Am at my wits end now and really need some help with our almost 6-month old! Have been going through night wakings since the past 2 months and now the nights are just a blur where I can't even keep account of how many times she has woken up as I just seem to be doing anything that will give me a bit of sleep (I know I have made a mess here
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Her daily routine is as below :
7.30/8 am - Wake up (she always refuses a feed soon after she is awake)
Playtime until 9.30/10 am
9.30/10 am - Breastfeed
10 - 10.30 - Nap
10.30 - 12 - Playtime
12 - Lunch and breastfeed
1 to 3.30/4 pm - Nap (she might wake up after about half an hour and then go back to sleep after about 20 min)
3.30/4 - Breastfeed
4 to 6 - Playtime (might be one more breastfeed in between)
6pm - Dinner and breastfeed
7.15 - Breastfeed, bedtime routine
7.45/8 pm - Sleep
I find her very different from our older boy who was more easier to put into a routine. I have tried to breastfeed her as soon as she wakes up but she just refuses. My little boy does distract her so I have even tried going into another room so that she concentrates more but she is just too strongwilled! Also, I have tried to introduce a nap later in the afternoon since I feel that she is awake for too long there but she just refuses to go for one. And if I try to put her to bed earlier, she wakes up after about 40 min and then is difficult to settle
My biggest problem is nighttime. She has always slept on her own and still does but after going to bed, she is fine until about 10.30 or 11 or if I am really lucky, until about 12.30. But after that keeps waking through the night and this could be at half hour, hourly or 2-hourly intervals. In the last week, I have been so desperate to get some sleep that I have just taken her into bed with me and cuddled her as she settles quickly like that. During the night, she might settle either with a shh-pat (which is the least effective as far as she is concerned), cuddle or a feed. I didn't try PUPD with her only coz I thought that she might be teething. I tried the wake to sleep method more than a month back and whatever I did, seemed to actually wake her up even if it was just a slight rub on the cheeks to stir her
I started her on solids about 4 weeks back coz she was so interested but then again, she eats her dinner very well but doesnt show too much interest in the lunch. When she wakes up, she seems to do a proper feed on one breast too so she does seem hungry at night.
I would really appreciate any advice on how to handle this situation as I do not have the energy at all now and with a 3 year old around as well, things are not easy. I also seem to be spending so much time with her that I dont have the time to put my little boy to bed or spend as much quality time with him. So between the tiredness and guilt, just feel so helpless. I have never let my babies cry it out but yesterday when she woke up at 11pm, I did just that although I was right beside her. She sleeps in her cot which is right beside our bed.
Thanks in advance. I am ready to try anything at all at this stage (I even got her an amber necklace, something that I have never been convinced off, so you can see how desperate I am!!!!!!)