I need help. I'm going insane

[Tiddybiddy247]

Slightly dramatic title but I am finding it hard to cope. My 9 month old wakes up too much and I'm desperate. Last night I lost count after the 17th wake up. He went to bed pretty easily at 7pm and only woke twice before 11.30pm...this is normal and then it starts. He will just start to twitch rubbing his face and eyes and it gradually becomes more frantic until he's crying and the only way to get him to stop and go back to sleep is a boob. During the day I'm shaking, dizzy and tearful sometimes with lack of sleep

I'll give some backstory. I've never been able to put baby down to sleep. Had bad wind in the early months. I was advised early on by the breastfeeding consultant and health visitor to try co sleeping, baby wasn't gaining loads of weight and was breastfeeding for hours none stop. They told me to co sleep and let him stay latches on. He also has eczema and was itching like mad all night. It was manageable until 8 month old.

Now he fights sleep sometimes not going down until 8.30pm always wakes up at 6am sometimes 4.30

Naps during the day have to be contact naps. He's incredibly light sleeper 😞 if I move an inch he wakes crying. He usually naps two hours after first waking for 30 mins. Then 11.30/12ish for an hour or an hour and a half. Then again at 3ish for another hour.

Lately he's been trying to sneak in a 4th nap!

I feel like everyone i know has a baby that sleeps well.

1. Does he still have ezcma?
2. Have you tried dummies? I did it like this. When sleepy (not fully asleep!) Un latched him and inserted dummy. Held it gently in until he took it himself. Eventually he sleep trained himself albeit was dependent on dummies to do that. I was not wild about the dummy BUT sleep is vital so it was a compromise I had to make.

Have you considered a dairy allergy? It's just with the eczema and the way he is at night and the wind it's sounds awfully similar to what mine was like and he's got cmpa.

Second the possibility of CMPA. My friend had the same with her DS - lovely in the day but hysterical at night, bad eczema. I suggested it could be CMPA. Cut out dairy (with guidance from GP) and it all settled down. Definitely worth exploring.

Agree with above, dairy allergy. They can struggle to get into a deep sleep as they are uncomfortable. Also, drop the 3pm nap, even if that means a 6pm ish bedtime that slowly get pushed back to 7pm over a week or so, once he is used to it. Getting naps right means any night changes you want to make will be easier as they are the right amount of tired first.

He isn't "fighting sleep" or "trying to sneak another nap" - he doesn't know what sleep is, or if he has done it

It sounds like there’s an underlying cause to his sleep problems, agree with PP that it sounds like CMPA. Id cut out dairy and see if that improves his symptoms, and also potentially soya as CMPA babies often have soya allergies too

We are a family of eczema sufferers and it's weird how it becomes itchy at night, we find taking an antihistamine really helps - not sure if a baby can have but maybe Dr can prescribe?

It's not CMPA been ruled out multiple times by GP and it's not dairy. He does still have a little bit of eczema behind the ears but not as bad as December when it was all over his head. I cut dairy out for two months and didn't make a difference.

He won't take a dummy.

Unfortunately he won't take a dummy 😔

He still has a bit of eczema and the latest Dr prescribed a steroid cream but I'm reluctant to use it due to researching it

It's perfectly safe to use for short periods to relieve itching and inflammation. This could easily be the cause of all of this. It'll be very low strength to begin with. I don't know what research you've read but unless you're medical I expect you've misunderstood it and worried about nothing and you're all suffering as a consequence

Use the hydrocortisone and moisturise with aveeno after washing.

Sorry let me be clearer, it's hard on two or three hours sleep. I have used it and it has helped clear it up but has other side affects so I'm reluctant to use it.

Eczema affected skin isn't always visually obvious.
My skin can feel like I've got ants crawling under it and be fetching me mad but it can look fine, no visual difference - odd.
Sometimes my inflamed angry looking skin can actually be more comfortable than it looks.

The excema itches that don't show to look at trend to be the ones that respond well to antihistamines, so definitely worth a try.

What other side effects?

Increased hair growth on the site where used. He now has large clumps of hair in random places on his head. It's only noticeable because he doesn't have much hair! But where we used the steroid cream it became very long there and thick. Also made the eczema bleed and the skin weep. Which stopped once we stopped using the cream but this is our second lot of cream prescribed and it's a new one that I used for about a week before deciding it was not helping. Haven't used it for a about two weeks and it's better. Just pink looking now. Just behind one ear. So I dunno. ..

I think I will try and get referred to a dermatologist rather than a GP. It took me 7 visits to different GPs to get it taken seriously anyway 😞