Sleep consultant?

[Chloris33]

Has anyone tried a sleep consultant & found it worthwhile? Can you recommend one? My 12 week old has the same sleep habits he had from birth & I am struggling to cope with the exhaustion. Thanks

I don't mean to sound harsh, but there is probably nothing at all a sleep consultant can do for a 12 week old. They are growing and developing so much at this stage, and will for quite a while... no amount of sleep training will work if they just aren't ready. And at 12 weeks, they definitely aren't.

I can sympathise with you, DS is 14 weeks tomorrow and usually sleeps quite well for his age but this past week has been a teething monster who won't sleep and has gone back to multiple night wakings and I am on my knees. We have slept in for school the past 2 days because I have slept right through my alarm after getting back into bed after a 4/5am feed that he hasn't had for a couple of weeks now.

What is his routine like now? How and where does he sleep?

Oh I thought about this when I was tired and DD was very little! In the end we bought a booked called "the sensational baby sleep plan" that tells you how to implement a routine for your baby and for them to learn how to self settle. It really worked for us and for everyone we know you used it. Not for everyone as it is a strict routine but might be worth a look? Our baby is now 2 and an amazing sleeper!

We used Sian Thomas at SleepBabies, so kind but not sure if she works with babies under 6 months. Life saver for me and worth every penny but ours was older. Good Luck x

Thanks everyone, I wasn't planning on sleep training as he's too young but was wondering where I might be going wrong re. length of naps, timing of bedtime etc. Also have always fed to sleep which I know is supposed to be a no no, but it's such a hard habit to break as he always falls asleep towards the end of a feed. A new development is that after his 3.30 ish am feed he has woken up when put back down & been wide awake & noisy as if ready to get up for the day. I've tried repeated pick up put down with no success. This has been the last two nights - really hoping it doesn't continue as a pattern.

He naps around 4 hours during the day, btw. across about 3 naps. He goes to bed at night at 8-8.30pm. He sleeps in a cot next to our bed. In the day time I try to get him into his downstairs crib for naps tho sometimes he sleeps on me & this week we've had some co-sleeping naps as I've been ill & needed the sleep. Co-sleeping is the easiest way to get him sleeping longer but I don't want to get into it as a habit.

Babies don't necessarily "progress" in a linear fashion - it would be quite normal for a 12 week old to wake for the same amount of feeds, if not more, then a newborn. At 4 months it can get even worse.

They may sleep 6 hours one night then wake every 45 minutes the next.

The best thing to do is not try to "fix" the baby but look for coping strategies.

The answer to most problems at this age is either get baby to feed more (baby need more calories) or get baby to sleep more (baby is over tired). Not just overnight, but over 24 hours a day.

How much awake time between daytime naps? At this age I would expect no more than 90 minutes awake between daytime naps, more like 60 minutes. You mention only 3 naps a day, short frequent naps are more natural than fewer longer naps at 12 weeks old.

I would recommend a dummy and a bouncy chair