7mth BF DD having 3 feeds a night - what can I do?

[fleacircus]

I've tried settling her without feeding her but she's definitely hungry. I was back at work for nearly three weeks in July and she refused EBM from bottle, was making up after I got home and when I could get home during the day.

She's enjoying solids, she eats three meals happily, pretty much normal homecooked food but mashed or whizzed with some finger foods thrown in. I also BF on demand, but she seems to be taking significantly less milk during the day.

I have to go back to work in three weeks, I'm a teacher in the kind of school where the kids smell weakness a mile off and will chew me up and spit me out on a daily basis if I'm this tired. What can I possibly do? I'm desperate enough to be contemplating an evening top-up of formula (I BF through 3mths of undetected tongue-tie, cracked nipples, thrush, and five, yes, count them, five bouts of mastitis so this is not a decision I take lightly!), except she wont take a bottle so that probably wont work. What can I possibly do?

I have the same thing too. I thought night weaning mught be the answer and started a thread on it, but the answers there also seem to be co-sleeping. It's interesting that onwardsandupwards is expecting a baby of that age to be feeding in the night. Everything I read tells me they should be able to go through the night but this makes me feel worse, rather than giving me hope. I'm off to find the teething thread. We've had two teeth and if we don't have another one soon I'll gnaw my own hand off.

Sorry - where's the teething thread?

BTW - you might find this thread interesting. People are trying different things. It's not all about co-sleeping. In fact the OP has moved her DC into own room!

teething thread here.

DS woke 11.30, 2, 2.30, and woke for the morning at 5.30 but he's just got another tooth through - his top front gums are red raw.

Night waking for DS has also got worse since he worked out how to roll from his front (he's a tummy sleeper) to his back, and he doesn't go to sleep easily on his back, so sometimes I just flip him over and he goes back to sleep.

hiya fleacircus

confession - I chickened out and didn't go back before summer

couldn't do it, I'm such a wimp. don't know whether that has made going back now worse or better! I'm 5 days but really hoping to apply for 3 or 4 by the end of this year if I can squirrel away enough cash!

How is your LO doing? My dd sleep is horrific atm and I just can't imagine how tired I'll be next week, which makes being emotional so much worse!

She seems to have a top tooth coming through so i hope when it's in things might be better. still co-sleeping, and while i'm knackered, waking briefly 3, 4, 5, 6, 7....etc times a night is still better than waking up completely that many times!

To be honest I wish I hadn't, DD was just past 6mths and it felt too soon. Two other women on the staff returned from Mat Leave at about the same time, and both their babies were nearly a year old. I hated every second of it (it didn't help that lots of changes had been made during my leave so the situation I went back to was far from ideal). Can't change the past now though! At least it was practice for September, I suppose.

hi, i'm pleased to see that i'm not the only one who's 8 mo wakes alot at night. In RL everyone treats me as if i'm a rubbish mother for 'letting him' wake so much [hmm[
and the undercurrent is of course that if he was on a bottle he would sleep all night!

ds has never been a good sleeper, but it is geting rather tedious now isn't it. i have been back at work 4 weeks and some mornings are a struggle, but then sometimes it is easier than a day at home (also have ds1, 2.5years)

he did have period of waking 'only' twice but now it is 3-4 times. if it carries on i will go back to co-sleeping but dh isn't keen, and his cousin staying for a few weeks in spare room. we co-slept from birth to 5 months as for a while he woke every hour for a feed.

i am trying to simplify life, lower yet more my standards around the house and tell myself it isn't for ever, but fear i am not enjoying the days off and time i do have with them as i am in a sleep deprived fog.

oh well, hope tonight better!

Flea circus you have my baby! DD slept like an angel from about 6-16 weeks then started waking up again to feed.

She got worse about 9 months and in the end we resorted to a dummy when she woke about 4 ish. This usually did the trick.

If I were in your situation I'd probably co-sleep, or at least partly co-sleep ie from when your DD wakes until morning, then you can feed her easily in your bed (lying down) with minor disruption and no need to get up and go to her and then settle her afterwards.
IME of two breastfed DSs it is easier to do this and get enough sleep than try and settle them and get them back to sleep without feeding, esp at this age when lots of (b-fed) babies still wake at night a fair bit.
As another poster says, at this age it would be pretty much impossible for you to roll onto your DD, she would wake and give you a kick/scream.