6m DS night wakings killing us - need your help and advice for sleep training ideas!

[jenhad84]

My ds is 6 months, in his own room, formula fed and has 3 naps during the day with no problems, one at 9am then one 12-2 and one at 4 works out about 3.5hrs and he is happy with that.

Have a great bedtime routine of bath/bottle/bed and goes to sleep within 5 mins no problems without his dummy (doesn't seem bothered for it)

The issues start about 2 hours later, when he wakes up crying with his eyes closed still and the only way he will return to sleep is with his dummy. Then proceeds to wake every hour.

Last night we tried a bit of controlled crying and left him for 5 min intervals. He eventually settled after 15 mins but then woke and started the process all over again. After 45 mins of screaming I couldn't go on and held him, gave him the dummy and he ended up in our bed - I don't sleep properly with him in our bed and he woke up every couple of hours there too, but was fine with constant dummy reinsertion!
I really don't know where to go from here! Feel like I'm getting it all wrong and making things worse!

Please tell me how you've sleep trained your babies! Should I try controlled crying again or the pick up out down method?!
Sooo exhausted!!!

I say this as a Mum whose DC never accepted a dummy and believe me, I tried. Could you go cold turkey with the dummy?

Isis online is a good resource for babies sleep as its all evidence based. Have a look here at sleep training

Could he be teething or has he always slept like this?

Hiya he used to be alright and do 6 hour stretches of sleep up until about 16 weeks and since then it's been horrendous!

Not teething at the moment either. Last night I dindnt even try I couldn't face any crying so as soon as he woke up about 9.30pm I put him in our bed and spent the whole night holding his hand and putting the dummy back in - we are both shattered as neither of us has slept properly :-(

Feel like I'm failing him, I should be able to teach him to settle himself and be able to sleep, it can't be good for either of us this long with so little sleep!!

Get rid of the dummy.

I'd like to, but not sure what to do instead? As without it screams and won't settle, I'm unsure about whether to cry it out, pupd or any other method? Im looking to hear people's ways of sleep training/soothing without any sleep props?