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!

Twentieth we moved DD at 13 weeks. Just wondering what to do about DS now.

DD slept much better in her own room but she was sleeping 7/7 by this point where DS is 7/5ish at the moment.

Can't decide whether to try him in his room or bring the cot into my room.

Like you we disturb each other far less than DD and I did. I tend to think 'you'll soon cry if you want me' where the smallest cry from DD had me scuttling over to her basket.

sleepywombat that sounds hard.

I take it he doesn't go off in his pram? DS takes a lot of work in the pram unless it's raining and he has his plastic cover on. I think he likes the sound of the rain hitting the plastic.

Hi sleepy wombat, welcome to the thread.

Hello sleepywombat - welcome!!!!

Sounds like there's been a few bad nights

DS seems to alternate which kind of night we have: a bad one followed by a good one followed by a bad one followed by a good one.

Thankfully last night was a good one.

After finishing his 2am feed he self settled really nicely was asleep within ten minutes and he has only just woken up again, just under 5 hours later. So I reckon I've had a good 8-9 hours sleep myself.

The only thing I did different last night (and also before his monster 4 hour nap yesterday afternoon) was to offer both breasts. I know we are supposed to anyway but I will admit that I usually don't and assume if DS detaches himself (as opposed to falling off) then it means he's done. The last 3 feeds I have offered the 2nd breast each time and he drains that one as well as he drained the first! All 3 of his last sleeps have been a Minimum of 5 hour blocks so I'm thinking a very full tummy is the way forward....

Hello Truffkin

There must be a few of us about to hit the infamous 12 week growth spurt any say now. Has anyone found their babies hungrier than normal? I've been trying to get DD to take an extra ounce or row, as she's been on the same amount more or less for the last 3 weeks, but she's not interested! She'll be 12 weeks on Monday but hit all her other growth spurts a few days early, so I'm surprised we're not in the middle of it now!

I swear DS has been on one continuous growth spurt since 4 weeks!

When I hear people who EBF say they feed on average every 3 hours... This little monster feeds every hour if he is awake!

He's 12 weeks on Wednesday

DS dropped off around 530, woke for a feed at 9 and is now asleep while I frantically try and pump a bottle so I can get to the gym. Am hoping for an easier night tonight.

sleepywombat where is Oz are you? I'm from Perth but left 13 years ago. Taking DS there fr a visit in Oct. 20 hours on a plane with him - yes I'm mad!!

Mugoo - I'm EBF and we tend to be 2 or 2.5 hours. If we get to 3 it is unusual. Sometimes it's an hour.

Hello all I haven't been on at night as I was trying to stay half asleep.

Slept in Fin's room with him last night as oh was out early this morning and we wanted him to have a good nights sleep. It was Fin's 1st night in his cot and sleeping bag he seems to like it which is a good thing because at 8 weeks old and 14lb 8 he is getting to big for his mb! Think we'll have to get a travel cot for our room!

mrsmugoo my DS is excellent at night but feeds every two hours minimum through the day.

DD was exactly the same. Tanked herself up through the day ready for night.

Hi puggy...we did travel cot in our room from 10 weeks to 18 weeks. They grow out of mb so quickly!

Bar having 3 cat naps today (each lasting 20 minutes) DS has been awake for 9.5 hours!!

Is anyone else's baby this awake at 2 months old??

Surely they are still supposed to want to sleep in the day at some point???

He looks absolutely shattered!

Hmmm, I'm not sure they ever want to sleep. I have to force DS to sleep with some face stroking and making him really cosy. Or take him for a long walk.

He really volunteers for it!

Well my post earlier about the 12 week growth spurt seems to have invoked the Law of Sod! DD has been very grizzly all day and has taken extra milk at each of her feeds, so I think we're in it! She's been napping more than usual, only able to stay awake for an hour or so at a time, so that seems to fit too. Hopefully it will only last a day or so

*rarely even!

Funny you should mention that Frank - Edward has been cluster feeding like a newborn all day, going from side to side...I'm exhausted! Guess he's "ordering in" milk for his growth spurt!

I think we're about to hit 6 wk growth spurt, judging by the cluster feed at stupid o'clock this morning. After a fractious morning she then slept the rest of the day away :)
Just had feed and asleep on my chest now the toddler is in bed thank god
Had a scare earlier though when her tongue tie cut reopened during a feed. She must have pulled it :( stopped bleeding quite quickly thankfully.

Bloody shattered so off to bed soon I think famous last words

You are right about baby naps...you have to really force the issue!! We have had a few good naps here with the help of nursery rhymes (always played at nap time so associated hopefully!), white noise and pram walk. It's a constant battle to put him to sleep but he does need it.

I gave up trying to get him to sleep in the end!!

He's now kicking about excitedly in his bouncy chair

DD1 was a terror - she was always wide awake and seemed to get through the day on hardly any sleep. Even once we did manage to get her sleeping in the day she began to drop her naps quite quickly. She never seemed unhappy for it though, which makes me think that some babies just need less sleep than others.

DD2 on the other hand seems to be a much better napper and seems to be able to just drop off when she wants. Her naps are quite short though, so we might have to work on trying to extend them at some point.

We seem to have gone against the grain last night as we had a cracking night with just one feed at 11ish between 7:30 - 6.15!
I'd love another night like that but am expecting the 12 week growth spurt to hit soon, so am not holding my breath!

DS is sleep-feeding now and with any luck I can transfer him to DP's shoulder (which he loves), shower, pump the other boob, feed him again in a couple of hours and put him to bed. Then DP can do the first feed tomorrow morning with the bottle I'll pump. He took a bottle earlier today when I went to meet friends and was fine with it, although he can't go to sleep with the bottle - he needs boobage!

That's the plan anyway, and we know the ominous saying about the best-laid plans...

Since 5 weeks old I have been battling to get DS to sleep enough in the day. Just the last few days he's actually slept 3 times in the day without a battle. He'll do between 20 mins and an hour in my arms but will wake up instantly if put down. I'm just enjoying the snuggles for now and grateful I don't have to deal with over tiredness meltdowns!