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!

Oof Misty - it never rains but it pours! Have you got medicine to help with the thrush and mastitis?

Which CP are you going to pasta? We were at Sherwood relatively recently and were in a Villa quite near the village square which meant I could nick the free WiFi. Maybe that's an option?

We had a good night last night. Down by 8, dream feed at 10:30 and then up at 4. We were up for the day at 7am. We're due a shocker soon I think, just hope it isn't tonight because we've got a busy day tomorrow... We will see what tonight brings!

Longleat. MIL and FIL coming too. MIL can't wait to look after us all and luckily for her I can't wait to be looked after.

We've been before and DD is besides herself with excitement that we are going to the swimming pool in the forest again.

hope you get better soon misty! and writer im right here with you and my non sleeper x

Morning all - feed one. DS has jabs tomorrow so really hoping for a settled night. Been really struggling with his upped feeds/short sleep stints/5am waking this week and feel like the wheels are falling off!!

Then yesterday woke to a boob like a football full of lumpy concrete that didn't go down after feeds - cue cancelled lunch with friends, trip to doc and antibiotics for mastitis (misty - you aren't alone!)

Pasta - i took DS swimming for first time last week. So funny, he wasn't hugely impressed one way or another and had a strange look on his face as if to say 'well this is a big bath!' DH got lovely pics though, they look so so cute in their swimming gear! Enjoy your break, hope ILs give you some you time.

How you doing writer? Hope you still sleeping!!

Hope you're better soon too sing sing.

Well DD2 must have read my last message because she's woken up much earlier than normal tonight . I suspect it'll be a more than one wake up night. We will see. Yawn...

Enjoy Longleat and being looked after

Good morning all! Just thought I would join in as my little one is up and on the boob again and I could do with the company of some fellow night feeders. I have an 11 week old son who still likes to feed (ebf) every two - three hours, morning or night. Add to that the fact that he randomly decides whether he will be put down or not and my husband and I are both absolutely exhausted. I wish I knew the bloody secret as he had two nights of four hour sleeps followed by two nights of not wanting to be put down at all anyone have any experience of giving a bottle of expressed milk (as opposed to the boob) before bed or during the night, and did this aid sleep?

Hello all and welcome to midnight - I have never given a bottle of EBM although my DH has suggested it. I doubt it would help them sleep longer but he thinks it will at least give me a break.

My DS finally fell asleep at 10.30pm, so 2.5 hours after he started crying. I think he was just absolutely exhausted! I broke down in tears at one point and just left the room because I was so tired and felt like I just couldn't listen to him anymore. I know that sounds bad

He then slept for 4.5 hours and is up feeding now - he still seems shattered and doesn't seem to have enough energy to feed properly so keeps losing his latch and nipple feeding. He has also been sick twice because he's guzzling so fast.

I've already decided that I'm not getting out of bed tomorrow unless I need the loo!

I hope all the other babies are behaving

We seem to be back on hourly feeds here tonight!

Writer - that doesn't sound bad at all. Walking away just to steel yourself/ give yourself a bit of respite is absolutely the right thing to do sometimes. It's so hard just listening to them cry.

I had a nightmare with DD1 this afternoon. She's dropped her nap since DS arrived and is very over tired. Soldiered on to playgroup any way and she was "that" child - running around like a mad thing, pushing, snatching. Eventually we had to leave because she pushed another little one right over so I had to wrestle her into the pram with DS wailing then feed him on a bench outside! I was almost in tears at that point too. I should have left when I spotted the over tired warning signs but I was enjoying the cup of tea and company! Still you live and learn.

She's in nursery tomorrow (she goes twice a week) so I'm with you, Writer, on a day in bed! Looking forward to just snuggling DS all day.

Really sorry to hear people are suffering with mastitis. It's grim. Hope it passss quickly.

Things just seem to have gone backwards with DS over the last week and bedtime has become some thing to dread.

I remember the days where he used to fall asleep on me after his feed and then he'd go back in his MB - this never really happens anymore. And even on the small off chance that it does he is wide awake as soon as I put him down.

It then used to be that whilst awake in his MB he would settle nicely with his dummy but that doesn't happen anymore either, he just spits it out or refuses to take it and just starts crying and grizzling.

It's just such a battle to get him to sleep - day and night!

He is still awake now, almost 1.5 hours since he woke up for his feed. I'm just so tired and don't understand why he has changed so much.

No insightful answers here writer other than he's a baby and that's just what they do! Experience with #1 has told me that their habits change all the time and just when you think you've got them sussed, they decide to do something else instead - and unfortunately that sometimes means regressing. I know it's tough but just hang on in there because it will improve again, promise!

With regard to the settling, I know that you want to promote self settling but it sounds like you both need done sleep. I'd do whatever you need to for a few nights and if that means lots of rocking then so be it.

As predicted, we've had a two wake up night. She's just woken herself and me up doing a massive poo...and as I couldn't face getting up, I in turn woke DH up to change it! Just feeding now and hoping for another hour of sleep afterwards.

Unfortunately she's snuffling for Britain and seems to have caught her big sister's cold, so we might have a few long nights ahead of us!

Morning!

Misty, no wonder it's been so painful. Have you been given things to clear it up and any thoughts about what will you do about tongue-tie?

Hope you have a great time being looked after by MIL at CP pasta. Sounds lovely "swimming pool in the forest"!

Sing, oh no, not you too? Have they given you antibiotics? Your DS's first swimming experience sounds so sweet!

