My daughter is just over 16 weeks old. She was born with a cleft lip and within four weeks was also diagnosed with severe silent reflux.
By the time her lip surgery came round on March 8th at 12 weeks old, she had slipped into a nice routine with naps up to 2 hours long for her long nap in her own cot and reflux under control with medication (she didn't fall asleep unaided however - a couple of minutes rocking and she was asleep and easy to put down).
However since her surgery where she spent eight days in hospital, everything has gone by the wayside. To give some context, she had been combination fed but since her surgery now has serious bottle aversion and screams whenever she sees a bottle. She is now exclusively breastfed but is not feeding as much as she should ( nappies not very wet and feeding only a few minutes per feed but that is another story).
She is currently only napping either in buggy or on me / beside me on the boob. As soon as I move, she wakes up. Bedtime is falling asleep on the boob but could wake several times before I go up to bed. When I do, she will want to feed on and off throughout the night. Due to her feeding issues I have therefore been cosleeping in order to increase her milk in take (as she feeds quite a bit throughout the night). We are also probably going through the four month sleep regression.
So my question(s)......
I am aware that she is in need of reassurance after the trauma of her surgery and am of course prepared to give that day and night. What could I do to try to instill good sleep habits while ensuring that reassurance?
Also, if she is hungry during the night, as she is not feeding very much at the moment, how again can I improve her sleep habits?
Any advice gratefully accepted!
