My 19 week old's sleep has gone haywire

[dcb]

We were just getting towards waking 1-2 per night before diarr 3-4 weeks ago and now have gone backwards. She's now waking 3-4 times per night and is more diff to settle each time. She is BF and a good weight. Wakes between 6.30-7.30 and naps freq during the day - I can't always get her to take a long sleep - sometimes 30-40 mins 3-5 times per day, although will stay asleep longer if I stay out with her in the pram. Good bedtime routine - play, bath feed bed and goes down fairly easily. Dreamfeed at 10.30 (DH) around 4 oz EBM. Then.....wakes 1ish 2-3ish, 5ish and 6.30ish. I've tried just giving 1 or 2 big feeds overnight and soothing/shushing back to sleep the other times - but it usually culminates in a rage, then a feed eventually with me wishing I'd just fed her in the first place. DH did try the other week and initially she would settle - but spoke too soon. Am beginning to feel really crap - v.tired and feel like I'm doing it all wrong. DH wants to try formula at night but I don't really want to lose any of my milk at night. Any ideas? Sorry it's so long. P.s diarr now settling although still having to change nappies (pooey) overnight which wakes her up - even tried doing it in dark(wouldn't recommend....)

P.Ps if anyone else asks me if she is "good" or sleeping thru the night yet I will scream.........

Here's suggesting that most awful of suggestions.....solids? DD started solids at about this time as she had started to wake and the milk just didn't seem to be enough for her. Yes, I know the 6 month business, but don't feel all baby's are the same and that all can wait for 6 months, especially if they are bigger babies as my DD was.

Thanks Jambot - but I don't think she's hungry - I think it's now habit. Last night I just went with it and "fed" her. Took a good feed at 1.45, minimal at 3.15, then faffed at 4.45 and it took an hour (including dh) to get her back to sleep. Can you do controlled crying at this age and how do I start?

Dcb - sorry, can't offer advice as not been in the situation but just wanted to agree with you about the obsession with whether babies are 'good' and sleeping through - makes me want to scream aswell (and I have what these people would call a 'good' baby) - as if any baby is deliberately being 'bad'!!

I think that, until she's cleared the diarrhoea, there isn't much you can do about the night wakings. Definitely don't start formula or solids until the diarrhoea is sorted, either. Wait until her bowels have come back to normal. BTW, what makes you sure it's diarrhoea - after all, bf baby poo is liquid in any case.

IMO she's too young for CC. What if you gave her a bottle of water at alternate night wakings? I don't know if that's 'official' advice, but it's what I think I would try, in your circumstances.

I have found that, if the baby is waking frequently and regularly, it is easier to sort out one waking at a time, rather than trying to sort out the whole night in one go. So you could try water for the first waking - if you're sure she fed well previously - and then boob for the subsequent ones. If that eliminates the first waking then you move it along after a week to the 'new' first waking, and so on.

Thanks prettycandles - she was pooing once a week before this started ( very thick and brown)- then changed v suddenly - much looser, frequent, green and full of mucus. Also had 2 small amounts of blood 2 weeks ago and we're waiting to see a paediatrician - although I think she's now settling anyway - only going 1-2 times per day instead of 8 and back to brown colour. I had wondered about trying some water - will prob give it a go tonight. And I think you're right about doing it in stages - makes it seem more possible.

Do you ever give her a dummy? I swear by them for soothing a baby - though, from my own disastrous experience, I wouldn't use them to keep a baby asleep. Sucking a dummy can help ease tummy-ache as well, in a young baby.

Pretty - could you expand on 'your disastrous experience' as the only time I use a dummy on DS is for sleeping and you have made me wonder if I am making a rod for my own back?? (sorry - hijacking the thread here!)

couldn't live without one now-have started using for night as well as daytime sleep

For us the disaster was that she dropped the dummy as soon as she went itno deeper sleep, then when she came into lighter sleep she would wake because it wasn't in her mouth. This actually got worse as she got older and she became more anf more dependant on the dummy to sleep. Eventually, at 6m, we took it away cold-turkey and did CC to get over it. She was able to sleep thriugh the night but was instead waking more and more often because of the dummy.