Hi midnight It can be the randomness which is exasperating! The not being out down bit is SO grrrr!! Wind or still hungry? I've not given a bottle but a friend gave one to her otherwise ebf at about 10pm and it worked for them. That was formula though.

Oh writer, no not bad. Quite sensible really. It is tough hearing your lo cry, not to mention frustrating and confusing. I like your plan to stay in bed all day! Is he about to have a growth spurt perhaps?

twentieth, DD also seems to have picked up her big siblings' cold. Poor mite. Much heavy breathing! The pattern over the last two nights (!) has been cluster feed all evening, DH distracts her for a bit whilst I get 30 mins kip to help more milk come in, then midnight feed. Then wake her at about 4 for another, although waking her is proving tricky. Currently milk-cruising skin-to-skin!

I wish rocking worked It just seems to make him scream more. It's like he's going through a phase of not wanting to be handled or fussed with.

He seems to have fallen asleep on me after over 2 hours of being miserable and as exhausted as I am I just can't put him down because I know he will just wake up and we're back at square one. Sitting up and being shattered in silence is definitely easier than being shattered and listening to him cry.

Poor DH has to be up in 1.5 hours for work

pepper - possibly a growth spurt. He just wouldn't stop feeding yesterday. He normally has a standard routine of 6 feeds a day but yesterday he had 10!

writer I have heard that they have another spurt at about 7 weeks. They are not predictable though are they? Will you manage to doze whilst he sleeps? It sounds as if you have a day free to catch up (your DS dependent) during the day....focus on that!

Hourly wakings all night again here at 15 weeks. She is feeding ravenously at each one so this is a humungous growth spurt. It's been 9 days now but the past 2 nights have been the worst. It has to improve soon!!

I was just about to put DD into her MB so I could grab some sleep before my DC come bounding in and she's woken up. "Seeing as we're both awake, how about some more food please Mummy?". Hoping she falls asleep again!

Oh dear guys, seems most folk on here are having a tough time of it!

Caramella - yikes! You must be shattered! Hopefully it will pass, hourly feeds is just crazy!

Writer - you sound exhausted... You are doing a great job though, you are so obviously very loving and attentive. What is feed routine at night? What do you do?

Any better misty? My antibiotics have kicked in and spent yesterday enduring his feeds (ouch!) but seems much better already. Glad I caught it relatively early.

Gosh caramella that sounds awful. Is she crying at each waking or just disturbing?

DH has taken DD to the shops for swim nappies, farm shop BBQ treats and M&S goodies for our little holiday. I'm supposed to be packing but I'm actually enjoying the sweet, sweet peace and a snuggle with DS whilst he fills his face

I was finally able to out DS down at 05.30am so at least I got another 2.5 hours sleep before he had me up again. I've just had to change him as his vest and babygro were both soaked with urine, not that I'm surprised seeing as how much he has been feeding!

singsong - when you ask is his nighttime feeding routine do you mean what times does he normally feed??

caramella - that sounds hard going, you'll wake up one morning and she'll be twice her size!!

pasta - I hope you have a lovely holiday.

writer what nappies are you using? I've switched to the Pampers Baby Dry at night (they're on offer in Asda at the moment - 208 nappies for £20!) and they're great. They say up to 12 hours of dryness and while I've not quite gone that long yet, they certainly seem to keep DD dry overnight.

They're an ASDA own brand. I did wonder if there were any nappies that a redesigned for overnight, they sound like great value!! My DH would love it as his role during the night is to change the nappy before I feed DS. I think nighttime feeding would be much more pleasant without the faffing around of changing nappies, I'd hope DS would remain quite sleepy and so settle better afterwards...

Morning all - got through another night... He went down at 8:30, I joined at 9:30. Fed at 12:30, 3, 5 and got up at 7.

Been trying to get him down for a nap since 8:15. Managed to get him to sleep in my arms for all of 15 minutes before I've given up. I'll try again in another hour and a half. I literally spend my days rocking and trying to settle him and then not daring to move a muscle when he does finally sleep on me.

Have you thought about trying one of those baby slings that people rave about? It means you can rock your baby (due to the motion of your movements) whilst your hands are free to do other things?

Morning all. Not been on here for a few days. Nights have been a bit better again - last week we were waking up 3/4/5 times a night and this week she's mainly slept through, one wake up last night. Don't think the fact it was so warm helped, I couldn't sleep well so can't really blame her.

Still feeling a bit down overall, should be full of energy and enthusiasm as I've had enough sleep but still just "meh" overall.

Hope the mastitis improves for those who are suffering and everyone else has a good day too xx

Morning all. Not too bad a night, considering. Down at 11ish after cluster feeding, then fed at 2 and 5 - doing it lying down luckily as she was on for over an hour each time! Co sleeping wasn't too bad as my SPD seems to be improving slightly.

singsong sorry to hear you've got it too; I've held off my antibiotics to see if I can clear it with massage and lots of feeding (ouch). If no better by this afternoon I'll take them though. I'm pretty sure it's due to milk stasis and kellymom was informative as always about what to try first. Feeling achey and bit rubbish though.

writer is your ds still pooing at night then? Dd managed all night in her nappy last night probably because I put it on, not dh then woke me up farting at 5.30! She seems to have stopped pooing at night already so I only change if she's wet through.

I was going to go back to bed after morning feed, but after she fed, puked and pooed I gave up! Currently asleep in carrycot but making stirring noises...