Please help! Really want to co-sleep, but having serious trouble

[naneki118]

I am an exhausted mom to a little 6 month old boy and writing to get help for sleeping. He was waking up every 2 hours at night since birth in pain and crying. Most of the time I nursed him back to sleep to comfort him, though sometimes he needed the swing or to sleep upright on my chest. I eventually figured out it was a dairy sensitivity and eliminated that.

Now his pain is gone (since about 4 months), but he is still waking up every 2 hours, and expecting to nurse. If I deny him, he cries hysterically, especially when I am near him. First, I tried bedsharing and nursing throughout the night, but this made him wake up even more-- sometimes every hour-- and I got no sleep at all. The more I nursed him, the more he woke up! I can't continue to do that because I am now working part time starting at 8 every day.

Out of desperation, my husband and I have been experimenting with a slightly more humane CIO approach, involving comforting him every few minutes while he's alone in his own crib (in our room), but its been a month and it's not working, and I just can't stand to hear him cry anymore! It just doesn't feel right at all!

I have read so many books that my head is spinning-- Dr. Sears, the No-Cry Sleep Solution, and Healthy Sleep, Happy Child. I have tried many suggestions and they seem to be geared to moms that stay home and can function after waking up all through the night.

Ideally, I would like to bedshare, and I don't mind waking up to nurse 2, 3, 4 times, but 7-10 times is too much. My husband is willing to help and comfort him by rubbing his back to get him back to sleep, but that still involves a fair amount of crying. We've been warned that if we pick him up and rock him, it will wake him up even more.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions you might have about how to break his night waking in a more humane way!! Thanks!!

[zinemama]

I am very sorry to tell you this, but waking that often is quite typical for a 6-month old. I wish I had some advice. Hang in there.

[ssh]

Yeah babies that age often wake that often. Co-sleeping will get you more sleep than anything else. Quickly latching on and nursing him back to sleep will give you less of an interruption than anything else. Small mammals are biologically designed to sleep near mom and nurse through the night. His night nursing will probably decrease a little once he becomes more mobile. At 6 months crawling and for some LOs even pulling up and cruising might not be far away. Also a lot of babies have sleep regressions at specific ages. Basically growth spurts, teething and hitting milestones disrupt sleep. Right before growth spurts they nurse alot more often. Milestones and teething just keep them awake. My DD would get on her hands and knees and then wake herself up trying to crawl in her sleep.

If your doing any type of CIO, you might want to read this about the effects of stress hormones http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/li...n_palmer2.html . Also you may want to avoid making sleep a time of stress for your DS so when he's ready to actually sleep through the night he can. I know people who have -preschoolers who have sleep issues and I'm so glad we co-slept and nursed on demand. My 4.5 year goes to sleep on her own and then sleeps 10 hours.

[svs79]

My daughter also woke up very frequently at that age. I found the best solution for us was co-sleeping, so she could latch on and we would both fall asleep. I know it's not easy sometimes, but hang in there! Remember your baby is only a baby for a short time!

[akind1]

It is quite normal to wake that often. a little before that, around 5 months, DS started rejecting the paci altogether, so that was no help anymore!

can you sidecar the crib? that way you can still nurse through the night, but move him in and out of his own space with less disruption -

my favorite baby mantra: this too shall pass - at 8 months DS wakes 2, sometimes 3 times to eat at most, and sometimes this is just a quick comfort thing. It will get easier. (I work full time, 3 days at home, 2 days in the office so I understand your feelings on the working thing) Coffee is my friend!