Hi,
DS has been a horrible sleeper since day one outside my belly! Actually, inside my belly he was awake all hours of the night.
Anyway, at 9 and a half months, I am REALLY starting to wear down. He is currently waking 5 times a night.. sometimes more, very rarely less.
I am losing my mind.

He's the happiest little boy in the world, he really is. He does not get grumpy during th day unless he is hungry.
He is just an angel during the day.
Night time.... well it's another story.
He goes down so well. Not a whimper. He's a good boy like that. But he will wake within an hour of going down. Fair enough, he's just a bub that wants be be awake longer. I am trying to work it all around him.
So, we finally get him back down around 930 -10ish, and within 2 hours, he's up again and ready for a feed. Sometimes he feeds brilliantly. Others, it's just for comfort.
It just drives me mad that he will wake very couple of hours, sometimes every hour.
I have always been the type of person to let DS take the lead. He is demand fed, and demand sleeps. I know when he is tired before he does, and during the day he just dozes once his head hits the mattress.

I check if he's too hot, too cold. If he's waking because he's in pain. I try not to feed him at every instance.
DP and I try patting him to sleep. Putting his dummy back in. Turning on his little lullaby puppy. Singing very quietly. No light at all. Night lights. Leaving a radio on in the background. Having no noise at all.
He ends up coming into our bed, where he sleeps a lot better, but still has waking periods.
I don't know whether to completely cut out all nighttime feeds, and if he's hungry, give him water?
He seems to sleep well when I am not home at night for some reason.... maybe he can't smell the milk like he can when I am home?

So, when should I start phoning around the various sleep centres? My MCHN doesn't really want to know.... there's been a few things we have been fobbed off for now, so my faith in her has dwindled.

I am at a crossroads and don't know what to do. I am ready to give up breastfeeding altogether and hope that he will settle better on formula. I know he won't be like this forever, which is why I have waited this long to even consider sleep schools.

What to do, what to do? Does anyone have any ideas?