Help! Desperate and sleep deprived!

[kylieri]

I am so hoping that you all might be able to help me. I have a near 11month old very active little boy who in recent times has taken a liking to waking several times during the night and can only be soothed with a feed (not an ideal situation).

I am not a huge fan of letting them cry it out (as Trescillian has recommended) and given that he shares a room with his 4 year old sister - this is not an ideal option. My daughter was never like this which gives a great example of nature vs nurture. I am in the process of cutting bottles down to 1 full in morning, 2 halves during the day and trying to offer a full at night - however he doesn't want all of the bed time one and then wakes again a few hours later and wants it then. Have tried offering several meals in the later part of the day to assist in filling him up but again with little positive result.

Needless to say all these interupted nights are starting to take their toll on our patience levels and our family life is starting to suffer.

I am open to any and all suggestions!!

Please help.:hair:

[JiminyCricket]

Sorry not sure I can help, I am in the same situation myself with my 9 month old son . I started him on a good nighttime routine he has a feed, bath, story then bed but I can only get him to sleep by putting him in bed with me and giving him booby then i put him in his cot. He goes to sleep straight away but still wakes up 3-4 times a night and needs booby to get back to sleep. I have been hoping he will grow out of it but i am still waiting.

[julietv8]

What worked for us with our 11 month old (after having 11 months of 20 min-2hr wakings) was responsive crying. Pop them in the cot, leave the room and shut the door, stand outside and listen. If they grizzle, leave them, if they get hysterical, go in and soothe until they stop (patting/shooshing etc) you just continue until they fall asleep. It took about 2 days for DS to not freak out and about a week for it to become habit. Now when we put him down, he just settles in and gets comfy to go to sleep. Its much nicer!

[mumofmikey]

My recommendation would be to get a copy of "A Good Night's Sleep" by Anna Wahlgren. It has just been translated into english and a friend sent me a copy a month ago. I read it from cover to cover and can honestly say that her method works. My 10 month old has gone from waking every 2 hours to sleeping solidly for 12 hours overnight. I was really dubious it would work and there were times during the first 2 nights of starting the method that I was about to chuck it in - but understanding what i was doing and why (as explained in the book) got me through. I tried many books and google searches to try to solve this problem and never found what i needed so i know the angst and doubt you must be feeling. I think you can buy it directly from her website at www.annawahlgren.com

:cloud9:

[BabelFish]

Maybe he's going through a growth spurt and just needs a few extra feeds until it's over? I could be wrong, if it's been going on for ages - how long has it been? Also, do you remember anything that happened that might have precipitated night-waking and him needing the comfort?

I agree also with not letting them cry it out. I can't understand anyone who would do that to their baby. But I know that not everyone feels that way. I agree with what Julietv8 said - you can tell by their different cries whether or not they are going to sort it out on their own. If they're really frantic, I would never, ever leave them to it.

[KatiesMum]

Yeh I agree with Chesby.

My DD slept through from about 15 weeks to 9 months. Never fed her once.

From 9 - 12 months she woke on average of 5 times a night and I ended up having to feed her to resettle her quite a few times.

Around 12 months, she just suddenly seemed to stop needing it. Went back to sleeping properly and I havent really had a problem since (well the occasional one ... but regularly sleeps 10+ hrs)

Sorry - but my advice is .... go with the flow. Try and stick it out and feed her only if you cant resettle her any other way (hard sharing a room though) ... It WILL pass.

:hugs: