Calling all nighttime feeders!! Let's all keep us company during those early hours of the morning when we're feeding instead of sleeping!

[Writerwannabe83]

This is a thread for everyone to chat to each other about their experiences of night time feeding, the good, the bad and the ugly!

There are already a few of us who have been chatting about this in another forum for a few months now but we want to migrate over here to meet more sleep deprived parents!!

Log on and post, no whatever silly hour it is, and vent away about how knackered and stressed you are!! There's a good chance someone else is up and feeding crying with exhaustion too!!

Introductions: I have a 7 week old son, first baby and exclusively breastfeed. He's normally a nightmare to settle to sleep, screaming for hours on end, but will go for 5 hour stretches of sleep!

Hello ladies hope it's ok to join in, I'm a 1st time mum to a 7 week old boy. He is a fussy feeder and we often have to go through a screaming routine where he punches my boob away!

Up for first time tonight. DS slept 3 hours in his cot!

He's asleep in my arms now and I'm weighing up whether to put him back in the cot or have him in with me fir the rest of the night? I did say I'd do one sleep at a time but it was so nice having the space to move in bed!

Yay, a 3 hour sleep! & she appears to be genuinely hungry, more of that please dd...now just to get her back in her crib!

3hours in the cot is fantastic - congratulations Mrs Mugoo! My unputdownable DS has only just managed 20 minutes in his (having dozed on his Dad from 9pm) so I think we'll be co sleeping again tonight!

Hi puggy, congratulations on the arrival of DS! My DS likes to pat, claw, rub, poke, punch, scratch, stroke and grab my face as he feeds, he is waving his hand in front of my face now.

1.30 first feed - I see an early start to the day ahead....

Mrs Mugoo, What did you decide to do? Cot or bed?

I decides cot but he is now up after an hour! Had 3 minutes of boob then fell asleep :(

Just tried to put him back in and he woke straight up. I can't be arsed with this level of fannying around - co-sleeping is so much easier! (I just don't have much space to move freely in the bed)

Welcome puggy and congratulations!!

I've had a really rough day today with DS and me and DH are exhausted. He just wants to feed continuously. He normally has 6 feeds a day but yesterday he had 10!

He last fed at 23.20pm and now I'm up again with him for feeding again. However he woken on two occasions prior to this just having a general grumble and a cry. He's finished his feed and is sleepily looking at me so I'm going to pop him in his MB and he'll hopefully drop off.

I feel so tired - I can't believe I've got to be up in 4 hours, it is so depressing!

Morning all, might if I join?

Currently feeding 4 day old DD and I'm boiling! The jury is out though over which is more painful...my section wound or tonight's sleep deprivation.

I do wish this one would settle in her MB writer but I'm worried the crying will wake the whole house!

Welcome tomkat - I had a c-sec and I'm trying to think back to Day 4...I think the sleep deprivation was worse for me!!

It's only in the last week me and DH have started introducing self settling and it's getting better. Initially it would take him up to an hour to go to sleep but as the days went by he improved. On one occasion it took him only 10 minutes - he has fallen asleep now too after only 10 minutes in there.

Back to bed I go!!

I hope you have a bearable night tomkat - the first few days and weeks of DS's feeding were very difficult and draining for me so take care of yourself

Welcome tomkat!

Writer - why do you have to be up in 4hrs? Can you not sleep in?

Up here but not feeding... Dd woke so I got up and did bottle and as it was warning she stopped crying and did a poo. First one in the night for about a month! Changed nappy and seems she's not hungry.. Nor will she fall fully asleep grr.

To answer those who asked yesterday, yes my parents know about anti-ds and are supportive. Been so helpful the last few days I've been staying too. Wish they lived nearer :-(
Dh arrived tonight after work too so another 4 days with him which makes everything seem slightly better.

Hi all. First feed tonight. I was in bed by 9:30 I'm so tired, 9 day old DD had long cuddles with DH.

Frank blimey, that sounds really horrid. How are you feeling now?

Pasta thanks, I may order it in the 20% sale. I usually live in dresses in the Summer and I don't want hundreds of the ubiquitous navy/white striped dresses!

I fed DC1 to sleep and then had to wait about 40 minutes until fast fast asleep before transferring to MB. If I chanced it too soon I had to start again and would have another 40 minutes to go. I got through loads of books! DC1 is a great sleeper now. DC2 was very chilled and I could transfer immediately after food no problems. I'm trying to set that routine with DD!!

