Aaargh...I'm on my knees with the night wakings.....(LONG)

[pipoca]

DD is ebf and 5.5 months. At about 12 weeks she started sleeping 10pm to 6am, then stopped again (10pm, 3am, 6am) then started again, including one magnificent 10pm to 8am :) Then, in mid September DS (3.5) started preschool (we live aborad btw...he'd already been at nursery when she was born, then on summer hols in August, then preschool). He got a cold in the first week and gave it to DD. From mid September she seems to have cold after cold after cold and recently I think a touch of a tummy bug that I had. She now wakes every 2-3 hours and as much as every hour.
I go in and feed her when she wakes as it's the easiest way to get her back to sleep, but she doesn't seem very hungry. She does seem unbelievably windy, doing the most enormous lorry driver farts during the feed and squirming around. She falls asleep on the boob and then I try to transfer her to the cot, but sometimes she wakes and we start the whole palaver again.
I'm not cosleeping as I find I get less sleep and she seems to wake even more frequently, as if she senses me (smells the milk)?
At the mo it's hard to tell if she's got a cold..she seems a bit snuffly..nothing major though and to be honest the last definite cold she had, when she was so full of snot she could hardly breathe she actually slept 12-6am one night, so I'm not convinced it's that.
I'm so tired and I don't know why she wakes so much. Last night for example was feed at 8.30pm, took an hour of farting, crying and posseting to get to sleep and had to be rocked to sleep in the end. Up at 11pm for a feed, then 2.30am, 3.50am, 5.30am and again at 8am, but passed out asleep again after only an hour.
I don't know what to do. DS was bottle fed and at this age was doing 12 hrs at night. He had a routine, he napped in the morning and afternoon, had his evening bottle and went to sleep: With DD naps are all over the place and she's hard to settle at night. I don't know what I'm wittering on about really, just that I'm very tired and worried this will go on and on and on and I'll end like a friend with a child who still wakes multiple times even at 2.5. I wonder if she'd sleep better if she had formula at 8pm (although last time I tried a bottle she wouldn't take it). Maybe she's just not very well (in which case I'm being cruel trying to do anything other than go with the flow :( ) But this has been going on for 2 months! DS had a cold most of his first year at nursery..if this goes on all winter she'll never learn to sleep through.
I just don't know. It all seems to tied up together, night waking, illness, habits, wind.

Will post this in sleep too.

Poor you pipoca, sleep deprivation can be so hard can't it.

I think you are right that she may be feeling unwell. From what you've described she sounds like she may have tummy ache and or a cold. Whichever it is the best thing for her is bfing, so you're doing the right thing.

As for the trumps, just wondered if you've started weaning as this can often cause problems with sleep. Know that you had a different experience with DS but there is no evidence that giving her formula will help sorry, there is some information here on forumula, solids and sleep.

Its not hopeless though so don't worry, there are lots of things you can do. The first thing might be to tackle her daytime naps. She may settle better at night if she has a calm and relaxed daytime and have regular naps. She may also be hungry, have you tried offering her more bfs during the day?

She may be reverse cycling or you could still be suffering from the 4 month sleep regression.

There is also some great information here on sleep, 31 ways to get your baby to sleep and stay asleep and 12 alternatives for the all-night nurser.

You might also find this book helps.

At the end of the day though you are doing everything right, if she is poorly the bm and you will help enoromously and by responding to her needs now you will make her a more secure and happy child in the long run.

Hope it passes soon.

Thanks for listening, it's like a virtual hair stroke! :) She's not on solids yet as I wanted to wait til at least 6 mo and do BLW (did it with DS after a false start with purees and loved the blw). She's not ready yet, not sitting well and still tongue thrusting and has actually dropped down the centiles since she's been unwell. Only slightly (like from 50th to 40 something, but a drop all the same) I don't see the point of adding solids into the mix and her getting less milk and maybe losing more weight.

I've been thinking about what you said about naps and illness and I think actually she's not very well. She's usually the easiest, smiliest, happiest little thing during the day but today and for a day or two she's been crying a lot, struggling to nap and then only sleeping maybe 20 mins. I've been trying to feed every 2-3 hours during the day for a few days and she does a great big poo (with stunning sound effects) after every feed, so I think it's a tummy upset. just now she did one so violent it exploded out of the back of her nappy and stained all her clothes. Sounded like an express train too. :(
I think that explains the excessive possetting too (as much as 2 hours after a feed and all curdled).

