I need help, I need help, please!!!

[Doing my best]

[QUOTE=~Leasha~;1932511
Dan, I have been hesitant about sleep school, as I know the one in Brisbane leans towards CIO techniques, which I'm just not happy with. As desperate as it gets, I just can't put her through that.
We do try to be consistant, we try to work with the NCSS techniques.

[/QUOTE]

With having read some of your techniques, I wouldn't recommend the Brisbane sleep school to you either. We went about 2 months ago, and there is a lot of CIO methods, and I think we came home worse than when we went in with some things.

But, back to your original post, we are going through a very similar thing with DD. One thing has helped, is only one of us in the room, and I am not the 1st option to DD. (actually my mum is the best, but not practical, LOL)..

We are just persisting with routine.. Not much help with me being so tired, but hoping sticking with some routine after baby is born, will also help DD..

[Indadhanu]

Just a question about not feeding to sleep..... HOW? She would never sleep!

[Ginger]

yeah,....i thought that too leash...but somehow they sort it out.
i fed ds1 to sleep for 90% of his sleeps until he was 14 months old.
have you tried lying in bed with her, cuddling her, reading her a story?

[Indadhanu]

She just claws at my boobs and buries her head in my chest and cries

[Dollyroux]

Hi Leash,

I have no answers for you, but I feel for you.

I guess money might be tight for you (isn't everyones money tight? but is it worth contacting someone who is no-cry sleep solution advocate, such as Pinky McKay, and asking ff they can recommend someone in Qld who can do a home visit? You might be able to organise a payment plan or discount or simlair. (Te, he, sleep on a lay-by plan?) Maybe a BB Qld member might be able to recommend someone based in Qld?

I don't know if that's any help, but thought I would throw it out there. I feel for you, and hope you and Jazz can both get some sleep soon. Good luck and be easy on yourself.

[Janie]

Oh Leash, huge hugs, it's very hard. But I can tell you that things get better

Astrid has some great suggestions. She really helped me (as did Christy) when I was looking at my DS's sleep issues. Since finding that DS is intolerant to dairy, soy, and nuts, as well as being sensitive to salicylates and some food colours and preservatives, and subsequently removing those things from his diet, his sleep has improved enormously. I'm not saying that Jazz has all those issues , but just that diet (hers and yours) can have a huge effect on sleep. My DS is by no means the best sleeper in the world, but he is sooooo much better these days. He doesn't fight sleep nearly as much as he used to, and the frequent (and I mean FREQUENT) wakings have subsided. And I didn't need to wean him , we still managed to keep BFing until about a month ago. He would still feed overnight, but only once maybe twice, and not every night. And by about the time he turned two night feeds were fairly infrequent. TBH, his sleep is even better since weaning, but it's not something I would have compromised with until he was two. And I'm very glad I didn't as BFing actually helped us more than hindered us in his second year .

It's a hard road, looking at food senstivity, if it is indeed contributing, but it is sooooo worth it, for all of your sakes. Sue Dengate's site is a great start. Maybe you could think about keeping a food diary, for Jazz and yourself, for the next couple of weeks. And then keep a record of her sleep (or lack of). That might give you some idea where to start. Remember that different foods, or chemicals, process at different rates, the reaction is not always immediate, in fact it often isn't.

Hang in there hun, things will improve. And in the meantime - nana nap!!!!!!

[onthefly]

She just claws at my boobs and buries her head in my chest and cries

DS was the same. Either someone else needs to get her to sleep for a while, or you need to do something different.
With DS I spent about a week standing up holding him (lucky he's not too big), rocking/jigging and singing to get him to sleep during the day (and it sometimes took 30+ minutes). He protested a LOT, so you have to be sure it's what you want to do. I doubt Jazz is going to give up on boobie without a fight. DS was angry and upset, yes, but never truly distressed and I was always there with him offering comfort.
I guess it took a few days to 'break the back' of it, then after about a week I was able to just lie down with him and cuddle to sleep.

It actually sounds horrible when I write down, but I am glad I've done it, cause it used to take 20 minutes sometimes to get him off the boob so he could sleep, whereas now he's fast asleep in 5 minutes.

Anyway, I don't think feeding to sleep is a problem, per se, just another thing to think about.

I'm going to look into this additives thing now too

[jamakin]

oh leasha, it can be so hard when there not sleeping properly and you arnt either.

everyone has given you such wonderful advice, i'm just going to throw a few other ideas out there...
have you thought about going back to wrapping/swaddling then putting Jaz in her cot to help her self settle better?
has she ever had a dummy? a mother in my mothers group introduced a dummy at 7 months for this very reason, i know its just going to create another problem down the track but it could be an option?
Getting her to take her day sleeps somewhere else is a good idea, like the pram or a sling, could help break the cycle.
How is she with her solids? could she eat a bit more during the day to fill her up a bit?
Would you consider trying to put her into a routine? Robin Barker has a good basic one in her book baby love, maybe that could help?

I know my suggestions are totally random, and i'm not sure how you feel about them, just something differant to think about i guess..
i really hope things get better for you, you really sound like you are doing a wonderful job, Jaz is very lucky to have such a good mummy!

[ezymay]

I just wanted to offer hugs. I have no advice, we are experiencing sleeping problems of our own, it's so tough. Try and take care of yourself though.

[aimz78]

Leash,
My DD went through a similar stage around this time where she was demanding mummy dummy all night , waking more than a newborn and I was really starting to resent it ,too. It seemed to be a "phase". She is still feeding to sleep and wakes at least once or twice a night, but is slowly improving. I ,too am looking to try and night wean her in the next few months and that helps me to hold out and hope she starts to sleep "through" a bit more then. We are co-sleeping part time. I felt really trapped. I just wanted to offer and say that I hope it gets better soon. We rode it out and things are much better now. We also gradually started to attempt and get her used to other ways of falling asleep without booby for her day nap either in the car or the ergo when we can manage it.