16 week old sleep disrupted after illnes

QUESTION

My 16-week-old little girl used to be in a great sleep routine and ate really well. Bed time was 7/7:30.

She was ill over xmas and since then we are so out if sync. I am at my wits end and exhausted. She has taken to waking only an hour after being put to sleep for the night and I've tried leaving her for a bit and feeding her but neither work and she still continues to wake throughout the night, sometimes even hourly. She isn't eating as much as she used to so I'm sure this is contributing but I can't let her to eat more. Still on a 3 HR feeding routine, sleeping after 60/90 min of awake time. Doing the exact routine I've dine since day one and have used Babysense and Sleepsense like my baby bible. I find all my waking hrs are spent concerned with her sleep and it's really starting to depress me now. She used to be a great sleeper and was actually going 7-7 with no waking until she got sick so right now I feel like I have a 7 week baby.

Please give me advice on getting her back to normal I just can't cope anymore! I am even considering getting a sleep nanny as I'm based in the UK.

ANSWER

I am so sorry that you have taken a whole lot of steps back! Firstly you need to sort her health out 100% - put her on probiotics, especially if her illness was gastro or she had antibiotics. Secondly you may need to have her ears checked out if she had a cold as the mucous may have ended up in her Eustachian tubes causing glue ear.

Once you know she is well, I would offer her a top up feed of formula or expressed breast milk at bedtime to ensure she is having enough to eat at bedtime. If she stretches three hourly or longer, it may be an age appropriate need for more nutrition and you can start solids from 17 weeks. If she continues to wake hourly, you need to rule out reflux, which can arise at this stage.

Keep her day routine as you have it – sounds great.