How to help my 7 month old sleep through

SingleMumOf2_3

Or at least only wake 2-3 times a night! Any ideas?

I have tried controlled crying.. pick up put down. Been to the drs and seen the health visitor. The health visitor saw me last week.. said she has no other suggestions to offer.. will have a group meeting with the other health visitors and see if there is anything else they think may help.

He has an appointment with the dietician on the 17th.. to see if anything is wrong with him. He is now on lactose free milk and gaviscon prescribed by the doctor but this seems to be making no difference.

I am taking him for his 2nd appointment later for cranial osteopathy.

I am a loss now.. I am getting a maximum of 2 hours broken sleep a night. I am struggling with simple tasks in the day. Have home start help me for 2 hours a week which is great. My eldest goes to dads a few days a week which helps enormously. Baby goes to dads 1 night a week (sometimes.. when he doesnt cancel).

In the day all he does is cry.. I thought it might be attention seeking, but I have spent a few days giving him my full attention with no breaks.. it didnt change anything.

I have tried forcing him to have more naps in the day.. tried not letting him have any naps in the day.. still he is up most of the night.

I am so so so so so so tired!!!! And moody! Uni work is suffering, and my health is suffering. My appetite is lacking and I am full of spots from being so run down, and can feel the ulcers coming on.

I know I keep asking the same questions on here, and I get some awesome advice. But have tried the suggestions and I am still stuck

pigpen

IME dieticians tell you what you are doing wrong! They cannot diagnose anything. Has he had a referral to a paediatrician? Has he been properly tested for lactose intolerance/reflux? Keep with the CO for a bit longer.. it took aout 6 months of weekly, then fortnightly appointments with mine.

He probably cries all day because he is tired! It could just be he doesn't want to sleep... some of us are lucky enough to get children like this! Will he sleep in your bed with you? Does he sleep in the ushchair when out walking?

Get some multi-vits for yourself.. they'll not do you any harm and the boost might help.

Sublime_2

My son used to scream a lot, and want 2 hourly feeds. I used to leave him to cry. It was hard, but he would eventually stop after what seemed like hours. It paid off in the end, although he still has his moments. I let him get on with it when he throws a wobbly. Only thing that works.

SingleMumOf2_3

She referred him to the dietician.. but its in the paedicatrics teams. So I am hoping they will help? My doctor has been useless if I am honest.
He hasnt been tested for anything. She just thought it was worth a try on the milk.. and the gaviscon. But she has messed his poor little tummy about. He was on the milk.. then when I went to a walk in doc they gave gaviscon. He was them put on just gaviscon and normal milk. The lactose free milk and no gaviscon.. which is where we are at the moment. But she said if no luck will try the milk and gaviscon again grrr.

MX5huggy

Does giving Paracetamol or Ibuprofen have any effect?

Nicki

It sounds like a complete nightmare singlemumof2. I sympathize as my little one had bad tummy problems and screamed non stop for 6 months until we were able to get things sorted for him. Gaviscon didn't work for him either, he needed to go on to the third stage reflux treatment plus the lactofree milk before he felt better.

I know you have posted before that even when dad has the children you can't switch off and catch up on sleep. Would it be worth talking to your GP about this and maybe getting a prescription for yourself, so that you are at least getting a prolonged period of sleep once a week? I suspect that would go a long way in making you feel better. I know when we were still in hospital after my DS was born, and he hadn't slept for about 3 days, the nurses took him away from me one night and gave me a tamazepam and lights out at 10.00pm, and it was the most effective medical treatment (for me!) I think I have ever had.

mum2twinsx2

Is he teething?

skyvicky123

You poor woman...I really feel for you and it's so hard to know what's right and what's wrong. Every body has their own thoughts on this, and then you end up trying everything and not trying anything for long enough.

We did controlled crying (right from day 1 tbh) I feel cruel now when i look back but DD slept through from 6 weeks 9-6 ish (she was a big baby tho) and we just couldn't cope without sleep.

The only thing you can do is to find the way you are comfortable to try and stick with it for at least 3 whole days and nights.

Other thoughts:

Please google Amby Natures Nest (I used this for 1st 4 months, apparently great for Reflux. You can get on ebay)
Dummy - do you use? (I did)
Don't be afraid to let LO cry. Close the door and do a job which keeps you busy for as long as you can manage without going in to him.
Get out of the house at every opportunity, try not to be in all day if poss, They sleep better in the buggy and the fresh air knocks them out. Try surestart activities - try and have something planned for every day, it makes the time pass quicker.
Take LO swimming - this exhausts them and they just cant fight the sleep.
Assume he is being weaned, try feeding more solid food (My lo was weaned at 4 months as she started waking at night)
Really bad teething?
Cranial osteopathy worked miracles for my friends little girl.

I don't know if any of that will help but I really hope things get better for you soon xx

Counting_Pennies_2

Have you tried baby massage?

I am aware some Surestart centres offer a course in it, and will get you out and about for some hours.

It really helps settle tummys.

See how your cranial goes, I think you might need to go once a week for a few weeks to get the effect. I think it has been two weeks since the first treatment?

I really feel for you and just hope things settle down for you soon.

Do you have a friend or a parent who might be willing to come to stay, so you can either get some sleep in the day or they do some of the night waking for you?

Take care of yourself.

PS if you are anywhere near Berkshire, I would be more than happy to come to visit and try to help

kafkathecat

Mine is 13 now so hard to remember details but he cried throughout his first year. I carried him in a sling, even at home, had to rock him in a rocking chair (and too fast or too slow and he would scream) and co-slept. For a while he slept on my stomach with me wedged into a semi sitting position with pillows, it isn't something I would recommend obviously but was the ONLY way that he would sleep. Obviously I only had the one so it was easier to catch up on sleep but I know he was 3 before I was getting enough sleep. Ihope something works soon.

madison-nyc

It sounds like a lot of things have been tried over a short period of time to me. You say you've tried controlled crying , how long did you do it for? It may take a week or two if sticking to the routine religiously before it works. Also baby is only 7 months old , some babies do take longer , you can't force it. Is baby fully weaned now? what is his usual daytime food and sleep routine?