I'm hoping that there might be someone who can help. My lo is 4.5 months old & since birth struggled with bad reflux (now on ranitadine, full dose, three times a day) plus a dairy intolerance. Due to the reflux, he rarely slept in his cot as he was in too much pain, so I ended up co-sleeping & wearing him in a sling for daytime naps - neither of which were what I'd planned & so I guess could be framed as accidental parenting.
In early January I devoured Tracey's books, loved the philosophy & made some changes - including introducing EASY, putting him down for naps & moving him out of our bed. I think we've made lots of progress but over the last week & half naps have become shorter (worse one was just 20 mins this am followed by pupd for the duration of the nap with no sleep, then this afternoon pretty much the same) & night waking every hour. I fear that I'm so tired that my milk isn't satisfying him enough now & that's adding to the issues (I'm on dairy free diet). I'm not averse to making the switch from breast to bottle - I'm willing to do anything to make it better for him but I'm so exhausted & weepy a lot of the time as I'm so shattered. This eve, oh took over & I went to bed at 6.15 for a few hours.
On pupd, we seem to get to a place where he is calm, not crying but rather than sleep, he starts smiling & giggling which is quite disconcerting! Any ideas? Other than sleep, he's a textbook baby & generally delightful during the day. More details on our situation below and any wisdom very gratefully received. I haven't included it here but I include wind down routine for naps although we no longer swaddle as he was waking himself up by pulling his hands free.
Sorry for such a long post - as you can see, we have a lot going on!
Thank you
How old is your child- 4.5 months
What’s his/her daily routine -
E - 7am
A - 7.20 - 9
S - 9 - 10 (on a good day!)
E - 11
A - 11.20-1300
S-1300 - 1430 (again on a good day)
E- 3
A - 3.20 - 1700
S - 1700 (this is a hard nap - sometimes only 20 mins)
E - 7.30pm
Then feeds again at 11pm & 3am.
What's bedtime routine? Time? - upstairs at 7pm, bath, wind down, cuddle, feed at 7.30
Do you bottle or breastfed?? Breastfeed
How much? or how long? Usually about. 20 mins but recently this has been a bit longer - more like 30
If breastfed.. one side or both?? (at each feed) both at each feed
How many wakes per night - recently hourly with best sleep between 7.30 & 11pm but even then waking at 9 & 10.
What’s your LO like when waking at night? How long is he/she up? Shush pat cycle - 20 mins when not feeding. At 11 & 3am, it's more like 45 mins as feeding plus shush pat. Usually cries out but very sleepy.
When you go to him/her is she fussing or crying? Or is it a mantra cry? Crying.
What have you tried to settle?? Shush pat, pick up put down, dummy
What do you do for A time and how long is it? I know we were doing too much in the early days. Now, I tend to let him have a sit in his chair, play with a rattle or a bit of tummy time. Sometimes we just do nursery rhymes or baby massage. Sounds dreadful but we have black & white curtains which he loves looking at for ages too!
Are there developmental issues such as teething or milestones? I wonder if he is teething as stools are loose & there's lots of dribble & eating his fist. No sign of a tooth though & both hv & gp said it's too early.
Do they have a prop? If so what is it? Dummy
