… unfortunately the war is being waged by the Tobester, and it feels like he’s winning.
After Toby got sick twice in two weeks and we had to stop our sleep training, things were slightly better. He would occasionally self settle overnight, and was able to be settled if he wasn’t too upset in his cot with pats and shushes.
That was up until a week ago, when he started waking at 11pm, then 1am, then 3am FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF, and up for the day at 6am. Seriously trying. Add to this the fact he could only be settled to quiet with motion – walking around or bouncing on the Swiss ball – and you’ve got two very exhausted parents. We tried to use some of the tools we’d learned with round one – putting him down in his cot when he was calm (cue screaming and hysterical crying), sitting quietly on the sofa (cue scratching, pushing on my chest, more crying), leaving the room for 5 minutes (torture for everyone)… nothing has worked. Well, one thing has worked – feeding him. The one “sleep habit” we’re trying our hardest to avoid using.
Is he (finally) teething? Too hot? Too cold? Separation anxiety? Scared of the dark? Upset tummy? Is he actually hungry…??
Tonight we’re going to try something different – Neil will get up for resettling between midnight and 5am. Neil doesn’t have boobs and is unable to resort to the “my baby is crying and my willpower is non-existant” quick-fix of feeding. The theory is that if Neil can resettle him through the night without me having to get up to feed, then hunger isn’t the core issue and we can start looking at other factors.
Wish us luck!
How Life Has Changed 
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