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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

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

977 replies

Writerwannabe83 · 12/05/2014 20:28

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!

OP posts:
mrsmugoo · 30/05/2014 03:53

Yeah I'm the same, 4am is my most hated awake time. The bloody birds are making a right racket!

mrsmugoo · 30/05/2014 03:54

Up googling developmental toys for DS while he gets into a deep enough sleep to put down.

TwentiethCenturyGirl · 30/05/2014 04:11

I hate 4am too - unfortunately it's DD2's preferred wake up time!

She seems to be becoming a big more predictable at the the moment and is tending to go to sleep at 7ish after her bath and final feed, quick dream feed at 10:30ish, waking for another feed between 4/5ish and then up for the day at 6:30.

I'm afraid that I just put her in the cot now regardless if she's awake or asleep after a feed and then go back to bed myself. I don't wait round to see how long it takes her to fall asleep but assuming it isn't too long because she isn't waking me!

Dreading 16 weeks and possible sleep regression in case it all goes to pot like it did with DD1...

mrsmugoo · 30/05/2014 05:23

Up again here - again struggling to get farts out and really sniffly nose. I gave him some nose drops and out came two massive bogies each side - so satisfying!

TwentiethCenturyGirl · 30/05/2014 05:30

What was I saying about routine? I've obviously jinxed it because we've all been woken up by DD doing an explosive poo. Nappy changed and am now seeing if a feed will encourage a tiny bit more sleep. Not looking positive so far...

mrsmugoo · 30/05/2014 05:32

I think DS will go back down, he's asleep in my arms but it'll be an hour tops.

Misty9 · 30/05/2014 05:40

Morning all. Up for second feed and massive poo explosion. She keeps pooing up her back and ruining her nice babygrows not the horrible frilly ones from mil though of course might have to go onto cloth as never had this problem with ds in cloth. She's now wriggling about so not sure I'll be getting any more sleep for a bit.

She was more settled yesterday though had screaming episode last night again. Just done another poo. It's dh birthday but do you think I can ask him to change this time?! Oh bless him, he's gonna do it.

I've been feeling a bit flat and drained lately. Anyone else feel like that? 6 weeks today.

Original poster
Writerwannabe83 · 30/05/2014 06:02

Up feeding again - 2 hours after he went to sleep Hmm

My DS is always snotty and snuffly mrsmugoo - sometimes the huge strands of snot and bogeys that I manage to get out are insane!! But like you said, very satisfying!!

misty - I personally found the 4-6 week phase the hardest. The word 'flat' is a great word to use. I just didn't have the energy for anyone or anything. I was in robot mode. Everything just seemed a bit of an effort, even dealing with DS at times.

OP posts:
notadoctor · 30/05/2014 07:19

Morning! Co-slept again so not feeling too bad - although I'm going to try the crib tonight because I am still a but too paranoid when he's in bed with me, especially as DD gets in too sometimes.

Baking - congratulations on your tiny new arrival!

Cardiad - I agree that around 6wks was especially tough, the post birth happy hormones and adrenalin are running low but you are still having to cope with the physical exhaustion and overwhelming new feelings. Sorry to hear you're feeling flat - hopefully it will soon pass.

Original poster
Writerwannabe83 · 30/05/2014 08:41

Up again after another two hours...

I settled him down in the bed with me when he finished his last feed and although he dropped off eventually he kept wriggling around, being grizzly, stirring etc so neither of us really got a decent sleep.

He's fell asleep on my shoulder now and so after my cup of tea (thanks DH) I'm going to get up and have a nice hot shower!

OP posts:
mrsmugoo · 30/05/2014 08:45

We got up for the day at 7 and attempting first nap now. Hope everyone has a good day.

Cariad007 · 30/05/2014 10:11

Well DS finally settled around 1130 last night and woke for a couple of feeds before deciding to be bright eyed at 5 this morning! DP took him for a bit and then I fed him back to sleep around 7am and he slept til just after 9am. He's now happily staring up in his crib mobile so that I can have breakfast but he will get bored with it soon. Really need him to start sleeping past 5am. DP usually gets up and keeps him for a while when he does but he works and deserves a bit of a lie in at the weekend.

And to top it all off I've just realised that the little insects I've been finding on the bed and killing for the past week or so are fleas! I don't know how that happened as we don't even have pets. I blame the neighbourhood stray cat the old woman upstairs used to pet and take in :(

KateTheShrew · 30/05/2014 11:08

Well, I am amazed to say that last night I got 5 hours sleep in a row, 10pm - 3am!!! Well done little DS! Of course, my body-clock is so screwed up from 4 months of night wakings that I was totally unable to get back to sleep until 6am. My brain obviously now thinks that if I've had my 5 hours it must be time to start the day Angry

But I'll try to focus on the positive, which is that DS slept well last night, only waking twice, and didn't start the day until nearly 7. If he can keep that up for a while I might just be able to train myself to get back to sleep for a reasonable amount of time...

