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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

How to stay awake during night feeds part 10!

625 replies

abi2790 · 20/05/2013 07:12

Brand new thread Grin

OP posts:
larlemucker · 11/06/2013 03:45

Morning!

Third feed here. Fed at half 10 and half 1.

Been to baptism rehearsal this eve, hoping that baby larle can behave himself for the hour and a half of the service!!

Struggling to keep eyes open..............

Jojobump1986 · 11/06/2013 04:31

Hello everyone! I had DS2 at 2.15pm on Sunday. Feeding seems to be going well so far, although he doesn't seem to be an every-3-hours sort of baby. Yesterday evening he went 4 hours between feeds before we woke him & then he was attached to me for the next 1.5 hours! We've had 4 hours sleep since then before he was snuffling enough to disturb me - he was still asleep though! At the moment he seems to be feeding to sleep after maybe 10 minutes, letting go & dozing before waking up & rooting again!

Seeing the midwife sometime today so I'll see how his weight is doing. I'm happy to have an unconventional feeding schedule if it suits him, although I'm not sure how DS1 will react to me being stuck feeding DS2 for 1.5 hours! He's only 19m so still quite dependent. Oh well, nearly 2 weeks left to figure it out before DH is back at work & we have to go it alone!

larlemucker · 11/06/2013 05:26

Congratulations jojo!!

Don't worry about the feeding. Feed on demand, it will help your supply and means you are feeding baby because he is hungry. I sympathise with the long feeds/no sleep, DS fed every 40 mins for 3 days when he was about a week old!!

I'm trying to explain to baby larle why 20 past 5 is NOT getting up time!!!!

Original poster
abi2790 · 11/06/2013 07:38

Congratulations Jojo! Yep definitely keep feeding on demand. Ds would feed for hours at a time in the early days. He still does now sometimes at 6 months.

We had a transfer fail last night so I didn't get back to sleep until 3. We've never really suffered from transfer fails but since we've moved house it happens at least once every night. Tbf I think it could possibly be down to his teeth as he has a red cheek again. I just hope everything goes back to normal once his teeth are fully through.

Ds is back to sleep now after waking at 6:30. Hopefully I'll manage to get a little more sleep otherwise I won't be able to function today!

OP posts:
Jojobump1986 · 11/06/2013 08:11

He's just had a nice 20 minute feed, let go & flopped his cheek against me like a pillow. I forgot how cute they are when they do that! Grin I much prefer 20 minute, 1-sided feeds to 1.5 hour, both-sides marathons!

I can't get over how different his feeding is to DS1. It took us nearly a week just to get him to suck once latched - had to express until he would. Even then it was a struggle to get him to feed regularly & he wouldn't feed for more than 10-15 minutes! It's so nice to have a baby with a little enthusiasm! I've definitely reached the not-used-to-it soreness phase though - ouch!

larlemucker · 11/06/2013 08:18

If you're sore it could be a bad latch. Do you have a booby group near you where you could have his latch checked?

Jojobump1986 · 11/06/2013 08:24

I'm pretty sure the latch is ok - I take him off & start again when it doesn't feel right. He just gets a bit excited at the start of feeds & does a giant clamping bite to claim it as his before latching properly! It's very cute, in a painful sort of way! Grin The midwife should be popping round at some point today so I'll get her to check it if he happens to be hungry while she's here, just incase!

Original poster
abi2790 · 11/06/2013 09:09

I was so sore for about a week and latch was good. I nearly gave up but then I healed up and have loved bf ever since Grin.

OP posts:
larlemucker · 11/06/2013 16:44

I wasn't sore but my nipples felt very sensitive. Had to wear breast pads, not for leakage but because I couldn't stand the feel of my bras against my nipples!!

Original poster
abi2790 · 11/06/2013 22:47

Evening ladies. I'm feeling like crap today and ds has been up 3 times since 7 Sad.

Sending lots of sleepy dust Brew.

