Help, 9 mth old gone from going through the night to feeding up to 5 times - being told to weanne her off me

[Wills]

Hi,

dd3 has gone from a couple of months of sleeping through the night (on the whole)to recently getting up for a 'drink' up to 5 times during the night! Loads of people have suggested that if i weanne her onto a bottle she will stop doing this. My fear is that if I give up bfing her during the night and move her to bottles and she STILL doesn't go through the night I personally feel I'll have made the situation far worse. Given all I've gone through to feed this one, my fourth (a lot of bfing thrush etc) we'd just got to the really easy bit where I was really enjoying it! But I can't cope with numerous times during the night. It started to go wrong in July when she had a cold. Fair enough but then we went on a 2.5 week holiday in our caravan where of course I've reacted to her every squeak because I'd rather not have the other 3 up as well. And now its total habit. And I seriously don't think its comfort. Its a really glugging drink that she does and she also seriously fills a couple of nappies (to the point where her clothes sometimes need changing etc) so I don't see how that's comfort.

So how do I move her back to more daytime feeding. She's eating food for England but despite the number of times I present her the breast she doesn't really have a long feed during the day except in the morning and before bed.

Help desperately wanted from a lady who's starting to feel like she's drowning in tiredness and has had illness after illness after illness.

There is a 9 month growth spurt so this could be the problem.

www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurt.html

Trying to get her to take more milk during the day may help. I know that DD was still have at lest four feeds durning the day at this age. Feeding in quit dark room may help as they are very distractable at this age.

Good luck, and well done for getting this far.

Your DD has got used to taking all of her milk at night, not during the day so I can't see how switching to ff would help.

My DD did this for a time too and she did start reverting back.

You could try offering her water or limiting the amount of time she feeds for.

She ends up sleeping with me in our bed. This doesn't work fabulously . For starters she's fallen out of bed once so I'm on edge, second it wakes her up to turn her into the middle (I've ended up only feeding from one breast which leaves her on the outside not the inside of the pair of us). Thirdly dd2 still regularly visits us in the night and she's just started a new school (juniors) which means she seriously on edge and visits during the night and next week ds1 starts reception and given he's a regular night time visitor still its only a foregone conclusion that he's going to visit. I don't like them sleeping next to dd3 lest they roll on her.

They also disturb her. I would move her out of our bedroom if it were possible but its not. So the nightly visits also wake her.

I've had a run of illness and really can't find my feet. In the last 5 months I've had loads of things including Bells Palsy. At the moment I'm struggling with Bronchitus. I've had it for 2.5 weeks now. I get better on antibs then stop and get ill again. Of course the antibs then kick off the blooming breast feeding thrush.

all in all I really need my sleep

Sorry no advice just wanted to say you have my sympathy.

Poor you. Hope you get some sleep soon. Is she teething also perhaps? Although I agree sounds like a growth spurt. Could you get her to sleep in a bedside cot with the side down so she's almost in your bed but safe from other dcs?

Oh, God, the nine month sleep regression.

This was hellish. I try and block it out.

I honestly can't see how formula would make a difference, at this age, although I suppose it would mean that her Dad could do some night time feeds? but really, it's just the nine month regression. I know it doesn't feel like "just", when you've got all of that on your plate, though!

Moving to FF won't help in the slightest, as you suspect.

When we had this problem the BF counsellor said the most effective way of moving the feeding back to daytime was by waiting till the weekend (or whenever your DH isn't working) and getting him to see to her at night. Definitely unpleasant the first night, lots of carrying around etc but the following morning she will drink enough to make up, and gradually get out of the habit of drinking at night. Once she sees DH she will stop disassociating night waking with milk.

Or you could do a more gradual cut-down, where on the first night you go in and feed her a few times (at nine months it could well be a growth spurt and she genuinely needs at least one feed to keep her going), but DH does the rest.

Duh, disassociating was meant to be associating...

We SO need an edit function.

At 9 months there is a growth spurt and sleep regression. We're smack bang in the middle of it. You have my sympathies; at least I don't have other kids to worry about!

Info on the 9 month sleep regression here and here.

Kellymom info on reverse cycling (nighttime but not daytime feeding) here.