BF in the middle of the night thread...how to stay awake!

[MummyPigandDaddyPig]

( distributes tea biscuits and nursing pillows allround....)

How do yo stay awake at night feeding??? Am struGgling to stay awake and have a sore thumb from playing solitaire on the iphone...alternates with reading muMsnet, daily mail and facebook....

What else is easy reading websites, games apps that dont require any brainpower that I cana entertain myself with? Any tips how to stay awake? Am seriously tired here!

Have cosleept with my dc's from approx 8-10 weeks, which makes night feeds easier, but I have weeks to go until then and wont dare to bedshare yet as older dc's still turn up in qour bed at night....

[Mustgettogym]

Iplayer to watch shows and 4od!!!

[Tanyaaah]

Give in to sleep! I usually feed lying down, fall asleep, wake up a while later and pass baby back to DH to put in moses basket. I need all the mins of sleep I can get!

[mummysmellsofsick]

Gosh, I appreciate that not everyone likes to co sleep, but I just couldn't sit up to bf at night. Having DS in bed means he can help himself and I can snooze :o

[luckysocks]

I reeeeally struggle with this. I barely remember last night, beyond slumping helplessly into a horizontal position with DD. I woke up this morning with DD tucked into my dressing gown and the duvet dragged over us both - this is not safe co-sleeping. I find bf to be like a drug at night and don't know what to do about it.

If I can actually wake up I read or MN or shop online. Particularly 'window' shopping. I've spent a fortune in my head but wouldn't have the energy to locate my credit card......

[melliebobs]

Dd is in her own room. The walk there n the nappy change wakes me up ready for the feed

[melliebobs]

Gutted that we cant feed lead down n e more :-( in the first few weeks it was a god send

[G1nger]

I used to uh pick at the hairs on my head. It didn't hurt, but gave me something to focus on. It's one of my stress habits anyway

[mathanxiety]

Put some sort of temporary bed on the floor of your room for the older DCs and have them sleep there when they visit. Or have your DH send them back to their own beds -- they will sleep better if you get them in the habit of staying put.

Maybe feed in bed and then hand the baby to your DH to burp and take to the cot?

Or get a clip-on cot that attaches to the side of your bed for the baby so everyone has their safe spot in your bed..

I couldn't sit up to bf at night either after trying to do it with DD1 and DS. If I stayed awake enough not to drop them, I couldn't get back to sleep. Co-sleeping with the baby and ensuring the others stayed in their own beds or if not, providing a special 'nest' on the floor in my room where they could curl up was the only way I could manage to get any semblance of sleep when DD2, DD3 and DD4 came along.

[MummyPigandDaddyPig]

Evening ladies!! Ambetter prepared today , have a snacktray ready and more cushions to prop me up.
I laughed at the idea of doing the online shopping, my basket at checkout would consist of a ready steady cook type concoction mostly featuring bars of galaxy choclate....prob not a good idea!

DC 1 is already tucked up in bed with me, doing a starfish pose on my side. DC 2 is still asleep and dC 3 feeding. Love the idea of making a nest on the floor for sleeping kids. Will think about how to work that one!

So ladies, what are we doing whilst feeding tonight then? ( starts on snacktray, shares out pears bananas and raisins ) trying to be good left the tempting pack of choc hobnobs downstairs...

[TeaandHobnobs]

The usual although I'm too tired even for bejewelled right now! Just trying to get some wind out of DS show will go back to sleep , but it's not happening!

[TeaandHobnobs]

[musicalmrs]

Facebook, MN, news and podcasts/Iplayer for me too! I'm also finding that shifting to feed on the floor near DD's basket keeps me more awake than bed.

In the early weeks I played a lot of Tetris, but kept drifting off as the game got faster- not good!

[SESthebrave]

Ooh, this sounds like a thread for me. DD is a week old.
I'm reluctant to routinely co-sleep because DH would end up in the spare room. If we had a king size bed and DH wasn't quite so overweight, it wouldn't be an issue. I did co-sleep with DS for the first 6mo and it was a life saver.

I struggje with heavy eyes and have resorted to co-sleeping with DD a couple of times already.

[jaggythistle]

just back to bed after feed, puke, change nappy and entire clothes for me and DS2. he's feeding again, but not looking v sleepy. :(

he's not screaming yet, which is an improvement on last night.

might try some iplayer on my phone and see if it wakes DH up...

[Softlysoftly]

Hello! Tonight I am mostly feeling sorry for myself and eating special k flake by flake after resorting to milky bars for the 1st 2 weeks!

DD2 is 3 weeks and DH is abroad with work so struggling. She has decided since 5am this morning to scream everytime she's near a mattress so I've been awake for 21.5 hours and counting.

[VintageNancy]

I'm another bejewelled player plus scrabble. I used to read the kindle but it sends me to sleep. Luckily DD's feeds are getting shorter now so I don't have to do it for long!

[littletommy22]

i find eating apples help wake me up, think its cos they take a bit of concentration to do so

[SwivelHips]

Evening all, tonight I am staring morbidly into our Brown radiator wondering why ds1 won't bloody sleep yet can munch my tender nipples for 5 hours. No bloody snacks looked out either. Gah....

[jaggythistle]

DS2 sounds like he has another runny nose coming on. this is not likely to help. i did try saline drops and he sneezed out a bit, but i can still hear loud snuffle sounds.

[Tinkerisdead]

Can i play? My dd is on the four month sleep regression/growth spurt and shes literally awake 40 mins, sleep 40 mins but i've put off cosleeping as my dd1 3.5 is a terrible sleeper and never in her own bed. I struggle to stay awake.

I'm not joking i use the time to do xmas/birthday shopping! Each night i have a person and spend each feed browsing for ideas and shopping around. It keeps me awake comparing prices and ideas etc. that and pinterest app, mumsnet, daily mail and games like move the box.

When i had dd1 i used to just sit staring into the darkness. Thank god for iphone.

[FootprintsOfTheQueen]

Previous dc I watched the west wing (found 45 minute episode lengths just right). This time round, I stream iplayer t o the iPad. always have a snack and a drink stashed at the top of the crib to help get me started.

[Squiglettsmummy2bx]

Awake here too. I feed lying down so play on my phone, shop on it, use the kindle app, fb, mn etc but have been known to drop it & fall asleep

[InsomniaQueen]

During feeding time at the IQ zoo I tend to MN (obviously), read my kindle, catch up on texts and facebook from the day, make lists for shopping and things to do later that day, play fruit ninja (very addictive), think about food and secretly curse DH's lack of boob which would allow us to share night feeds!

But I still fall asleep towards the end on some nights so I put her in a safe position when I start feeding so I know if I drop off she will be fine, as I only tend to cat nap if I fall asleep during a feed and she goes back to her crib once I wake up.

[luckysocks]

Tonight, I fell asleep again with DD in bed until 1.30. Since then, we've been in an endless eat, grunt, poo cycle.

She sleeps/eats really well in the daytime

I have been reading and trying not to cry

[luckysocks]

IQ I also curse DH for his lack of feeding apparatus :) and begin to wonder if a large part of his pro-bf outlook is that he doesn't have to do any of it. I'm currently in nursery/spare room again while he gets a lovely nights sleep... grrrr