HELP - desperately need some sleep

[Clydesdaleclopper]

Please can some one give me some advice. DS is 4 1/2 months old and until xmas was sleeping in an Amby nature nest next to our bed. He was going for a 5 hour stint then waking 2 hourly after that. Since xmas things have got progressively worse. He is waking every 30 mins and refusing to sleep anywhere other than in bed with me. the problem is that I can't sleep as he is permanently attached to boob and screams as soon as he is moved. I have to twist to feed him in bed as I have small boobs so can't sleep whilst he is attached. I've only had 5 hours sleep in the last 3 days. Any one got any suggestions?

Sympathies - lack of sleep is truly horrendous . 4/5 months is a common time for sleep to go bananas as it's a massive growth spurt which seems to go on for ever. Is there any way you can get a break - waking every 30 mins must be awful, DS at that age was waking every 1-2 hours which was bad enough. Could you express some milk and hand him over to your partner for a night or so (or even a portion of the night, say 10pm-2am so you can get some rest?).

At this stage I'd say do whatever you can to get through, sleep during the day is pos and hang in there. It does get better, honestly

if poss

aw thats awful, sympathies.

does he get any comfort from sucking a finger/dummy or anything other than the boob? we had a phase just like thsi just after xmas and it was awful, i thought she'd never be out of our bed and we'd never get any sleep, but it did pass, and so will yours.

He used to take a dummy but now refuses them. I've tried a few different types to no avail.

I've even tried my DH giving him a bottle but as soon as he finishes the bottle he cries until he comes to me for boob. He seems to be using it more for comfort than food a lot of the time.

Hi. Sorry. I don't have any useful tips but I thought you'd like to know you're not alone. My 5 month old ds is also waking every 30 mins in the night and it truly is exhausting so you have all my sypmathies.

Thanks Spangly. No one else I know has a problem. All my ante natal class buddies have babies that sleep through the night

The only advice I can give is hang in there, sleep whenever he sleeps,and remember that the other people at the ante natal class are all LYING!!!!!! Very few babies sleep through at 4.5 months!

It sounds like he does not know how to get himself back to sleep when he wakes every half hour (which is normal, but he is then supposed to just groan and go back to sleep, all cute ).

When does he go to sleep at night and how? That is, does he go to sleep on his own, in his own cot, or do you nurse or rock him to sleep?

Why is it, that almost every mother i know, is knackered, yet they ALL think that everyone else's baby sleeps really well? People exaggerate massively you know. Lets say somebody's baby sleeps midnight till 5am, what they will tell you face to face is that the baby sleeps from 10 until 7am. I think its a form of self-protection or something. AND, people only shout about their baby's sleep when it's going well, and often babies sleep through for a bit, then don't, then do, etc. So forget all that.

What is your bedtime routine like and do you try to put him down or just start off in the bed? Do you have a cot for him now? If you are happy to co-sleep, have you tried sleeping with him in the crook of your arm rather than flat on the bed, so that he is raised up and really close to your breast?

There are loads of bedtime routine gentle sleep training type things I could suggest but it sounds like you just need basic amounts of rest at the moment so like others have said, sleep whenever he does in teh day, feed him as much milk as possible during the day to keep up with the growing, and then when you feel a bit stronger you can try to help him go a bit longer between feeds. He will get the message eventually, honestly.

Jellybelly I am happy to co-sleep - the problem is that he will only sleep in the crook of my arm and I have back problems that make this very uncomfortable.

Last night I gave up and DH gave him a big bottle of formula before bedtime and he slept for 4 hours. I don't know whether to be happy or sad.

Be happy that he slept for 4 hours and don't feel upset about the formula. it's done now. I wish I had some useful advice for you but it might help you to know that my 4 month old is having very similar problems to yours. He was sleeping really well until Christmas - 5 or 6 hours at a stretch - but now he wakes very frequently and it's getting harder to settle him with rocking or breastfeeding. If anything works, or we have a magical breakthrough, !I'll let you know. Hang in there!