OP posts:
SoYo · 12/06/2013 02:28

Congratulations JoJo, my latch was always fine too but I still thought it was like a very small Alsatian chewing on your nipple bloody agony at first. Just remember it gets better really qckly.

I'm absolutely exhausted here. I honestly think I could sleep for 24hrs solid! One we get through tonight I'm going to ask DH to take madam for bit in the morning so I can snooze.

Anypants · 12/06/2013 04:04

Good morning!
Am up for first feed - been down since 9pm so not too bad. However, DD had been in her cot in her room for a few nights as an experiment but she kept waking at 1am so i've moved her back to her moses. No 1am wake up this morning but she certainly isn't sleeping as long as she could. I think we may have hit the sleep regression experience as she had been going through until dawn. Although, I tried some nap times yesterday that I will try and stick to (tricky today as have a play group, lunch at DM's and a visit to the mad MIL) to see if it can make a difference.
Still shattered after my KIT day on Monday but glad I did it and got to see DD at lunchtime so it wasn't too traumatic (for her or me Blush )
Would love a bit more sleep though... Brew Brew Brew

Original poster
abi2790 · 12/06/2013 06:10

Sooo tired! Ds was up at 11:45, 1, 3 and 5:20. It can't be hunger as he doesn't seem interested in feeding when he wakes he just wants to get back to sleep. Dp took him downstairs at one point I think but it didn't get him to sleep. Aarrgghh what do I do Sad?

Dp has his friends round tonight which I'm dreading. If they think I'm being stuck upstairs all evening they can think again!

OP posts:
lazzaroo · 12/06/2013 07:20

Another night of no sleep. I sympathise any. I am at the 'what do I do' stage too as I no longer believe it's just going to resolve itself....or at least not soon enough to save my sanity or stop me doing something stupid due to over tiredness.

Little lazza settled at 7 and slept till 10. She fed a bit, but
I don't really think she's hungry. Wouldn't feed back to sleep. Was awake about an hour before getting grumpy. DH settled her, she woke 10mins after being in cot so he slept with her in rocking chair in nursery. She woke again at 2.30. Fed back to sleep & was then on me, but unsettled, until she woke...at 4.50am!! Has just gone down again at 7am.

DH goes away again today so next 2 nights are all me Sad. I was literally in tears this morning about the thought of it. Dh's answer 'you'll just have to let her cry herself to sleep'! Helpful. Even though we are probably going to end up sleep training (not leaving her to cry!), how he expects me to do it alone I don't know.

lazzaroo · 12/06/2013 07:21

Sorry, I meant abi! although I do sympathise with everyone else struggling too!

Original poster
abi2790 · 12/06/2013 18:43

lazza I think I would find it easier if Dp could do something in the night to settle Ds but it seems only I can get him to sleep. He's 6 months now and for the past couple of weeks he has been sleeping for shorter periods than when he was a newborn!! I wish he would have expressed milk from a bottle but he won't. He'll drink from a sippy cup but the only way he'll go to sleep is if I breast feed him to sleep. In the early weeks he would let Dp rock him to sleep. I feel like it's my fault both me and Ds are so tired all the time Sad

OP posts:
Anypants · 12/06/2013 19:52

Don't beat yourself up abi. The bf last thing before bed should be the last one to go so you can keep that bond and you won't do it forever so, although it ties you down to be there every bedtime at the mo, treasure it as you may miss it when it's gone. That's what my Mum told me Smile

Anypants · 12/06/2013 19:55

and he'll soon grow out of the middle of the night feeds too and, in a funny way, you'll miss that too!
(sorry - pressed 'post' too soon Blush )

lazzaroo · 12/06/2013 20:17

abi we're just a couple of weeks off 6 months too and sleep has definitely got worse not better! She also won't take a bottle. It's really hard not to be able to get a break at all. I have given up tickets to 2 things recently (theatre & concert) because I can't leave her. Tickets were booked before she arrived, when I was optimistic & convinced we couldn't have a second bottle refuser!!

