Nights getting wors

7 replies

MummyPig24 · 03/08/2014 19:20

Ds2 is 21 weeks old and EBF. I love bf him and don't want to stop. He feeds evey 2-3 hours during the day and feeds for as long as he wants to. His last feed is around 6.30, both sides offered.

He started to sleep through at 11 weeks, it lasted till 14 weeks and since then it's been getting worse. The 4 month regression was awful, he improved to waking once and it's worse than ever now. He now wakes at 10, 1 and 4 or thereabouts. I've tried settling him with the dummy but that only puts him back to sleep for an hour or so, so I actually end up waking up more if I don't feed him.

He's not a big baby, he is happy and developing well but I'm so tired. I have two other children to look after and they are early risers. I also have no help apart from my husband who is at work.

I know this sounds like a moan, and I guess it is in part, but what I'm asking is, will this pass? Is there anything I can do to help him? Even to only wake once would be great.

OP posts:

Fruitsaladmum · 03/08/2014 19:42

Can you get yourself to bed earlier (ie at the same time as your 21 weeks old?).
Maybe hubby could put the older kids to bed then you can deal with all the morning stuff?
Does baby sleep in your room? It is a lot easier to deal with night wakings if you just lift feed and put back.

I always found the dummy not very helpful for night sleep as as soon as the realise it is out they wake back up again (if using the dummy for sleep found the 'pantly pull out' method the best).

Good luck. It will pass eventually.

hollie84 · 03/08/2014 19:45

I have a 22 week old DS2 who is similar. Last feed at 7pm, wakes at around 11pm and has a bottle, and then again around 3am. I tend to just bring him into my bed at 3 and feed lying down, and if I wake again an hour or two later I transfer him back into his cot til morning.

DS1 was similar. I think at this age it is reasonable to do 4 hourly feeds at night and get your partner to settle them without milk until they get used to going 4 hours. Once DS1 was on solids I pushed the 3am feed back til 5am, so he was sleeping from a dream feed at 11 until 5am, and then coming into bed with me til morning.

feekerry · 03/08/2014 19:50

does he go down easily once you have fed him at those times???
i honestly think 10 , 1 and 4 is pretty good going. maybe i have low expectations?!
ds is 25 weeks and wakes hourly pretty much. sometimes feeding sometimes not. i use a dummy now which has helped.
dd woke more than 3 times at that age too. maybe if/when he moves in on his own it may improve a bit? i co sleep now as i can't survive otherwise!

feekerry · 03/08/2014 19:50

Original poster

MummyPig24 · 03/08/2014 20:11

Thank you everyone for replying.

He is in our room, we only have two bedrooms so he will be in with us until we can move house. He is in a crib which is not helping as he rolls over and gets stuck so will be transferring to big cot tomorrow.

He feeds for around 10 minutes and then goes straight back down. I usually do the 4/5am feed lying down in bed and he co sleeps from then.

He will suck his thumb during the day but when it comes to going down for sleep he forgets how and gets really upset and I was so sick of feeding, feeding, feeding to sleep that we tried to dummy last week and he took it. So I'm pleased we have broken the feed to sleep habit, I am aware we have created a new one but I just badly needed a break.

I usually go to bed around 9, and then I am woken by ds to feed shortly after. Even from very small he would go past midnight from the last feed. It feels like we are going backwards all the time.

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feekerry · 04/08/2014 18:16

all sounds very familiar! we to have 2 bedrooms and have dc1 so loathed to put ds in with her as she sleeps well so not fair on her. so ds in with us till we can extend. def think cot space has a lot to do with it as ds sleeps all spread out in our bed ( leaving no room for us!) so he is quite restricted in his crib.
dc1 is staying at gp at weekend so i can try ds on his own in the bedroom in the big cot and go from there. i too introduced dummy recently and feel the same as you but it has allowed me some freedom!!x

Original poster

MummyPig24 · 06/08/2014 06:22

So we put up the travel cot and ds2 spent last night in there, going to bed around 7 and waking at 12, 3 and 6. Not bad at all. I didn't even bother trying to settle with the dummy I just fed him. It's still a bummer that he used to go 7-3 or so and has slept through quite a few times but I don't know what I can do to help that happen again.

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