Oh help me with my 6 month old, please!

[llaregguy]

DS2 is 6 and half months and used to be the incredible sleeping baby. Lately, however, it has all been a nightmare. This is a typical evening:

Bath with DS1, breastfeed and "down" in the cot by 6.30/7ish. He sleeps for an hour or so, wakes up, gets fed again, falls back to sleep instantly. He wakes up again in an hour, same thing happens.

He then sleeps until around 1am, when he wakes up. I bring him into bed, and he breastfeeds while I doze until around 3am. Last night I tried taking him off but he kept grumbling so I put him back on. He'll then sleep until around 7am or so, which is fine, but the lack of sleep for me is driving me crazy. I'm very grateful that DH is around in the mornings as we also have a very full-on 3 year old who wakes up around 5am.

We're all knackered, I'm sure of it. DS2 naps well during the day and is in the process of starting solids. He has 3 solid meals a day and has a combination of purees and finger food, but still has plenty of breastfeeds.

I'm at a loss. Up until a few weeks ago, DS2 slept downstairs with us until we went to bed and then I co-slept with him. He seemed to make a good transition from this to going into his own cot a few weeks ago, but it has all fallen apart.

I'm rambling. Sorry. It is the lack of sleep I'm sure.

I can't really advise as I have my own sleep deprivation issues but have you tried send DH up when he wakes in the evening?? What about giving him a sip of water?? Good luck, I'll be watching to see what advice you get.

I'm not sure what to suggest, apart from not feeding him when he wakes at first. He might just like the suckling for comfort and not really be hungry IYKWIM. It might mean a few nights that are even worse than now, but in the long run it should get better. I did it with ds at 9m and it worked after a day or 2-3. Good luck

no wonder you're shattered llare!

do you think it's hunger that's waking ds2 at 1am or the closeness from bf he's after? I'm just wondering as he prob falls asleep on boobs at some stage between 1am & 3am? If he grumbled about coming off maybe it could be more to do with the comfort he feels with sucking rather than the milk itself iyswim? while you're dozing does it feel like he's feeding properly for the whole 2hrs or just using you like a dummy?

our G follows a similar pattern to your ds2 in the evening.. but after her 1st snooze at about 6.30 she sometimes wakes up an 1/2 hour later and despite both boobs doesn't go back to sleep till 8.30 . i dream feed at 11/11.30ish and she does stir in the night 4am very occasionally. i try settling her 1st with the swirling lights from her mobile.. then if she's still thrashing around 10mins later i end up feeding her. After one/both boobs i settle her back into her cot and pop the mobile back on. sometimes it takes 2or3 x lots of 10mins of the mobile before she gives in to sleep again. during this time she's normally making loud happy squealing giggling noises etc.. that usually wake dh in the process and stop me getting back to sleep.

Other things i've checked around those 10 mins sessions are the usuals... her wind, nappy, hot, cold, teething? etc. I have also stuffed one of her comforter toys down my bra during the day and placed it near her in her cot to reassure her i'm close by as she's been bit unhappy at times when i go out of her line of sight recently.

you could always try some water or with a tiny bit of sugar dissolved in it for small calorie intake (as recommended to me)for a few nights and then up his feeds during the day if pos to see if that makes him not bother waking for the 1am session? we did this with our ds and after 3 or 4 nights i think it was he slept through.

Sugar is terrible for little teeth though surely?

That sounds really hard. I did wonder if it was a growth spurt but, if it is a continuing pattern then it won't be.

If he is falling asleep while sucking then it does sound like he is using you for comfort rather than food. I think it would be quite unlikely that he would need to feed for two hours if it wasn't a growth spurt. I guess then you need to decide how to break that cycle if you want to?

This book seemed quite good to me:
www.amazon.co.uk/Teach-Yourself-Baby-Sleep-General/dp/0340939583 Or the No cry sleep solution

Has anything else changed around the time he stopped sleeping...signs of teething, change in solids intake? Could it be related to either of those?

Good luck! So hard not having sleep!

Thanks for the hints. Last night was better. However he has done a MASSIVE poo today after a week of straining and teeny tiny poos. I suspect he is now a lot more comfortable and I am hoping that this may make a difference.