I don't think formula would help at all even if she took it, probably just upset her tummy even more as she's not used to it and bm has probiotics and stuff, doesn't it?

Wasn't going to start solids for a few weeks yet anyway but def going to wait until she's sitting well and seeming interested, as I think if she's like she is now tummy wise, it'd just cause more problems.

I feel a bit better strangely with the idea she's not very well, as I feel it's an explanantion and it won't go on forever and means it's not me doing something terribly wrong and messing up her sleep patterns for life (over tired paranoid worry about everything emoticon). I get a bit down in the mornings after yet another shit night of no sleep (DS is a serial escaper from bed at night and an early waker) and it's easy to start worrying about all sorts.

Don't panic you she will sleep through at some point, but at lest 25% of all preschool's do wake up every night. Another 25% wake up at lest some of the time, so what I'm saying is that you where very lucky with your first to have a good sleeper. Oh and BF mum's on average get 20minuts more sleep then those who are formula feeding. Formula does not make any differences to sleep at all I'm afraind.

It will pass and she will get better, there are things you can try to help to. Have you hurd of 'The no cry sleep solution' I've hurd a lot of good things about that book.

The other thing you mite want to consider is a possible cows milk intolerance, I'm suggesting this as you mention her having bad wind and not setaling after a feed. Maybe something worth looking into.

as in, intolerant to dairy thru my breastmilk? She wasn't like this til about 2 months ago, so I'm not sure it's that. Isn't it really rare anyway?

Agree that weaning sounds like a really bad idea for all the reasons you mention, she doesn't sound ready, is poorly, food contains less calories and the bm contains antibodies which will actually help her get better.

Think that MigGril does mean intolerance through your bm yes, and I don't think it's that rare. I know 2 babies locally who were both intolerant and were bf. Both were diagnosed by Paeds so not just the Mums opinion. Think it is the milk allergy that is more uncommon.

If you think she may have an intolerance or sensitivity have a read of Diary and other Food Sensitivity in BF infants from Kellymom.

Don't worry about setting up problems for the future either, you are doing exactly the right thing by looking after her now when she needs you [hsmile].

I thought only I stigmatised lorry drivers with hideous farts ! Very similar problems with my DD who is 6 months next week and up until last week also EBF. She has been waking constantly through the night for around 5 weeks, leaving me feeling mentally and physically sick with sleep deprivation. I thought perhaps she needed more than my breastmilk so introduced formula 1 week ago. She took to it with no problems, and has 1 bottle in the afternoon and 1 before bed. This has not improved her sleeping at all ! Just gives me a break from constant breastfeeding in order to soothe her. After numerous consultations with other mothers etc. I am of the opinion it's just a long painful episode of teething. Indeed the only thing which seems to help her to sleep longer is baby ibruprofen which must help her inflamed gums. She farts like a lorry driver too ! And this meant to be a side effect of teething along with cold like symptoms.

You have my complete sympathy with the sleep deprivation, the worst form of tortue ever !

Goodbye have you tried Dentinox gel on her gums? It worked for my DC.

Hi Jilted, thanks for the tip. I shall buy it tomorrow.

Well last night was atrocious. She fed at 8.30pm and was asleep by 9.30, woke at 11pm and fed, asleep by about 12, fed again at 1am. Then she slept for 2 hours, but I couldn't sleep cos of noisy neighbours and achey legs. Woke at 3am and fed but everytime she seemed to have fallen asleep and I tried to remove my boob, she'd startle and cry. Took til 4.20am when I managed to extricate my boob and push the bed against the wall and co sleep til she woke at 6.30. Quick feed then slept til 8.30, but DS woke at 7.15. DH took him downstairs so I could sleep, but meant I only got 3 hours sleep in all last night.
Today has been similar to yesterday, cries and cries and can't nap, drops off but wakes, clearly in pain after only 30 mins or so. Another monstrous explosive poo today...very noisy and masses of it and very runny.
She's obviously got a horrible stomach upset and or is teething too, but my money's on tummy bug cos I had one and looks like DH has a touch of it too.
She's so miserable during the day, I feel so sorry for her. But, bless she still tries to smile as much as she can.

Yes I did mean intolerant to milk protien through your milk. I only meationed it because of the stomach problems you talked about. It's something that can build up over time so doesn't always happen to start with.

If it's just a bug and clears up over time don't worry about it to much. But if it doesn't I just though is was something you may not have considered.