15 weeks old and sleeping has gone so so so wron - i am exhausted

[kittypower]

DS is 15 weeks and has been a good sleeper until now, he has been getting progressively worse over the last couple of weeks until last night it reached it's worst ever. He was up pretty much every hour from about 11pm until 6.30am. He is now not really sleeping in the day either - nothing I do can entice him to have a nap. I am so tired I can't even think straight now - ANY advice?

XX

Yes he has a bedtime routine of a feed, bath feed and then bed, he is fine at this stage but then once he has woken once in the night he will then wake every hour or so after that - nightmare. During the day, I have tried everything to get him to have a nap, the car and buggy don't work at all for him and darkened bedroom doesn't help, even sitting on my lap cuddling doesn't work anymore. He had moved into his growbag but I think this didn't help as he could move his arms and wake himself up so we are now back in his swaddle blanket, just feels like we are going backwards at speed when everyone else is happily telling me their babies are now sleeping 7 until 7...grrrrrr!
X

kittypower - IGNORE THOSE PEOPLE. 15 weeks is still so young. I've been there so i know how tiring it is and how right now it looks like the end is no where in sight. It will get better. it may not be next week, or next month even but it WILL get better.
Have you tried just bringing him into bed with you for now?

Yes I tried bringing him into our bed but he just kicks and sqirms and then none of us get any sleep at all. I had moved him into his own cot in his own room and this seemed to work fine at first but last night I moved him back into his moses basket in our room to see if that helped (it didn't!!) Do you think I should put him back in his room tonight or moses basket in our room? (can't believe I used to hold down a really high pressure job and now i'm so tired I can't even decide which room to put DS in on my own!!!)

X

you might want to tell your friends with babies that sleep 7-7 that it doesn't always last. My DD is living proof of that.

Some things I have tried - changing formula in case it was wind/difficulty digesting, extra layer on baby in case it was cold, calpol in case in was teething. Don't know if you think any of those might be at the root of the problem.....

when he wakes does he cry or is he just awake but amusing himself? Babies have a 60 minute sleep cycle and it sounds like your DS is waking every time he enters light sleep. If he's not distressed, I would be tempted to leave him even though he's awake and see if he can settle himself back to sleep.

he wakes and grumbles for a bit so i leave him hoping that he will just drop off again but he never does, he just gets louder and louder and then starts screaming!!
x

Does he settle back down if you feed him? Could be be hungry at all?

He doesn't seem hungry when he wakes
x

have you tried him on his tummy. frowned on i know but worked a treat with my dd and now also with my 6 month yr old ds. I put my dd (PFB) on her tummy at 2 months of age after many many sleepless nights and my ds from birth. You need to make your own risk assessment because it is against HV advice (ie. do you smoke around him etc) but some babies much prefer to sleep on their tummies as more comforting for them.

kittypower - you will get through this! 15 weeks is a typical time for a growth spurt and associated behaviour leads many a mummy ( including me) to think they have broken the baby! There is much good advice here about things you can try for the sleeping - I want to make sure you are taking care of you - is there somebody who can take ds out of the house for at least two hours so you can have a really good nap? Are you eating properly - you really need your strength - I found chocolate v good at 3 in the morning - if you don't have some in send for some asap - do not face the wee small hours without it. Are you drinking enough - if ds is feeding often it's really important you are glugging down the water - being dehydrated will make your fatigue worse. Take care.

does he have a good day time routine? Try keeping a diary for a few days. include:
*Time woke AM
*Time and length of naps
*Time you start preparing fro bed
*time he went to bed
*time he went to sleep
*times woken and responce you gave
*Times he went back to sleep

Where does he sleep during the day?

How are you feeding him?

If you're still struggling, feel free to email me me

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