breastfeedign experts/advocates/tiktok anyone else?

[mama2leahAndAaisha]

abit of background, dd2 was born with low birth weight 5lbs15 on her 8 week checked weighted 9lbs5...from 6 weeks onwards she has become an extreme night feeder...average she wakes up from 12, every hour...example last night she woke up at
12.15
1.15 (moved into our bed)
2.40
3.40
5.40
6.50
8 ( and now is still sleeping)
can she actually be that hungry? she does feed..even in the daytime her feeds last 10 mins max, and feeds every 2-3 hours, i have tried increasing feed time doesn't help.
she also suffered from reflux but has died down alot.
i have been told to try co-sleeping, been there done that...and i am now getting told to give her formula or introduce food, neither of which i want to do.
she is 15 weeks old.
i cant sleep in the day time as dd1 is only 15months old.

i am very exhausted, im sure people are sick to death of me posting.
last time i went to sleep at 10pm and left dd2 with dh, i managed to sleep until midnight, us surely i cant keep on like this, can i?

thank you

no advice really but feel for you. The first few months are so hard, esecially with a demanding toddler.

Don't think solids is the problem, especially as she was so tiny. My DS2 fed all evening from about 6 til midnight until around 4 months. Was exhausting but at least wasn't the middle of the night!

Hope somebody will be along in a minute with more advice.

you poor thing
bumping

hi, im going through the same, ds now 20weeks on monday. also have a toddler who is 2 1/2. have spent most of the morning in tears as so tired, ive also been told to introduce formula, more so i can at least get some help, but will make me feel like such a failure. he also has reflux too! just want you to know you arent alone, but unfortunately have no advise to give x

thank you everyone...i am so exhausted i can feel the tiredness in my bones. i really want to keep feeding her, i did dd1 until i went to gave birth,and she self weaned...

dh is very supportive, and spoils me, bring little gifts home, helps out around the house, is a clean freak but if the house is upside he says nothing and just cleans it himself.

i just want to sleep 3 hours straight, it would be so nice.

oh please tell me im right not to sleep train dd2, or leave her to cry. apart from dd1 waking up its just wrong to me, she is so little.

at least im not alone...

(hugs)

Not to put a damper on anoythiing but the baby i am currently caring for has a formula feed at 2300 and it doesn't make her sleep longer even tho it is the biggest volume she recieves all day - having EBM due to infection & cracked nipples - she often wakes earlier after it to eat again.

teething is a possibility at this age. also, is she napping well (whatever that means) during the day?

my solution would be to go to bed before ten i am afraid. it won't last. but different strokes for different folks.

Could reflux still be an issue? Sometimes babies wake often to feed as it eases the pain? Could try raising one end of the cot/using a wedge. Using a wedge seemed to help a bit with my ds.

Maybe you could try breast compression to keep her interested for longer?

Although it is very very hard know that it won't last forever. She might just start spacing feeds out next week, you know how these babies are!!

i do raise her cot mattress with a towel...i don't know what to do? today i was crying to dh in the morning i can't keep going like this, aside from the weight lost being great, i feel so weak and everything aches..i am unable to function without decent rest.

ive decided im gonna try to space out her feeds at time, so try rocking her, n just feed every 2 hours.see how that works out.
i have to do something, or il just give up...

Oh I really feel for you and completely understand. I had this too at about 4 months and you just feel wrecked.
This WON'T last though - hold on to that fact.

I got so tearful and was feeling so crazy that we started on a Gina Ford routine... and although I know a lot of people don't like her.. it worked an absolute treat.
I'd say that it took about 2 weeks until she was sleeping when we needed her too and she wasn't able to just go into her cot and fall asleep (I lay her on a pillow on my lap while sitting in the rocking chair until she was drowsy enough for me to put her down) but slowly and surely she started sleeping for longer stints at night and now at 6 months she goes down at 7, gets woken up at 10.30 for a drink and nappy change and then sleeps until about 6am, if I'm lucky then 7.
And contrary to popular belief she doesn't advocate leaving a baby to cry, which I wouldn't have been able to do. (okay for a couple of minutes as she expends some energy but no longer)

Have you tried having a chat with the Health Visitor? They might have some ideas.