It's not your fault. You do what you need to do in the early days and it will get better. We have a very happy, caring toddler (who sleeps all night....mostly!) but she was a troublesome sleeper too. It's just so ard to see any solutions or end in sight when you're so tired. I end up wishing the time away, which I don't want.

I suppose I should be going to sleep now in anticipation of a long night ahead! Good luck all!

larlemucker · 12/06/2013 23:02

Exactly the same here. Few weeks off 6 months and I'm the only one who can settle him. Thankfully he does take a bottle but that has never managed to settle him in the middle of the night, a lot of the time it's suckling not food he wants.

I've become a breastfeeding, co-sleeping, sling wearing, reusable nappy using earth mother!!! I SO didn't expect that!!! At the end of the day you do what you need to do to get some sleep.

I also keep thinking its my fault he is this way as all my friends babies sleep through but I just think its the way he is. I'm going to enjoy all the cuddles as much as I can as a day will come when he won't want to cuddle me anymore Hmm

Just said to DH god knows how we'll settle him when I stop bf!!!

SoYo · 13/06/2013 01:27

Evening all,

We're still in holiday & bedtimes are all over the place. I started bedtime feed tonight at 8.30 but it was thrashy with her messing & not drinking much so I stopped & we were just cuddling her & she fell asleep so was out to bed but now up early as she didn't go to bed full & this probably means a whole extra feed or a very early morning. Boo. She's thrashing & messing again now too. Think she's got a sore tummy as she's taken to only having one dirty nappy a week & it's been 5 days.

I'm shattered & she's not even 4 months & I'm sure I'll be just like you Lazza, Larle & Any in another 2 months. I'm already finding myself dreading other people telling me about their babies that sleep through!

Anypants · 13/06/2013 05:19

Now, i'm normally very tolerant. Normally. But this baby lark has got me befuddled. So DD (who is 3 and half months now) is being a pain in the arse. She wouldn't go to sleep.after bath/feed/story, despite actually being mostly asleep at the point I tried to put her down. Then there was an awful hour of desperately trying to get her to close her eyes (not crying but no amount of rocking, shhhhing or jiggling could make her) and if I put her down, she smiled at me and thrashed about until her blanket was all over the place. Gave in at 10pm and drugged fed her to sleep (because it works but I don't want to do it when she was on the boob for an hour prior) as she'd been awake 5 hours. Off she went and I stupidly thought that, after such a fight, i'd get a good sleep from her. Nah. 2am she woke - fed her although I could have.just tried to settle her as she was asleep again in 10 mins. Just now there was a lot of thrashing about so picked her up to rearrange her and settle her down and it pretty much woke her up and made her cry for food. Am having a hell of a time trying to deal with such an erratic sleep pattern and think the nights are getting worse, not better. It is a bit warm tonight so maybe it's just discomfort? She's just fallen asleep again... Envy

Anypants · 13/06/2013 05:35

And as soon as I moved her to try and wind her a bit, she started screaming. So i've put her back on. How do I get her back on track? Not overly enjoying the nights right now - only able to get through as she was an absolute angel all day yesterday - even taking naps without a fight.
I will try a different strategy today methinks. Hmm

larlemucker · 13/06/2013 06:45

4 month sleep regression any?

Sorry, no advice here, just remember you're doing a brilliant job and its not your fault.

Try posting in the sleep section

lazzaroo · 13/06/2013 07:32

Up at 4.50am again this morning (and numerous times in the night obviously!). Got her back to sleep at 6.15, was praying for a little more sleep but literally as I put my head on my pillow dd1 woke up!

It's so unpredictable. Yesterday she woke at 5, went back to sleep at 7am and slept for 1hr45 mins! Today she just dd her normal 40mins. Never sure with early wake ups to try & keep her up as long as poss before nap or try and resettle her as if it's night time (which I generally don't have the energy for!)

Currently doing daytime naps every 2-2.5 hours as set times didn't really work as length of sleep so unpredictable. What are others with similar age little ones doing?