About to go insane, please help :(

[SilverForest]

My 15 week old only gets about 5-6 hours sleep at night and still never naps for more than 15 minutes in the day.

If I'm lucky she will be put in her sleepyhead for one of these naps, after 45 minutes of rocking/white noise/swaddle etc and praying she'll fall asleep.

The rest of the time (at most another three 15 minute naps again after a 45 minute battle) she will scream if not sleeping on me with a boob in her mouth.

I've tried for hours a day to get her to take a dummy and she won't. I literally sit in her nursery with her on my boob for about 8 hours a day because she cries if I put her anywhere- sling, pram, car seat, mat, anywhere.

I'm going to lose the plot, I can't handle this any more. Please someone give me some advice, o can't cope with her much more

Will she nap in the pram or sling? Sling saved my sanity in the early days.

Didn't want to read and run... Sounds horrendous. Hopefully someone more clever than me can offer some advice.

My DS 14 weeks hasn't been overly keen on the dummy but will take it more often than not now as I've persisted... What works for me is cradle holding him as if you are breastfeeding and putting the dummy in such a way that he doesn't have too much choice but to take it all while jiggling, rocking etc and that calms him down into sleep. The dummy imitates the boob and he likes the movement. I'm fairly vigorous to begin with on the movement then get slower. If he's hungry or really hysterical it doesn't work.

Try making your sleeps 4 hours long.. If you sleep 6 hours you'll be mid REM which will make you wake frazzled.. When she's napping, try 20 deep recharge meditations from YouTube, you'll be surprised how much better this is than 6hour sleeps...

Polgaraisbloodylate the OP says that their baby won't sleep in a pram or sling.

Have you spoken to your health visitor? And what support do you have from other people? Where does she sleep at night?

If she can feed in the sling, she might settle

Have you tried feeding her in the day lying in your bed? (Quilts pillows out the way for safety ) then you can doze / rest while feeding and then try and sneak away once she's Asleep- this was a sanity saver for me but you do have to check they're properly asleep

Do you think she has a problem, tummy trouble or something? Can someone have her for a night so you can get some sleep? Have you tried different kinds of slings? Do you have a partner or mum who could help you get some rest? Or a friend with older children who would appreciate the cuddles? X x

Keep going with the dummy and try naps in a bouncy chair.

I would try lying down to feed to sleep on the bed. White noise and darkness and snuggles, if you want extended naps at this age you can lie with baby (and rest yourself!) you'll find you can quickly resettle when baby stirs x

I think in this situation I would consider switching to bottle feeding.

@Greylilypad just to get baby to sleep longer?!

Yes, I wouldn't do it just any situation for more sleep. But I would in this case. The OP said she is sitting in the nursery for 8 hours a day with the baby latched on. The baby is not getting more than 5-6 hours sleep a night in total and 15 mins at a time during the day. This cannot be good for the baby! Or the mother who has clearly said she cannot cope. That is so little sleep for a baby to get, even a poor sleeper. I have 3 Dc, bfed them all. DC2 was a terrible sleeper and I am sure at least part of it was connected to her association with sleeping = latching on. Not just normal waking for feeds like most breastfed babies which I am
Happy to do. Waking constantly and only staying asleep while latched on. She was also a bottle refuser so despite all efforts to get her to take one so I could have some help, she didn't until nearly a year old take any milk in a bottle or a cup. But I fully believe had she, it would have improved our sleep and family life which suffered because I was getting only a few hours broken sleep a night.
The OP sounds desperate and baby sounds seriously sleep deprived . I would try and break this association for both their sakes.
or cup.

Loads of other things she can try before stopping breastfeeding.

OP wondering if you have managed any of the suggwstions? Feeding lying down with white noise?

You poor thing, it is horrible to be in this situation. I hope your family and friends are able to be around and supportive. In my view, I would rule out medical issues as a number one cause of sleep this poor. Reflux, CMPI, underlying congenital issues. See a good GP, and paediatrician if at all possible. This does not sound like normal boob association baby to me, plus baby is too young for that to be so ingrained anyway. Does baby cry lying flat? Are nappies normal? Any mucus in stool? Is weight gain good?

And sorry I forgot - the other very important thing would be to urgently rule out (by an IBCLC {lactation consultant}, ideally) latch and positioning issues. They could cause this overall picture I believe. Even if you've previously been told latch is good. Try your local breastfeeding support group in the first instance.

Get your DH to look after your baby and pet to bed whilst you sleep so when she wakes you have had more sleep - express if you're bf