My 5 month old and I cry ourselves to sleep every night

[Fidget8radish]

Hi,
New to mumsnet and new to being a mum.
My son still wakes up every 2 hours (every 1 hour if he's unwell) at night and it's getting harder and harder for me to settle him back to sleep.

He's got severe eczema and had a good two months of back to back flare ups & steroids non stop. We finally got it under control a month ago but his sleep hasn't progressed. His weight is now up to where it should be, I've been giving him a bedtime routine since 6 weeks old and I can't think of anything else holding him back.

I'm so desperate for sleep. Is it worth investing in a sleep consultant? I've not got the heart for cc of cio methods, how long do the other methods take to kick in?

Oh, only five months? that's completely normal still!

We used a sleep trainer I was recommended on here - website is yummy baby group. It made SUCH a difference. I hope things settle for you soon.

Shouldwest..thanks for the tip! My mum is allergic to tomatoes so I'll be sure to avoid.

I'll ask the paeds how long the steroid will take to get out of his system. He was only on creams but it was all over his body. I did wonder what effect it would have.

My middle DS had dreadful excema and he also woke hourly throughout the night, so I feel your pain! Best for us was a bedside cot, so I could dream feed in the night. He very rarely settled back into his own cot though, so I just snuggled up with him instead. He co-slept much better than on his own.
Sorry to tell you he's now 11, and still asks to go to sleep in my bed!

Very happy to have helped. It sounds like you are doing a great job Fidget and congratulations on becoming a mum x

Thanks Refred. The allergies really muddy the waters and it's hard to tell sometimes what's a normal baby thing and what's allergy related.

So far he's allergic to milk, soy, egg, cashew, pistachio and sesame. The paed said to only exclude soy and milk from my diet because they affect his reflux but didn't think it was worth excluding the others.
I know for a fact that even if I've had a minute amount of soy in my diet his eczema flares up, perhaps I should exclude the rest.

Dothemash, thank you!

You should absolutely exclude the rest! The problem I found with peads is they we're not great with allergies and breastfeeding and had a big knowledge gap unfortunately. There no evidence for exclusion diets and breastfeeding, so they tend to wing it a bit but the evidence is lacking due to a lack of research rather than it not being an issue.

Egg are the main cause of allergy related eczema in babies, so I would definitely start with excluding those. DS slept much better once I got rid of every trace of his allergens. Allergy UK might be useful too.

How are they testing for his allergies?

I would add DS could tolerate baked eggs in cakes, biscuits etc but not if I eat a boiled egg for example which is quite common too.

Had terrible nights with mine until age 5...awful eczema. What helped was joining national eczema society and learning how to use wet wraps. And learning not to be afraid to use enough steroid cream, in short doses, to have an impact on breaking the itch scratch cycle.
Oh and some fantastic garments with mitten hands from a company called cotton comfort. Expensive but brilliant and high quality.

Oh yes and ear infections common with allergies too. Worse when lying down.

Fidget8radish - how do you get baby to go to sleep? Is he in his cot in your room, his room or cosleeping?

Would you consider cosleeping or bringing the cot back to your room, if it's not already?

Have you tried a dummy? Dummies are ACE!

I agree that you should exclude all the things he's allergic to in your diet too. I am surprised they told you not to. Can't moletly agree 5 months sleep often is bad anyway with 'normal' babies. I'd steer clear of sleep consultants with a baby with allergies. You need to figure all that out first before tackling sleep and at 5 months and weaning you are still getting through all that. It will get better, I promise (have been exactly where you are including the types of allergy) it's very hard and harder work than the average baby. My advice is don't compare him to other babies the same age, he's got extra challenges, take the pressure off it all, he'll get there but he's just different. Accept the sleep thing for now and tackle it if you need to later. I wish I'd spent less time worrying about it all looking back. Just think, through no fault of yours or anyone's your boy has had a bit of a rough start, now he's coming out the other side of that just try and relax and gently nudge him into sleeping longer but accept it might take a while. It will get better, just hang in there