Help my baby is an extremely difficult sleeper!!!

[Mamawhoneedsupport]

Does anyone else have what ChatGPT tells me is a high needs sleep baby and how do I even begin to sleep train him?

I’m against leaving him to cry it out but if there are any other methods please can someone help me or offer advice or what’s worked for them? Or should I hire a sleep consultant?

My baby is 6 months old - almost 7 - from the moment he was born he has been a clingy sleeper. I need to rock, bounce, shush loudly, white noise, breastfeed, won’t take a dummy, will not tolerate stroller or even try to settle himself. Will also not tolerate car seat or settle himself in the car seat.

I really need help to teach him how to settle himself. I can’t go on any longer. He’s so heavy and my back is breaking. Every day for his naps I have to bounce or carry him while he sleeps and he doesn’t sleep overnight either, I have to breastfeed him to sleep and he co sleeps with me in my bed but he sleeps very close to me and keeps me up all night and will latch on if I disturb him.

I’m so worn down I need desperate help to help him settle himself.

Has anyone ever experienced the same? I’ve tried dummy, bottle and I’ve even tried putting him to sleep with my t shirt in the stroller so he has my smell but nothing works 😩

Just to add, he’s perfectly healthy and extremely happy and smile when awake and loves people. You wouldn’t believe it was the same baby when anyone else tries to put him to sleep or if I don’t meet his sleep needs exactly as he wants

Hello there,
Apologies from Mumsnet HQ, it seems like we had a little glitch last night and your thread auto-closed before it had a chance for anyone to respond. We have re-opened it now and will investigate what went wrong at our end.
We're sending our kindest thoughts, life sounds very tiring for you right now (btw we are assuming that you've tried a soft fabric sling and found it too heavy - mine used to fall asleep and I would untie it and let them drop onto our big bed?) and while we wait for your fellow MNers to swing by with real life examples of what they did and how they coped, we'll leave you with the MN mantra that "this, too, shall pass..."

solidarity @Mamawhoneedsupport it's tough!

firstly have you tried sitting on a swiss ball to make the bouncing a bit easier for you? mine has always distinguished between being held while I stand versus being held while I sit but it's worth a try!

He is still really little and it is natural that he wants support to fall asleep.

how is he if you lie beside him in cuddle curl position?

is there another parent on the scene?

Do you sleep next to him all night? I.e do you go to bed with him? If not how do you leave him for a chunk or time/can you replicate that into naps? Have you considered getting rid of his cot for a floor bed? You say you carry him do you have a really good carrier? Even a back carrier so you can get things done. Despite what chatter gbt or a sleep consultant (who I’ll keep my thought to myself about but they aren’t positive) would like to tell you it is normal. Both of mine woke every 1-2 hours until past their first birthday and none of them took a single nap in a crib. They did nap is the car though so I do really feel for you on that one cause it was a lifesaver

It’s tough. Some are just bad sleepers. A floor bed is a good suggestion and then you can roll away and sleep elsewhere. It doesn’t always work but some days does.
It does improve as they get older especially when they’re running around and eating more.
My first still is an awful sleeper. Second one was fine right from the beginning. Didn’t do anything different.
If you’ve family nearby can you sometimes leave him with grandma?