breastfeeding much more at night, any reason??

[nelix2000]

Hello, this is my first time posting on this board....I am on my second child, DD is 5 weeks today, no problems breastfeeding as such, great latch etc.

My issue is that I am exhausted. Before the heatwave she was feeding 4 hourly most of the time, except at night, she was 3 hourly (I say these times looslely as she could feed around these times, if you follow, not exactly on the hour).

Then when it got very hot she was back to 2 hourly or hourly feeding, understandable in the warmth, but equally exhausting. The last two days it has cooled down and she is getting her 4 hourly "routine"(I loathe the word) back and I am feeling more human. However she is feeding 2 hourly at night and I am exhausted.

She latches on but hardly eats/drinks then goes to sleep again. I love breastfeeding but to be honest I find the time it takes and the fact that only I can do it somewhat suffocating and this feeling led to me to stop feeding DS at 6 months. I am determined to go longer this time, but am getting that feeling back and I don't want to stop so came to ask for advise...

Do I bear with it and hope she stops of her own accord? Or do I try and just comfort her instead of feeding and she will just start to sleep? We do not co-sleep, she sleeps in a dropped side cot right next to my bed tho. I have a 2 year old DS, so daytime naps are out the window too

Thankyou in advance

[LittleMammaTo2]

OMG I sympathise sooooo much. i too have a 2yr old DD and a 5month old DS. DS feeds pretty much every three hours during the day then feeds as often as he likes at night. If he's not feeding he's crying because he needs to (pardon me) fart. This has resulted in me and the hubby not getting more than an hours sleep at any one time which is now becoming utterly exhausting. Like you day time naps are out due to DD.

Sorry i can't give you any advice but wanted you to know you're not the only one.

DS also sleeps in drop sided cot right at the side of me (only have a 2 bedroomed house!). Am now thinking of moving his cot to the study which is downstairs and using monitors but not sure if that's a good thing to do or not to be honest.

I hope someone on here can help you with this and I wish you all the luck in the world.

One thought is that this latest bout of regular night feeds could be due to a growth spurt?!

Take care x

[christiana]

Message withdrawn

[greeneyed]

My 5 week old is feeding every two hours day and night for up to an hour. it started when it got hot but he is still doing it. amazingly he gave me four hours sleep last night but has fed every hour and a half since. I am hoping to go to the bf cafe in 15 mins for advice re sore nipples but he is currently attached and don't know if he'll stop in time to go! exhausted as he also spends all night when not feeding growning and farting - sorry can't help but just to say you are not alone xx

[nelix2000]

Thanks for the supposrt everyone...it always seems worse at night too lol...she is feeding 4 hourly again today, she went 5 hours yesterday, and almost that again this morning!...

Christiana, I would love to express enough for a feed but only get an ounce at a time....when I expressed for DS I got 5-6 ounces no problem so don't know why its not working this time round.

I would put it down to a growth spurt, if she actually fed at night rather than comforted lol...maybe though she is doing it to bring more milk in??

[dougle]

Hello everyone, I just read some of the posts here and remember when our little man was first born. We started out with him in our bed and he was feeding every 4 hours which was fine. Looking back I wished I'd just layed down with him and gone back to sleep like my midwife friend does with her baby! They've had quality nights sleeps since the beginning! I'll definately be taking a leaf out of her book when our next one comes along next February!
Anyway, we started putting him in his own cot and he started waking to feed every 2 hours - it seemed he needed the comfort. We took him back into our bed and he went back to feeding every 4 hours. I've done research since on the benefits of co-sleeping (recommended by my midwife) and they are huge!

I know it's still a bit of a taboo in some circles but as long as you're not over tired, on medication that makes you drowsy, been drinking or smoking, you're fine! You have such a deep awareness that the slightest move or squeak and you're wide awake! There's no way you would roll on to your baby (provided you can put a X next to the check list things above)

Hope this helps! Good luck!

[rachels103]

Have you tried waking her up to feed more often during the day? If she gets more food during the daylight hours she may go longer at night. DS2 is 2 weeks and feeds almost constantly between 5 and 8pm but is going 4 hours in the night, presumably because he's stocking up beforehand. (I'm not saying this to make you feel bad, ds1 was nowhere near as co-operative, and I'm crossing my fingers hoping it lasts with this one)

Good luck, hope it gets better soon.