I think at some point every mom has some kind of sleep problems but right now mine are DRIVING ME NUTS!
I was blessed with a good sleeper in Sam. Until recently she has been sleeping through the night since she was about four months old. Awesome, I know! And right now it is only occassionally that she is waking up from what I think are bad dreams. It isn't every night and its not a big deal.
It is my other child that is causing the current dilemma. She still wants to feed several times a night and I am ready to be DONE with night feedings. So I have started to work with her on breaking the habit. I let her fuss for longer now before I go in and rescue her. I am trying to use other methods of settling her back down, the pacifier, mobile and blankets. But every night she is winning the battle. She wakes up every 45 minutes for at least 4-5 hours needing to be put back to sleep. And usually at the 4 hour mark I am so tired from the constant getting up that I break down and just feed her. With the full belly she will sleep the rest of the night (however long that might be!) and I can finally get some good deep sleep.
So here is my dilemma...do I keep fighting the feeding? She has just started solid foods and in another month or so she will be doing full solid food meals (of course with breast feeding still mixed in). Should I force her to stop night feeding once she is getting more real food? Will it work better then? Since I have started this process do I just keep going and keep fighting so that I don't have to start all over again in a month or so? I am just SO tired all the time right now that it sucks! Sam just naturally gave up night feeding on her own, I didn't really have to do anything so this is new territory for me.
Any advice?
6 comments:
I don't have any advice for you. Maeve gave up night feeding about just a couple of months old (well, she fed at midnight, but then not again until 6, after another month it was midnight and 9am-awesome!). Braden, on the other hand, fed 1-2 times per night until he was 9 MONTHS OLD! I tried all the suggested ways of stopping it and was so exhausted all the time anyway. So, I started bringing him into our bed when he fussed, I'd fall asleep feeding him and let him sleep with us until morning. It meant I was awake for 10-15 minutes 1-2 times in the middle of the night, but overall I got more (and better quality sleep). He finally stopped at about 9 months old and then started sleeping 10-12 hours at night (in his crib)! Sorry, that's really an anecdote, not advice.
Abbie, My girls sound very similar to yours. Madeline started sleeping through the night at about 12 weeks but with Lydia it took a lot longer. I just tried to follow her lead, and eventually she weened herself from the night feeding. (Even now, at 6 months, she has nights where she is more restless, and we do the best that we can with the same strategies you are using.) It can be hard, but isn't it the pits when your first born spoils you so?!?! Good luck! ~maureen
I am still breastfeeding exclusively (aside from an occasional bottle when we're out and about). But we have been giving Kellan a bottle at bedtime. That way we know exactly how much he's getting and make sure he's totally full. It's formula too (we're still using the free samples we've received in the mail/doctor's office) which I think might be a little more substantial or they digest it more slowly than breast milk. Not sure if you'd want to try that or not. But it has worked wonders for us. He's sleeping from 9pm-5:30am or 6am. But maybe it also depends on their sleep patterns during the day? Kellan tends to do all his sleeping in the morning and early afternoon. So he's pretty much up from 3pm until 9pm without sleeping at all. Which means he's exhausted by the time he goes to sleep at night. He also likes to eat about every hour to hour and a half from 4pm until bedtime. Not sure, but it seems like he's stocking up for the night time. That is totally his own pattern though, I had nothing to do with that. He eats every 3-4 hours during the day.
Not sure any of that helped you, but at least gives you another perspective to consider. :-) Good luck! Maybe it has something to do with second children? Ella was a fantastic sleeper, Lily was a horrible sleeper until she was 15 months old.
I second the first anecdote! Fighting it will probably just wear you out faster. I would suggest just putting her to sleep initially in her crib but after that feed her in your bed. You can practically sleep and breastfeed at the same time if you do it lying down! I think this is what I did too. if your bed is big enough I'd say try it!
I'm sorry I don't have any advice for you, Ella is a lot like Sam and has been sleeping 12 hours a night since about 8 weeks. It is interesting to see how different the girls are, and makes me wonder what is in store for me when I have a second one. Before she was sleeping through the night though, I brought Ella in bed with us when she wanted to eat past midnight or 1 am, and was able to fall asleep while she was eating. It worked well for us because I wouldn't have to get up and get her, and I wouldn't run the risk of waking her up when moving her back to her own bed. Plus, it allowed me to get more rest. That was when she was really young though, so I know that you are faced with a different situation. Good luck hun!
my bad advice? just let her do her thing! I swear, they don't wake up forever and eventually you kind of miss those late night feedings. you know if i'm saying that it's true b/c I was up nightly for YEARS! enjoy this time with her and I agree with keiki... nursing and sleeping in your bed with her can be magical!
Post a Comment