I need my sleep......

[mimi21]

Hi everyone, hope all has had a lovely Xmas.
I am struggling at the moment with my just turned 6 month old and her night sleep.
She goes to bed anytime between 6 and 7 depending on how tired she is.
I sit in with her till she's  asleep most of the time, this takes between 10-20 minutes. I don't mind staying with her.
She then sleeps almost soundly (we put dummy back in from time  to time) until she wakes for her dreamfeed sometime between 10-11:30. It's then the trouble starts.
Sometimes she'll go straight back down but wake an hour later and on and off all night. Or like last night, it took me an hour and half to settle her and she then woke about every hour all night. It's exhausting. I don't know what's changed.
She had started to go from her dreamfeed till 5-5:30 have a feed then go back to bed till 6-6:30 I would then give a top up feed at 7. Any ideas?

[mimi21]

Last night she took a bottle at 2.15 in the hope she'd settle. This didn't help but she did drink 5oz of it.

[anna*]

I'd consider getting rid of the dummy, because it sounds like she can't settle herself.

[mimi21]

She sucks her fingers if she can't get the dummy.

[anna*]

Why replug the dummy then? How are you resettling her when she wakes? Does she go to sleep independently for her naps?

[mimi21]

Her naps are all over the place, she's a bit of a cat napper, 30-40 mins  here and there. Her A times are short because her naps are short. Her days look something like this.
Up between 6-7
Bottle on waking.
Nap about an hour after waking for about 30-40
Nap about 10:30
Bottle when wakes usually 11
Nap about 1
Bottle at 3
Nap about 3:30
Bottle and bed around 6.

We are all over the place. She falls asleep on me and then I take her upstairs. I have a 2.5year old so can't sit with her during the day.
We are just starting solids too.
I need to get her in to a routine,
My toddler hoes to preschool so I can't feed my youngest between 11:45 and 12:15 or between 2:30-3. I think  overtired but I've not a clue how to help.
I resettle when she cries with her dummy and sush pat. But I can here her when she wakes before she cries sucking her fingers.

[anna*]

I think this is an independent sleep issue. She doesn't know how to fall asleep on her own (either on you for naps, or with you sitting by her at night), so she can't do it in the middle of the night either. That will also impact on naps as she won't be able to transition to a new sleep cycle when she wakes mid-nap. I think you will have to sort out some support/help with the toddler and spend a couple of days getting her sleep trained, that should help with lots of your problems. The good news is that at six months it should really only take a few days.

[mimi21]

Ok, well dh is off at moment but poorly so when he's better we could try.
How? Do I just  put down and leave? With my other do we used gw.
Also what sort or routine should we be aiming for?

[anna*]

You can use shush-pat or PUPD. I think your first A time is way too short, that's why she gives you a short first nap, then you're in an UT/OT cycle. Have a look here: Average A times- BOOKMARK ME! at six months most need at least 2.5-3hrs awake to give a decent nap. So you'd do something like.

6am awake
8.30am nap (1.5hrs, resettle if she wakes early)
10am awake
1pm nap as above
2.30pm awake - you could do a catnap between here and bedtime if either of the naps have been short and she hasn't resettled, or you can do a later bedtime if she's done two long (2hr) naps.
6pm asleep for the night.

[mimi21]

Ok great, that gives me something to aim for. So as we do sush pat at bed I'll do that for naps.
Do I put down first and leave then stay when I have to go back or go back, pat then leave again? I've never left her  cry for longer then it's taken me to get upstairs.

[anna*]

Put down and if she's calm/quiet then leave and go back once she starts to properly cry (not a mantra cry, a grumble or a fuss) and start shush-pat until she's calm again.

[anna*]

Oops one more thing sorry. You can't do PUPD with a dummy, so I'd either wean it at the same time (my preference since you say she can and does suck her fingers) or spend some time teaching her to replug it herself and then just leave it in the cot for her to grab it when she wants it.

[mimi21]

Ok, so sush pat till calm and then leave again?
Will have a think about the dummy.