Please tell me this will get better

[weblette]

Really struggling with lack of sleep. Ds3 is coming up to 4 months and is exclusively bf. He's never slept through, the best he's done is a six hour stretch a couple of times. For the last few nights he's managed four hours, then every two. He does sleep during the day but with school runs to do, there's a lot of time when he's in a car seat or being transported somewhere which is when he kips.

It's really starting to get to me - with three others to look after I've got to be more awake than this. My health's also going downhill too.

He feeds well, is growing well, is cutting a couple of teeth but is otherwise happy.

The last thing I want to do is start introducing formula or solids. Has anyone any suggestions on how the heck I get through this?

It's a difficult time.

Are you cosleeping? I found that helped.

Do you have a bf-friendly sling, so you can bf while wrangling the other kids?

sorry tbh I dont have any solutions for you but really feel for you and wanted to bump this til someone more knowledgeable comes along. Hope it gets better for you soon!

Hiya

DD is 5 months and also doesn't sleep through the night yet, so i do sympathise! Perhaps it will get better with weaning when he's 6 months?

I am lucky in that DD normally goes to bed at around 7.30/8pm and wakes up about 2am, then at about 6am. However, the last two nights she has actually slept through!!! It comes at a price tho - she's gone from being exclusively BF to now being mostly on formula with only one or two BF a day.

Hope you get some rest soon tho. It's a nightmare isn't it.

It's hard work anyway and with three other children too! Respect!

I never expected a breastfed baby to go through the night until 12 mths tbh. Just kept them near, fed quickly and we all went back to sleep.

Thanks for your replies!

We do co-sleep, have done with all of them

The others didn't properly settle until a year but certainly didn't wake/feed as much as this one does.

He's demand fed so would introducing a bit more structure help?

get to bed as early as you can, feed quickly and try to get back to sleep! No other help really, i would have thought that is fairly normal at this stage - keep hanging to the fact that it will get better and it is only a few weeks really until you could think about weaning, which may help psychologically (actually they get more calories from milk than any food but it made me feel like both mine were having more so would sleep better!) Do you do a dream feed at all, ie lifting when you go to bed and feeding without waking? we did until just after 6 months and it meant that you would hopefully get the longest period of sleep for baby and you at same time. Feel like teaching a granny to suck eggs as you have other kids but is there any remote chance you can get a neighbour or friend to take him so you can get a power nap during day, you must be exhausted!

I have coslept with ds2 (7.5mo) since 2 or 3 months and it really has helped. From day to day I don't even feel particularly sleep-deprived. I think he does wake constantly, every couple of hours, but half the time I don't notice it. And I've really found what Dr Sears says about bf cosleeping mothers' responsiveness in the night to be true.

I know it's grim to sleep whenever they sleep and have no time to be just up and alone and yourself, but you might have to do it for a bit - have that four-hour stretch with him, just until your 'sleep account' is less overdrawn.

Sling also essential.

And finally - many sympathies and well done on getting this far and still able to type coherently! I'm not sure I would be, in your shoes

I'm not sure structure helps - if you can fit in some planned cluster feeding (evenings?) that might help? Does he cluster feed?

Weird that this one is feeding more - is he bigger than your previous ones? You're likely to have loads of supply, assuming you bf the other ones, too ...

ooooops, cross-posted. Why do you think the cosleeping is not working for you in terms of helping with your sleep deficit?

What hasn't helped this time is the level of stress I've been under - that's about the only difference between this one and the rest. Major house renovations, rentals and a difficult new job for dh don't exactly keep the blood pressure down.

Right, he's asleep and the rest are out so off to bed I go!

Might help to try other methods at night than bf, especially try not feeding him after 10pm till about 4pm. I rocked my babies alittle as they were lying them, gave them movement to fall back to sleep with. Eitehr in a crib with wheels or a hand on them, lightly rocking. What size baby is he?

you are a supermum. i have got 1 3m ds and i don't believe its possible to have more than one child to see to, it seems impossible. All i can say is get a load of vit c in your diet. I was feeling totally run down from lack of sleep, I ate a mango and my usually bad skin, SHONE the next day. (but not tomatoes or orange cos it might make baby fussy/unsettled)