Advice needed breastfeeding and sleeping through at 3 mths.

[tori32]

Does any one have a breastfed child who slept 7pm-7am from 3 mths? If you did then can you tell me how to achieve it? Thanks?

Tori - you had a rotten time in those early days, and quite bad information, too (who told you the GA would affect your baby in that way, for instance? more info here:
kellymom.com/health/meds/anesthetics.html )

Tiktik My information comes from knowing Operating Department Practitioners who specialise in anaestetics. There is one in every theatre team. I asked them. I also know several anaestetists. Also because I worked in post operative settings before this, we had to inform all patients that they were not insured to drive for 48 hours post op due to anaestetic effects.

Tiktok thank you for acknowledging I had a crap time. I have read the article you sent on anaestesia, however, I did not see a Dr to discuss the section before I went home from hospital, so did not see which drugs were used. I know it was a chemical induction because I was on the table and the epidural was not completely effective, so it
is possible that propovol was the induction agent. Isoflurane could also have been used?
Gas inductions are used when a baby is distressed as it is quicker, other sections where the baby is not distressed can be chemical. Mine was only urgent because she was stuck, not distressed at all though. So don't know which was used really.
The article is not specific in its term of affecting breastfeeding. i.e. it may be safe chemically and not interfere with hormones that stimulate lactation but still make a baby drowsey for a while. Interesting reading though.

compleatmother.com/epidurals is a site outlining the possible effects of epidurals on bf.

Yes - but I think it was a combination of luck (ds' nature), siamorphine whil ein labout and neonatal jaundice, so that he got into the habit of sleeping tohugh befor he should have done. In fact, as he was (extremely) slow to gain weight, for a while I was waking him up to feed him, until we established that all the xtra feeds, the extra night feeds, the extra EBM, were not actually changing his growth curve and that I should stop beating myslef up.

siamorphine = diamorphine whilst in labour, of course

Blimey tori that sounds horrendous

Was thinking about this last night and I did baby whisperer from quite early on (like 3 weeks or so) and my DS slept through at 11 weeks. Not every night but more often than not.

I would say that it was probably a little bit pointless doing it from so early because I don't think they really remember what's going on but if I have another then I would definitely do it from 6 weeks.

DD1 was 9lb 13oz at birth, after a difficult and very much (as far from a "natural" birth as a vaginal delivery could be) medically intervened vaginal birth, was fully/exclusively b/fed from minute 1.

She slept through the night from 11 weeks old. Completely. Not a single stir from her all night. Has slept through very well all her young life and is now 5 yrs old.

DD2 was 8lb 12oz. She was a much easier, low/no intervention birth (although I had PE and was an inpatient to be induced). She cried from minute 1.

A total struggle to b/feed. She first slept through the night regulalry at 10.5 mths.

You are searching in vain until you can find a way of determining child characteristics nad how to deal with them appropriately

Now, as for co-sleeping and not 'giving in' to babies 'demands' for attention in the night leading to 'bad habits' - that is utter bullsh*t. There have been a few studies that have found children that co-sleep etc develop into very well adjusted young toddlers through to young adults. No studies have found that this has made children more clingy or such-like.

It's a Victorian fallacy I am afraid. And as for controlled crying, it should discarded along with the Victorian idea of assylums, making babies sleep outside - whatever the weather, and sleeping on their stomachs.

But that's just my opinion.

tori - I could write a long post about this, but the fact remains you were poorly advised and poorly informed and poorly supported.

You are not correct about not being insured to drive for 48 hours after a general anaesthetic - this varies from policy to policy, and it is not a medical assessment, anyway.

Tori32, I've read some of your later postings now. To give you a better persepctive: ds was demand fed. he was also given a lot of EBM at an early age, to encourage weight gain/to give me confidence that he was indeed getting enough. It made no difference to his weight gain or his sleep patterns.

I did however continue expressing as it was useful for me, 'cos I was returning to work when ds was 4 motnhs and I wanted to build up supplies in the freezer. In particular, when ds dropped the late evening feed, I kept that as an "expressing" time.

Ds did cluster feed a bit in the evenings in the early days - I jsut went with the flow.

Tiktok Have just double checked my info regarding anaesthetics with my cousin who is a midwife and she has said up to 48hrs also. She has also pointed out that it is more than possible due to the length of labour that I had opiates/pethidine which also make the baby drowsey.

I'm sure the diamorphine contributed to ds being sleepy. it also meant he learnt how to pretend to feed, so that the "hassle" to keep him awake stopped.

Pethidine and diamorphine certainly do make babies drowsy after labour - sometimes for a couple of days or more. The body makes metabolites of the drug which keep the baby sleepy and affect feeding.

This is not the case with a GA.

Insurance policies do differ, and not being able to drive for however many hours is irrelevant to the condition of the baby.

Tori - you had a bad start. Your baby may well have been affected but not from the GA (you only mentioned the GA, not the pethidine)....I am not gonna argue you with you, as there is no point, as far as I can see, sorry.