BFing and sleep training

sarasansh

So LO is 6 months today, and I always imagined by this point I'd be getting a decent amount of sleep. Last night I was up every hour from midnight to 5. LO used to give us a 5 hour stretch, wake and eat, then go back down for 3 to 4 hours. When I went back to work his schedule went to hell, and he was up every 2 hours wanting to comfort nurse. That's been for a month now.

I want to meet his needs and I know night nursing is a way for baby and mom to reconnect, and I'm all for that...but I just can't do it 4 to 5 times a night. We're at the point that I don't think he's getting enough solid sleep at night, so then he's overtired and won't nap, so then he's overtired at night...the cycle goes on.

We think we're going to start sleep training soon, and we're going to do the pick up put down method. My question is, how am I supposed to know what is a habit wake up and what's a hungry wake up? How long can I reasonably expect him to sleep for?

Sorry this was so long...thank you for any help or suggestions!