DD has picked up a cold though, all snuffles and snorts.

Thanks all for comments re tongue-tue. Yes, great that they could do it there and then. DD feeding much more effectively today and I'm still sore but hoping it's residual.

Hi to those recently joined!

Fistbump for other working dads bottle feeding in night, 7 month yr old tho sometimes he goes all night other time back to waking 3-4 hrs

Hi breaking, growth spurt or thirsty from hot weather perhaps or just normal babyness?!

DD's cold has caused her to bring up much of her last feed so here we are again an hour after putting her into MB. The good news is she also filled her nappy so wind is no more. On Lefty so has immediately fallen asleep...not hungry afterall perhaps. I am becoming very, overly some might say, familiar with the dawn chorus! I'm certain I can hear a woodpecker. Going to attempt MB transfer.

Transfer fail. Damn Lefty and its soporific qualities.

Had a better night last night than we've been having. 3 feeds between 7pm and 4am but now both of us are wide awake!!

I fed my son until he was 2.5 and the bedtime feed was so the last to go. I'm not worried about feeding to sleep either. I've avoided rocking this time though because that was a hard one for us to break and DS was so heavy!!

Well DD (and me - sort of) have just slept for 6 hours. Unfortunately yet again nobody gave DD1 the memo and I was called in by her at 3ish after she had a bad dream. Still, she resettled quite quickly so I can't complain. Feeding the baby now but suspect that DD1 will be up before we finish, so that might be it for the day.

Anybody else having problems with the iPhone app? I can't get online with it tonight for some reason so am having to use the mobile site instead.

I'm up feeding again. I really can't believe how backwards we have gone with his sleep. Apparently there are 3 reasons why breast fed babies suddenly want to feed more often: warmer weather, they've hit a developmental milestone/learning new skills, and having a growth spurt. Unfortunately for me I think DS is affected by all three and is being a total milk monster

Rachie - I've got to get up because my BF Support Group runs Wednesday mornings. Why they can't do afternoon sessions I don't know..

Hi breaking! Do you do all night feeds? What's your system with you dp?

Caramella that worries me as we rock dd and I have visions of her being too heavy and stuck rocking

Up for a feed now.. So would have been an ok effort if it wasn't for the 3am poo! Hoping for a few more hours after this - if not dh or my mum will have her thankfully

God yes, I agree - the rocking was a hard one to break (and a killer for our backs). I would infinitely prefer to feed to sleep rather than rock to sleep!

Writer - ah I see. That's one of my grumbles actually, 90% of groups run in the morning.. Dd sleeps late and is usually much more settled in the morning with a nap etc so I'd like an afternoon group! Otherwise we tugs to get out then come home and the long afternoon stretches ahead of us, dd is much fussier.. It's just not good.

Hopefully if you're hitting all 3 reasons for extra feeds it'll get it over in 1 (painful!) hit...!?

Sorry Rachie - cross posts. We stopped the rocking to sleep by trying to put her down when she was drowsy but not asleep. It did involve a bit of a screamathon though but we got there!

Well, DS just managed a full 4hours between feeds which is brilliant for him but unfortunately he wouldn't be put down for that time. I don't mind co-sleeping but I don't thinki sleep as well as I would do if he was safe in his own bed, especially in this hot weather. I think he might be better off self settling than being transferred but I worry about him waking up DD1 who has enough trouble sleeping as it is!

Welcome to everyone whose a joined! I love this thread There's something v reassuring about knowing how many people are in the same boat!

Twentieth toddler DD was much worse than DS again.

They were both in bed for 7 but I had to go to her twice in the evening and then at about 2am as she was crying for DH (working abroad). She then appeared at my side at 5.50 waking DS up.

DH is away for a month from mid June and I'm dreading it as DD starts early rising whenever he is away as she gets very anxious and upset about it all.

He was away for all of January up to the 35th week of my pregnancy and it was horrendous with 4.30am crying fits on work days. I was like a dead dog by the time he got back.

Hello everyone - lovely to see newbies! Tomcat...4 days old?! Huge congratulations!

Good night here, much needed!! Was smooth running until DH texted to say his flights home had been cancelled. Hopefully he'll be back later for slobbery DS kisses.

I rock to resettle, and yes, lower back feels like it might snap like a twiglet. It's like rocking a threshing heffalump to sleep, bless him.