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7 month old not sleeping without cluster feeding

2 replies

user1480489999 · 30/11/2016 07:19

I do not know what to do. My baby is still cluster feeding from the time I put her down (7pm ish) until the morning, and that's how she sleeps. She is now 7 months. I don't have any evening, she sleeps for short bursts at unpredictable times in the day, I can't get anything done, i am sleep deprived.We were co-sleeping and still are but i don't feel safe with her in the main bed anymore. We have a mattress on the floor with a guard, so I was creeping out after she fed/fell asleep and went in my own bed for about an hour or 2 before she woke up to suck again. Things have progressively gotten worse. The last 2 weeks when i leave the bed she either wakes up straight away or wakes up after about 10mins. Lastnight I changed 3 nappies, the last she leaked through because she is drinking so much. I have tried singing to her, rocking her, holding her but nothing gets her to sleep at night apart from sucking. I have tried a dummy but she thinks its a toy - i missed that boat. In the day a third of the time she feeds to sleep but i mostly get her to sleep by walking her outside in the buggy. I used to also bounce her up and down whilst standing up but that's stopped working - I am too achy as it takes a long time to get her off with me but will work much quicker when I hand her to other people. (She can smell my milk?!). We have been trying to stick to a routine with a group in the mornings, looser afternoon + walk although we have been a bit thrown recently but always do bath time etc. at 6. A bit of background...

We have had awful luck with a house sale that fell through which left us without our own house for 4 months. We are moving to our new house a week on friday (wahay) but since shes been 3 months old we have lived with friends, family etc. in several different houses but spent most of the last couple of months at my parents which has been the most settled. My parents live in Dorset but my husband is living with a friend up in Cambridge because thats where we live and he has to work.But on the whole been very disruptive for her. Shes never wanted to sleep on her own but mainly the sleep problems started when we started moving around - she wouldn't stay asleep in her moses basket for very long so I brought her into our bed and we would both fall asleep. She was premature so we had a few difficulties in first couple of months. She also has a milk allergy and it took us a while to suss that out, but still is very sensitive in her digestion. She's had a bad cold, is now teething, their always seems to be a new issue once one passes. My husband is an awful sleeper so when we move back up he won't be able to help me (whereas i do have a bit of help with my parents here) I am too tired to try and challenge any of this and the last time I did i had on average 2 hours of sleep a night, got a cold and was back at square one. My mum has offered to stay up with her this weekend to try and make her less dependant on my milk. The alternative is to just lie on the mattress on the floor with her and let her suck but my body gets so achey as my arm is at an awkward angle etc. i worry about rolling over her so only half asleep and my nipples get sore and its just darn uncomfortable having someone latched on for hours. Because of all the moving around i don't have a health visitor to call on. Any advice?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
TrishanFlips · 30/11/2016 07:38

Sounds very hard. Would her milk allergy mean you cannot use formula milk? You should register with a local health visitor/baby clinic for advice. I tended to co-sleep with my babies who also woke up in the nights for feeds but we slept in my usual bed and I didn't feel uncomfortable at all (and they weren't waking up as frequently as yours.) What you are trying with your mum sounds good. Good luck.

FATEdestiny · 30/11/2016 13:15

I was going to say it sounds like she needs a dummy but unfortunately you've missed that boat. Then I saw you'd already said that.

How about milk-protein free formula? You can get it free on perscription if she's medically recognised as CMPA. Otherwise this is something you can buy.

Tricky time 7 months. While she will be starting solids, she needs to maintain her milk intake for the calories and nutrients. I would be inclined to suggest that you don't do anything like sleep training until her diet is more established. She may well need the milk until then. It could be formula though, doesnt have to be breast milk.

The unsettledness is undoubtedly affecting things. Your bed is probably the most consistent aspect in her life, so that's why she loves it. That's understandable.

At 7 months you don't need to worry so much about sleeping position. Now baby is more mobile, the SIDS risk is much less. If it was me id embrace cosleeping on a mattress and stress less about position. She will be able to find your nipple if she wants it in the night. Just sleeping normally on your side or back with your top off should be enough. No need to be in special positions any more, she's not a delicate newborn.

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