HV recommending weaning as solution to frequent night waking in 4 mth old but I'm not sure...

[lilysma]

Hi all, anyone got any ideas or experience about this? My 4 mth old is night waking every 30 mins - 2.5 hrs and very hard to settle again even after feeding (she's BF). The HV says to try starting solids, but I'm really not sure about this as all the literature suggests that this isn't effective and has its risks.

The thing is I'm completely desperate to do something about this as I'm becoming depressed through sleep deprivation, so the alternative is controlled crying (equally controversial!) as I've tried all the other 'gentler' methods.

Anyone have experience of starting solids at this age to deal with sleep problems?

when ds1 was little, the usggested time to start weaning ws 16 weeks. a couple of years before this it iwas three monhts.
i start4ed him at 15.5 weeks, and he thrived onit.
he ws always wking dureing the night as well, sleep deprivation ws getting to me ttoo. hv suggested i not feed him duirngi the hours of darkness, (this ws july) only give him water. two nights, and he started sleeping through.
something similar worked for dd. at 6.5 months she still wsnt interested in solids, but was being breastfed, exclusively, about twenty times a day. she who is not to be named suggested in her book to feed only every four hourss during the day. took four days for dd to stop screaming, but she started solids, and stopped screamng for brestfeeding.
that was my experience. others may disagree, but i think at four months your bbay my indeed be ready for solids

I remember HV and hospital consultant both telling me weaning was the answer whenever I mentioned any problem with a baby, including persistent diahrroea (caused by antibiotics they insisted I give DS2)and exzema (caused, I think, by vaccinations in DS1). I would definitely trust the hands-on experience of the mumsnetters with babies slightly older than yours than the often suspect advice of HVs. And I used to be a nurse!!

Am also not sure you should start solids. I seem to remember reading that bf milk in particular has more calories than solids and all a baby is doing when being weaned is gaining the tastes of foods whilst getting most of its nourishment from the milk.
You say she's hard to settle even after feeding so it may be some other issue. I'd try popping her in a sleeping bag or half swaddling her and tucking her into bed very tightly. I'd use a dummy (with a square through it so I could tuck it in with her to avoid getting up) and also a musical lightshow to reinforce bedtime. And of course I'd use blackouts and dimmer switches and not talk to her, or only very quietly and boringly during the night. I wouldn't go in immediately to her when she woke and then would use pick-up/put-down even if it does take ages (Ds2 currently struggling with midday nap (13 weeks) and the longest time so far has been 1 hour 10 minutes. I'd also rope dh in for those times when you've really had enough and invest in some ear plugs. After a bad night I usually invest in a latte and a big slicve of cake too. Dh'll cover for me going back to bed at any opportunity too.
I'd also look at how much sleep she's getting during the day - it shouldn't be longer than 3 hours (which for me is SO much easier said than done and I cannot wait until ds2 adapts to this).
I always think having a plan and discussing it and agreeing it with your partner helps you to feel much better too. I also think some babies sleep and some don't. Despite my best efforts ds1 didn't sleep through until he was 8.5 months. Ds2 did it consistently from 6 weeks.
If something tells you it's her teeth bothering her I would also defiitely dose her up with some Calpol. I certainly did this with ds1 (seemed like most of the time at some points) and will do with ds2. I remember how it felt when my wisdom teeth came through and it certainly used to help ds1 sleep well for the first part of the night.
I also don't think alot of people are honest about their dc in RL. Controlled crying is really stressful to do and you only hear the whole truth well after the fact in my experience.