

Also, it could be a bit of separation anxiety, it can start as early as 6 months. I think that is the only reason mine wakes as once he gets a head stroke and tucked in he goes back to sleep until the next wake up! He just doesn't like to be on his own right now, which he will grow out of. My only other advice is don't start co-sleeping if you don't want to do it long term. I never put either if mine in our bed and I don't pick up in the night unless really upset, in which case it's normally for a dose of painkiller then back into his cot.

Ah my dd2 was similar. She is 22 months now and always been a shit sleeper. Sleeping great for a few weeks then completely tits up for a week. I made the mistake of letting her in our bed as we were so tired. That just made it worse as she would just piss about and want to go down straits.

anything just to get you through the day!

Well done for BLW, the best way in my opinion.

Is your DD having enough milk (not solids, specifically milk) in the daytime? It may be that the night feeds are telling you she is not getting enough milk nourishment through the daytime.

She should not have dropped any of her daytime milk feeds yet, and the amount she has should possibly have increased recently.

Regarding her being able to go to sleep at bedtime, but not in the night. Having a very full tummy following a full feed, is a sleep prop just like a dummy, muslin or anything else is. The problem with the full tummy sleep prop is as she gets older, sleeps will not immediately follow a full meal. It is best to separate feeding and sleeping from as early as possible.

Thanks for your messages, and for the and . We had a slightly better night last night which has enabled me to see a little more clearly!
I guess it's all just a phase, which will pass, but it's hard to think rationally when you're so tired.
Fate, she hasn't dropped any milk feeds yet. I let her feed whenever she wants, which is roughly every 2/2.5 hours at the moment.
Is it a problem that I'm having to rock her to sleep in her pram for naps? Will she just grow out of this? If not, what should I do to encourage her to fall asleep on her own?

My ds only napped on me or pushchair up to 5/6 months. At 6 months we started putting in cot and doing pick up put down and now he naps well in there as long as nothing else is bothering him...she says having co slept last night as he has just had another tooth come through in the night...I doubt she needs milk at 2 but if it gets her to sleep quickly I can see why you would feed her...glad last night was better

Has anyone got any advice for teaching her how to drop off for naps without being rocked in the pram?

Is napping in the pram an issue for you? Some babies find naps harder than night time sleep. I still rock my 10 month old then pop him in his cot. IMO they don't nap forever so I just do what is needed to get him napping at the right time! Sorry I'm not more help.

Mini my 10month old is very like yours (apart from refusing all attempts at an expressed bottle!). She can self settle at bedtime but needs assistance if she wakes at night/at nap time. Her night wakings have varied from none at all to hourly! I was getting myself tied up in knots about it but in the end I've gone with the flow. She now sleeps in her cot from about 730-2, then wakes and we co-sleep for the rest of the night. Sometimes she feeds at 2, sometimes not. I think it can be the comfort of the breast as much as the full tummy. Maybe if you cut the dream feed she might sleep til 2 and then do a second longer stretch? I see no problem with rocking in the pram for naps, works a treat here. She's just started nursery and has been sleeping in arms/pram there so far and they aren't concerned at all!

The only problem I have with her sleeping in the pram is that she's a tummy sleeper and soon she won't fit in it, so she'll have to go into the pushchair. Maybe she'll learn to sleep on her back when she's in there? Or is there one that will enable her to sleep on her tummy?
I've just separated her feed from her sleep with a book and I think she might be asleep (although I'm not going in to check!). Hurray!
Thanks for all the advice. Sometimes it feels like I can't do right for doing wrong...

We all feel like that! My little girl sleeps on her tummy in her cot, on her back in her pushchair and on her side when in my bed- they adapt!