I'm losing my mind.

[hopefulmummy]

I am sure it is a very common problem but I am losing my mind trying to deal with this. Arthur used to be a fairly good sleeper even when he was a young baby, esp after I started swaddling him.

I can't swaddle him anymore (he's too strong) and he won't sleep on his back, so I now put him to sleep on his tummy. For the past 2 weeks he has been waking up nearly every 2 hours at night. At first I thought it may be a growth spurt so fed him (I'm exclusively bf) but it hasn't stopped. I now try to only feed him a max of 2 times, preferably once.

It's almost as if he wakes in the night, as we all do, but cannot get back to sleep without sucking on a dummy. I don't put him down at night with one, but it is one thing that makes him settle again in the middle of the night if I don't feed him. This is exhausting for me and my husband up every 2 hours just to put a dummy in.

I thought I'd try and take the dummy away but I've just put him down for his nap and he cried and cried and as soon as I put his dummy in he relaxed and drifted off.

I'm at the end of my tether and severely sleep deprived. As well as being up all hours, breastfeeding is also exhausting as he won't take a bottle. I feel that this is eating me up and my whole life is revolving around the nights. I almost dread going to sleep at night as I know I'll only be up 2 hours later, and even though I'm dog tired I'm starting to develop insomnia which is all adding to the problem.

I am begging someone to please give me any tips/ hints. How do I take the dummy away and get him to sleep. How can I get him to sleep for longer than 2 hours. Am I creating bad habits?

I feel quite miserable.

Thanks xxx

 

[Esoames]

You poor thing Isla wouldn't take a bottle or a dummy so I was proper screwed. If it is a growth spurt he will soon be out of it. I just went with what Isla wanted and gave in each time. Our poor boobies xxx

 

[Yodabo]

How long has he been like this? I went through this at 4 months with Drake. At around that age some babies go through a sleep regression http://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/4-month-old-sleep-regression/ Some nights i'd be up 15-20 times putting his dummy in! But he got over it in 2 weeks and he was absolutely fine after that.

Give the link a click, some good info on there. x

 

[hopefulmummy]

Thanks. He's been like this for a couple of weeks now. I feel at my wits end and on the verge of tears all the time. Thanks for the link, it was really interesting actually. I am going to try and wean him off his dummy but that's easier said than done and I don't think that's actually the main problem. Xx