Sleep Tip Saturday - What worked for us.

Once upon a time Mr.T used to wake once during the night for a feed. Just once. During that time though, he would sometimes be up screaming for 4-5 hours straight with wind pain prior to his bedtime.

Somewhere around the 3 and a half month mark, he slept less, less, less...until he was waking hourly. This continued for a few months and then he started sleeping for two hour stretches, and if I was EXTREMELY lucky, 3 hour stretches.

Since he was three and a half months old, I had not had longer than 3 consecutive hours of sleep and as he got heavier and heavier, I got more and more dismayed, stressed and well, exhausted from his lack of sleep. He wanted to be rocked every time he woke. EVERY time. In a rocking chair? No way. I had to be pacing the room. For months I have been pacing his room with tears running down my face and pins and needles in my shoulder blades.

Some of you have read my previous stories about Mr.T’s sleep, and if you want the backstory you can check it out. But I’m here to shout from the rooftops that we have found the solution. I mustered all my strength to give one more possible solution a go and it worked.

One of the things mentioned to me by Pinky McKay was an Osteopath. We had already tried Chiro, Naturopaths, Paediatricians, Sleep School and the list goes on. I was so sick of the constant disappointment. I was either told to let him scream hysterically, or that this naturopath concoction or that touch on the shoulder will definitely work. Only to come home and find nothing had changed.

I took the plunge to at least have a look online and I came across Lara’s site which had comprehensive information on the symptoms osteopathy in children can help. It began to play on my mind. Everything written there fit Mr.T perfectly – the colic, the sleeplessness, the constipation, the fact I had a fast birth and so much more. I decided this was it. The final curtain. And off we went.

The first session we went there was absolutely no change. I was told to expect this so that was alright. I tried to ignore the fact that I was driving 2 hours each way for these sessions. If it was going to be the final curtain I’d better see it through.

Immediately after the second session he started to sleep 3 hours or so and by the third night he was sleeping 5-6 hour stretches. I couldn’t believe it. I kept waking and looking at the time in shock. And the best part was, when he did wake, all I had to do was give him a quick feed and he was back asleep. Overall he is calmer, more rested and SLEEPING.

He is still waking sometimes. He's teething and that's OK. For me, one or two brief wakes a night are bliss. When you've been up and out of your bed 5 times a night for months on end, once or twice is nothing. (And yes, I even tried co-sleeping)

So why did this work for us and could it work for you?

* Osteopathy can help babies which were born by a very fast, or very slow birth. This can cause a lot of pressure on a baby’s head. Some babies will bounce back from that, and some won’t. In our case, 2 hours of pushing a 9 pound 4 baby was a bit on the fast side. She found a lot of tightness around his head and neck.

* Constipation – I’ve been told over and over this was a dairy intolerance etc. But apparently often what happens in the head is mirrored in the belly. Osteopathy can relieve that as it also helps babies generally relax (I think my little guy has pooped during each session)

* Feeding problems – Yes, we had those too. I couldn’t get Mr.T to latch and when he did, he only fed on one side and would scream on the other. I was told a chiro might be the answer. It wasn’t.

There’s a lot more Osteopathy helps with, and if you click on the link and scroll down to Osteopathy and Children you can get some more information.

For the record, on the third session she asked me how things were going and I bawled my eyes out because they are going so darn well.

Have you got a non-sleeper and could this be your answer? I hope so!

*This is not a sponsored post/review. Just me sharing our discoveries about our little man's sleep.