7.5 mo waking 4 or 5 times a night - HELP!

[sanityisamyth]

My 7.5 mo son has always been hard to get to sleep but once he's asleep he's pretty sound. He'll generally only sleep in 4 hour stretches though.

Up to 6 mo we co-slept and he was constantly dream feeding (every 20 minutes) as we were co-sleeping. Decided enough was enough and started sleep training (which worked well) and at 6 mo put in own cot in his own room. He still needed feeding to sleep and wanted milk every 4 hours or so.

He was EBF up to then too but as I was going back to work (and managed to express like milk than it rains in the desert) he moved on to formula. Now 6 weeks later he still needs feeding to sleep (don't mind that) but he wakes up every 4 hours, if not more. The only way, it seems, to get him back to sleep is to feed him.

The neighbour has already complained that he cries (he's not a very cry-ey baby) so now feel really guilty that I'm disturbing her if he cries.

The HV told me when he was last weighed tost feeding him at night. Surely he's going to just be screaming? He eats and drinks well during the day and is between 75th and 91st centime for weigh despite being the world's most active baby!

On some nights we've even resorted to playtime when feeding him back to sleep hasn't worked and he's just screaming. I know he's learning that if he cries he either gets good or fun. He's not a greedy baby (pushes bottle away when he's had enough) and is obviously tired but the bloody neighbour has made me feel really bad whenever he cries so don't feel like I can do any sort of sleep training. DH has even taken him out for walks/drives in the past when he hadn't gone back to sleep i.e. 3 am!

How do I try to get him to start sleeping through? How do I try to get him to sleep without relying on food but not annoying the fricking neighbour?

Thanks in advance

[Hufflemother1]

Following this! I feel your pain, 3rd. time up with my 9mth old!

[Hufflemother1]

Ps, I would probably go round to the neighbour and explain that you'll be sleep training your DS so it might get a little noisy.
Who complains about babies crying, unless you fear they are being mistreated!

[sanityisamyth]

The neighbour runs a bar in town so she sometimes has to sleep during the day - it was when he was grizzlies at sort of 9 am ish that she complained. She's also had a go at us when the dog barks at the postman. It's the only time she barks and it's once!

[mygreeneyedboy]

DS is the same age. DH is (as we speak) rocking him, on his chest, to sleep. It normally takes 15 minutes, tonight was an hour. I feed him at 7pm, 11pm, 4am. Anything that is not that time he has to be rocked back to sleep. Due to stopping breastfeeding soon I shall start to give him a bottle at 11pm, in about a week. I hope the formula will make him sleep better.
Sometime I put him in the cot and watch him cry. It's not like I am abandoning him, the cries are "poor me" rather than in pain or scared. He ends up using the cries as a comfort (I think?) as he falls asleep he'll do a mini cry and then calm down, and repeat. I do feel so evil do that though.

[sanityisamyth]

Thanks mygreeneyedboy yes it's really hard hearing them cry but you just need to convince yourself that they've had and got everything they need - full belly, clean bottom, warmth and a comfy mattress etc. doesn't make it easier though. I agree sometimes they make a noise for the sake of making a noise! My LO is usually pretty easy to get to sleep but when he wakes up, he's properly awake. Sometimes we can feed him back to sleep, sometimes we can't. If we can't, sometimes we can leave him, sometimes we can't. If we can't, either husband or I resort to a bit of playtime. If that doesn't work husband takes LO out for a walk or a drive.

Not easy!