That's my question really. 6mo DS is an hourly breast feeder during the day and has solids at least three times a day on top of that (and seemingly loads of them). I really would really, really like to sleep longer than in 1.5 to 2 hour blocks at night. I am under no aspersions that he needs boob to resettle out of comfort as much as nutrition but I'm trying to get him to resettle in other ways so he can get through sleep cycles without relying on me. Problem is, once I can get him to go back to sleep without BFing him, which will usually take over an hour, he'll only stay asleep for 20-30 minutes before waking up again. If I then give him a boob, he'll stay asleep for at least double that time.
Does this mean he's genuinely really hungry if he doesn't stay asleep for a long time after going to sleep without a BF, or does it mean that the boob puts him more quickly into a deeper sleep, hence he stays asleep longer? and I use 'longer' in the loosest sense of the term
I have tried co-sleeping but it's no help whatsoever - he doesn't sleep any longer, I don't sleep well, he won't feed while I'm lying down and I see even less of my DH than I already do. DS is also a champion bottle-refuser so it's not like I can delegate a feed to DH to see if it is purely hunger, and to give me a break.
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler.
Sleep
Night feeding - how to tell the difference between genuine hunger and need to resettle?
7 replies
ElphabaTheGreen · 27/11/2012 11:10
OP posts:
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.