I need help - tearing my hair out and exhausted

[cheeseandketchupsandwich]

Writing this at 530 after Lord knows how many wake ups this past week.

I'm hoping someone will be able to tell me what I'm doing wrong.

My DD is 7.5m (6m corrected, she was 6 weeks early).

We co-sleep.

Prior to this last week she was going to bed 8-9pm on 7-10oz and sleeping until 4-5am, having 5oz then sleeping until 7am ish. This was after a day of napping for 45mins every 2ish hours and a bottle every 2-3 hours.

This last week however something seems to have changed. She started waking screaming at 11.30pm, 12.30am, bottle at 1.30am, sleep until 5am, another bottle then alternating sleep/scream until 7am ish. When she screams she won't sleep unless she's picked up and resettled.

Her day routine has also changed. She now wakes around 7am, awake for an hour then bottle and nap (sometimes 2 hours..!), awake for 3 hours, nap for 45 mins - 1 hour, awake 3 hours, another nap then ready for bed 2 hours after waking up from nap. Then the screaming / sleeping starts all over again.

I'm so exhausted I can't see the wood for the trees. Can anyone see what I'm missing?

She isn't teething as far as I can tell.

She has started belly crawling probably a few days before this whole thing started.

Thank you to anyone who has any advice 🙏🏽

If I lie her down and try to get her to fall asleep herself she ends up playing and messing about then getting overtired, so now she either falls asleep on the bottle or we rock her.

Made a rod for my own back here I think.

Is it worth pushing with trying to help her fall asleep herself while she's going through this phase? Hope to god it isn't permanent..!

I hear your pain! If you've ruled out teething or being under the weather, it could well be related to a developmental phase, she's learning new things, her brain's processing a lot of stuff, and it makes her wakeful. I seem to remember they get separation anxiety around this age too, so cling to you more for reassurance, and check you're still there. None of this helps you, of course, when you're in the thick of it. But just to say, solidarity!
A friend shared soemthing with me recently - she's got a newborn and is on her knees right now, and it really stuck with me. Posting it ehre, in case it helps you, it was from this book www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CP4FNCPX btw

"There will be nights when you are completely exhausted, staring out at the night sky with a seemingly insatiable baby in your arms, who stirs the moment you attempt to transfer to their own sleeping space, when you will feel like you are the only person in the world awake. Take comfort: you are not. There are parents across the world, and throughout history, who have felt the same. Somehow we all survive and muddle through these early testing months. One day, you will turn to another exhausted parent and say “it goes by so quickly”. It does. Hold on, we are with you in solidarity. You got this."

@rosemarypetticoat thank you for taking the time to respond.

An update for anyone who may come across this later:

We realised she isn't getting enough sleep in the day. Yesterday I took a note of her whole day, putting her to bed early after her 3rd nap. She woke after 45 mins and wouldn't go back to sleep. We realised she still needs a 4th (cat)nap before bedtime, she sleep beautifully last night.

Been tearing my hair out for a week and it's all because she needed more naps 🤦🏽‍♀️

That’s really interesting to read as my DS has been the same recently and I keep wondering whether he’s getting too much sleep or not enough!

So glad to hear that. Being a parent is like being a detective, sometimes. And oh, the restatorive power of a good sleep, bliss!