When do I get a pat on the back for my bf <tongue in cheek emoticon> and when does it become extended??

[TrinityRhinosDhWonHerAnIPOD]

Gecko is 11 months on the 7th and she is still up every 2 hours in the night feeding and we still feed at least 3 times a day.

She loves it and so do I. I would only hope for a little longer unbroken sleep

you meanie bum, you caught me on new years day

you get a medal at 12 months, and it becomes extended the first time someone looks visibly shocked when you feed her. luckily for me ds2 is tiny so no-one notices.

Ohhhh how do you do it? you deserve the biggest medal there is! although you've scared me, thought the every 2 hrs at night would stop at some point. how long do your feeds last?

she feeds very quickly at night and we co sleep so I fall asleep whilst she is feeding and dozing back off
I am beginning to lose what little memory I have though. Also I am prone to bursting into tears at anytime, can't find things and have trouble not being shouty.

But then thats what sleep deprivation does to me

Its not too bad as we fall asleep during the ffed but just getting woken up every two hours interrupts the proper regenarative sleep and is killing me
I have no idea what to do though

I wont get funny looks for a while as she is tiny

Pat on the back here for you!

I think it becomes "extended" when you keep getting "jokes" made like "you'll still be bfing when he's 16 ha ha ha ha like that Little Britain sketch you know bitty ha ha that's so funny bitty the man is still bfing when he is old ha ha ha it's hilarious you have to see it ReverseThePolarity really you'd laugh it's so so so funny ha ha ha ha".

(Ds is not even nine months yet )

Pat on the back.

As I said beofre,i would at this stage start leaving her for a while if you know she has had enough to eat.

I'm not sure she has had enough to eat though
She does take a full feed
I can still feel my letdown very strongly and it whooshes fast and she takes it all

Sorry but you are a rank amateur (DD is 14 months I'm pregnant and still breastfeeding - the HV nearly fainted when I told her hahahahahh!

Oh go on then small pat, your 'freakoid' badge will no doubt be posted to you shortly along with flashing warning sign for the red book

roffle @ flashing warning sign for my red book

power to you whomoved....not that is something that deserves a pat

There is only one nice hv in my area
she is lovely and understands where I am coming from

the others avoid me since I pointed out that the 'weaning talk' they were giving was going against the WHO guidelines

obviously that should say now that is something that deserves a pat

Pat from another freak here (my freak status was remarked upon by most of my family over xmas as I BFed 13-month-old DD).

Hope you get more unbroken sleep soon.

I actually moved practices and my new HV is wonderful - the old one though was of the 'puree at 17 weeks exactly' and 'top ups are good if mum is tired' variety. I got into lots of trouble for heckling a post natal group where she was espousing complete rubbish about babies having 'windows for food' that if you missed they'd never eat

BTW she will start going longer during the night soon I'm sure. DD when she's not teething only wakes at 4am and 6am for milk these days. I'm hoping she'll quit doing that when she gets to 18 months and her melatonin centres really kick in.

what a melatonin centre?

I also got funny looks when told that about the 'window of opportunity to wean' because I snorted out loud....

Couldn't help it, what complete rubbish

Every 2 hours at night stopped for me at about 13 months. Big pat on the back from me

hijack - tell me more about melatonin centres? ds2 is 17 months and wakes a few times a night, but seems to be getting better.

Still bf too btw, and my HV doesn't know

Trin, you need to ask, all wide eyes and innocent

'And how long does your window of opportunity for talking complete and utter shit remain open?'

roffle moondog

Big pat on the back from me too

I stopped breastfeeding dd at 22 months, but called a halt to night feeds altogether at 8 months despite co-sleeping. A bit of a weird mixture I know but I didn't think she needed the night feeds (she has always been HUGE) and I was getting very tired. She would still wake up but made do with a cuddle before going back to sleep, which was quite nice and a bit easier on the short term memory and bursting into tears front.

Carried on with the bedtime feed for ages and ages, till I decided it had stopped being lovely and snuggly and was becoming a pain!

Okay, melatonin centres - basically melatonin is the sleepy hormone produced by the brain. Babies are crap at producing it - because they have been in the womb for nine months in murky light etc. When they are born they start (eventually) to learn darkness is the time to sleep - their circadian rhythms kick in about six - nine months and they start to sleep a bit more at night than in the day.

However because their hormones are not properly worked out till they are eighteen months old or so, they don't actually secrete melatonin in large enough quantities - or reliably enough for some of the little buggers darlings to sleep through the night.

Then once they really get into it, they go into this different type of sleep so that your average four to eight year old can have a brass band playing once they are asleep and they will still stay asleep.

Apparently. That's the theory anyway. The reality? Ask me in a few months.

ooh thanks

So how do you know if it's lack of melatonin or just bad habits? 17mth bf and i swear she's feeding more than when she was 7mths! Nightimes a bit better but if she comes in she perma suckles! Maybe it's because she asks so nicely - boobie please mummy. How can you resist?

My 17 mth old is still going strong (he gets a cup of water at night though) Mean mummy that I am. He never asks for a breast feed though

numpty - in general habit waking will be at the same time each night, regardless of when your child went to sleep.