Whatever you decide to do though GOOD LUCK. Do let us know how you get on.

hiya guys...

still going..still feeding loads

im still exhausted
hv said control crying

Controlled crying at, what, 17 weeks??

yup.... stupid advice.

not going to do it... il just carry on.

have you got the no cry sleep solution book? (it is by Elizabeth Pantley)

it has lots of good, sane, gentle advice in for getting a baby to settle and sleep better at night

They do have a ridiculous growth spurt at 16 weeks so she may be having the knock on effects

also, reflux can really disrupt a baby's sleep as they tend to comfort feed

I'm wincing at the memory of those sleepless nights [sympathy]. Which is no help whatsoever.

Um... is she sleeping enough in the day? I had to carry DD in a sling to ensure she slept enough rather than assume she was waking/crying through hunger (she'd feed and then drop off). Maybe this will get her to take a decent feed.

second the sling

DD sleeps well in hers and if your DD has reflux being upright will definitely help her to settle better

good sleep, begets more sleep IME

dd2 naps well during the day 3-4 45mins naps, or 1-2 long naps...the night time which is the problem..she is also swaddled and is now unswaddling herself, which doesn't help when she wakes up.

im not sure how long she feeds for, im half asleep...not long, but daytime she feeds for about 10misn a swell.

im not sure what my next move should be?
i really really want to bf her, but i never found dd1 this hard...

it will soon past...

Omg she said controlled crying at 17 wks!! Thats horrible advice poor you it is really hard functioning when your feeling so exhausted but it will get better... I was told to give some baby rice to my Ds1 at 16wks to try to fill him up a little to sleep better, didnt work &like yours he still nibbled all night, it was very hard Have you tried letting dh walk & rock her back to sleep once at least during the night, it could give you a chance to get a longer stretch of sleep & she will be more likely to settle easier for him, prob not the 1st time as she will demand you but will accept it much quicker after a few times... Alot of babies do still need milk during the night i stopped with Ds1 at 6 months but after two months refusing him all night & neither of ur sleeping my public health nurse told me to start giving him milk at night again then to gradually introduce a bottle of water instead untill he was 13 months i stopped the water & he finally slept through... Stay strong its not easy

Have you tried using a dummy? Maybe you can encourage her back to sleep without feeding some of those times she wakes, and start to break the "habit" without the need to let her cry - I agree, she is too young to be left to cry poor thing.

thank you guys..going to try do that

Hi, first ever post, so here goes .... Slightly long preamble but stick with it!

Have 12 wk ds1, who just loved to feed loads at night -deep joy!! He would feed for about 10 mins at most, fall completely asleep, then wake up 1 hr later all hungry. I read in the baby whisperer book that the first milk made the baby sleepy (have no idea if this is true and I didn't / couldn't manage that routine stuff - really didn't like that book) but read somewhere else that if hungry again within 1 hour then they could just be getting the first milk, not more nourishing, filling stuff. The suggestion was if hungry in an hours time to do 2 feeds in a row from the same side, so hopefully got the good stuff to keep him fuller for longer, took about a week but has def made an improvement in his night time feeds.

He still cluster feeds, and still feeds a lot - but last night we had 4 hrs followed by 2.5 hours. Bonus!

thank you mbear, i will try that...

sleepy vibes to your ds and my dds

Right back atch ya Mama

i tried that...well she woke up at 2.30, then at 3.30 but i just unswaddled her and got to to fall asleep without feeding took about an hour... wooohooo then at 5 feed her, then at 7 feed her and she just woke up.

could the light at the end of the tunnel be in sight?