Wishing everyone an easy day, with decent naps.

Cariad007 · 30/05/2014 11:42

Isn't it funny how we now think 5 hours constitutes a good night's sleep? Pre-DS I wouldn't have settled for anything less than 8!

TwentiethCenturyGirl · 30/05/2014 15:08

Fleas Shock I'm itching just thinking about it Cariad. Good luck zapping them. Eurgh!

Original poster
Writerwannabe83 · 30/05/2014 15:24

DS has been up since 07.30am with no naps!!

He just won't sleep!!

I have a bad feeling about tonight because OTBB (over tired baby behaviours) will come out full force!!

OP posts:
mrsmugoo · 30/05/2014 16:03

Uff, sympathy Writer...I went through weeks of that and it's bloody awful.

DS has had 3 short catnaps in my arms today. The third one it took me 45 minutes from noticing he was getting tired to being able to rock him off. He just kept fighting it! He only lasted 30 mins and woke at 3:30 so I gave up trying to send him back to sleep and I'm aiming to try again in half an hour as he won't be able to last to bath time otherwise.

Singsongmama · 30/05/2014 18:48

Hi all,

DS slept 3, 3 and 2.5 in his own room. He isn't six months yet...am I a terrible person for evicting him from our room early?! We were up at 6 and when I saw his wee face in his cot across his room, I just felt awful, poor toot.

Misty - no you aren't alone! There are days I feel as flat as a pancake. There are days I feel detached and despondent and then today for no reason I feel great and super excited by having a wonderful baby. It's so strange, there's no predicting my mood!!

Original poster
Writerwannabe83 · 30/05/2014 18:55

They are good timescales singsong for being in his own room. How old is he? My friend moved her baby into his own room when he was 7 weeks!

My DS is asleep and has been for a good few hours now. I'm torn between doing the unthinkable and waking a sleeping baby, or just leaving him and hoping it doesn't mean he'll be awake all night. It's been almost 5 hours since he last fed so I'm anticipating him waking soon then it will be bath and bed and hopefully more sleep

OP posts:
Misty9 · 30/05/2014 19:47

writer never wake a sleeping baby! :)

Its reassuring that others feel similar, and like you sing its up and down and today I feel good. Getting out the house definitely helps and napping has been great today too. She slept from 11ish until 2.30! Including through the birthday lunch out with my husband. Which was a 5 hour gap between feeds.

Just tried feeding to sleep lying down in bed, which didn't work, but she's gone in my arms so I may attempt to put her in crib. Problem is if she wakes and cries she might wake her brother before I get to her. Might stay here with her but defeats the object of putting her down!

Original poster
Writerwannabe83 · 30/05/2014 20:01

I had to wake him misty - it was coming up 6 hours since he lasts fed and I was scared he thought it was night time and then he woke up he'd be ready to play instead of going to bed Grin

We've just bathed him and now I'm feeding him. I doubt very, very, very much that he's going to be sleeping anytime soon....

OP posts:
Original poster
Writerwannabe83 · 30/05/2014 20:42

Well he has absolutely drained both boobs and now keeps being sick due to over feeding Grin

I've put him in his MB and he's dancing and singing away.

I'm just sitting here quietly with my fingers crossed that he will go to sleep but he seems far too excited for that!!

OP posts:
mrsmugoo · 30/05/2014 20:50

I have a sleeping DS in my arms after a nice big feed and a whole syringe of gripe water (usually spits half of it out).

He's had 4 catnaps today ranging from 20 minutes to an hour which actually seem to work for him - he seems perky after each and goes back to playing under his play gym - which he is currently obsessed with! He's just started grasping toys and following things left and right with his eyes. He especially loves the "crunchy" toys.

I'm just going to put him down and will join him shortly. DH is going to get up with him in the morning and let me sleep til he needs feeding/nap time- yay!

Cariad007 · 30/05/2014 21:01

Looks like a repeat of last night here. Gave DS a feed around 6ish, he fell asleep for a bit and then we bathed him when he started getting fractious around 8. Tried to feed him around 830 but he wasn't interested and now it's screams all round. He'd been pretty good all day too so this is very dispiriting :(

Original poster
Writerwannabe83 · 30/05/2014 21:08

You have my sympathise cariad - when DS was 4-5 weeks (ish) he had the most horrendous colic. Every single night was filled with him screaming - it was unbearable to listen to. Me and my DH dreaded the evening and night time because we knew that no matter how good a day DS had been the screaming was still going to happen. I was absolutely exhausted and at the end of my tether. My HV came to see me and I just burst into tears. Like you say it is very dispiriting. Not knowing why they are screaming and not knowing how to stop them is just awful, frustrating and heartbreaking. My DS would usually scream for about 3-4 hours and then fall asleep out of exhaustion.

My HV told me that it would pass and at some point it did. But it was very, very hard to deal with.

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