Describe your night feeds to me please.

[HeadFairy]

I don't mean the actual feed, more like what you do. Do you turn on all the lights or tip toe around in the dark? Do you get up at all? Where do you feed? Do you eat/drink anything?

DD is still doing 2 night feeds and I usually get up for the first one. I used to tip toe around in the dark, but a) I'm terrified of falling down the stairs - I've done that once while pg and I'm still suffering and b) I'm a big old scardy cat and don't like the dark.

I usually sit in the living room and watch a bit of telly because otherwise the overwhelming urge to fall asleep is a killer and I end up pulling dd off the boob too early.

I used to have little midnight feasts, cups of tea and toast and peanut butter, but now I'm a fatty I'm trying to lose weight so nore more snacking.

I usually change dd's nappy too because she wriggles so much in the night it's usually halfway down her bum and leaking like the Titanic in the morning if I don't.

My friend was amazed I actually get up to do the feed, what do you do?

DD is 13mo now so no longer feeding at night, but when she was I would go into her room, put the light on low and feed her, sometimes read but if v tired just sit there in my comfy mummy armchair. I drank gallons of water to start with but that slowed down. Then when she finished I would wait till she was asleep then put her back in bed then go back to bed myself. No nappy changes unless there was poo.

Fell asleep once or twice, felt supremely guilty but no harm done thank God!

I don't anymore. But I used to have nightlights on regardless. Ikea do some little alien ones which have very soft glows in blue. I think I probably did them all with my eyes shut too pretending to myself I was not awake and was not going to be awake again within a few more hours.

Also nappies - get better nappies, they should last the night. Are yours too big by chance?

god no, i don't get up!

when baby wakes i bring him into bed with me and feed him
usually i fall asleep and then wake up when he wants his next feed
but if i don't thne i just pop him back in the cot once he is done and go back to sleep

depends. if its before the early hours i turn the light on in the hall and have the door open so i can just about see. get dd up but leave her in her sleeping bag and read while im feeding her. i have a chick lit type book on the go that i keep in there next to her cot - just enough to keep me awake but not too heavy. she feeds and i try to pop her back down before she falls asleep.

if its early hours she comes straight into bed with me. - thoughti was making a rod for my back by doing this but she has started sleeping through the night just like that at about 7 months

DD1 sleeps in her bedside cot til the first night feed, then we feed in bed, and she cuddles down beside me til morning. Keep a low night light on all night, then neither of you wake up too much when it;s time for the feed.

I did wonder that wmmc... but I've tried the sizes either side. She's just such a wriggler that it slips down, no matter how I fasten it.

Blimey, I didn't realise I was the only one who got up. I did wonder when my friend looked at me as though I was mad. I don't ever fall asleep feeding her on the sofa, but if I stay in bed and feed her my head is nodding within minutes and I just want her to hurry up. That said I've got a really nasty chest infection at the moment and I've been feeding her in bed lying down, and I do fall asleep while she's feeding. It has meant I've got a bit more sleep, though I'm not convinced she's feeding terribly well. She's falling asleep too.

During the night, I go downstairs as DS is in our room and feeding him there disturbs DH (who has to get up at 4:30 to go to work - ouch). Sometimes I watch telly, but usually I go on the computer - MN or iplayer. I keep the lights low and the volume down to keep DS in sleepy mode.

to have dd/ds in bed with you do what I do

keep dh in his own room and only visit him for sex

(this started due to shift patterns clashing at work years ago and now I refuse to 'sleep' with him)

Have dd's cot by the bed when she wakes for night feed I just scoop her next to me snuggle up and feed - I keep a light throw on the duvet and simply put that over us - and her v shaped breast feeding pillow at the bottom of her feet to ensure she can't slip under the covers then I snooze away - as i have the bed to myself (unless ds comes in poorly) and she needs another feed I simply scoot her and the pillow to the other side. This sounds complicated, reading it back, but it all happens on autopilot.

When ds was young I used to go downstairs to avoid disturbing dh - this ceased when
a) I used to doze off and scare myself
and
b)I ended up watching waaay to much of big brother.

Headfairy - I get up too! You are not alone. I don't like feeding in bed - it gives me backache; I prefer sitting in a chair and doing something (reading, telly) at the same time.

Quite like honeydragon's idea of keeping DH in his own room though...

I keep a laptop (netbook) in my bed so that I can MN/internet shop sitting in bed whilst DD is feeding. If she wakes after 4am then I bring her in to bed & lie down to feed her (in a desperate attempt to get a couple more hours sleep in before DS wakes up!) I don't feed her lying down all the time at night as I find it gives me a bad/stiff back.

Like HoneyDragon my DH is generally kept in another room - his choice more than mine in the early days as he doesn't function on disturbed sleep, but I rather like it now It makes the times we do sleep together more of a novelty!

My DS is young (9 weeks) so still in his co-sleeper cot right next to me, an arm's length away. I feed him lying down mostly, and scoot him back over to his cot when he's done. No nappy change unless there's poo and only a night light plugged into a socket so quite dim. I do read though, via my iphone (the Guardian app) but mostly I just try to stay relaxed and sleepy (too much reading and I wake up too much!). Have been known to also check MN in the wee hours of the morning...

I'm not looking forward to when he's in his own room as having to get out of bed will be a hassle!

DH lies next to me, snoring away and (usually) gets a full 8 hours uninterrupted.

I feel very silly asking this but how do you know if there is poo? I use cloth nappies and the only time I've ever smelt poo is when DD's been in a disposable (she's 12weeks)

I feed her an express bottle at night, in a dark room with a lamp on. Mainly so it is a quick dreamy feed and I can quickly put her back in the cot without having to get her back to sleep, or without myself falling asleep. DD tends to feed on the breast for about an hour so this works better for me at night. I have found this an excellent plan. It also means I can give her a good "large" feed and she will sleep through from this midnight dream feed til about 7 in the morning.

I used to have him/them in the bedside cot and when they needed feeding just un flap a braside and then grab,drag and plug - at least thats what himself called it.
I tended to find they had what they wanted and went back to sleep while I dozed. When finisehed they were unplugged,rolled and patted.They seemed to cope and so did I, it got to the stage where I could almost do it asleep.Gave up doing it when I found boyo was helping himself as he wanted - not a way to be woken up at 3 in the morning as he had a suck like an industrial vaccumn pump.

When I did it it with the eldest it wasn't liked by the HV to co-sleep but it worked for me.

When Ds was in our room I would just open the door to let in light from the landing (always on as I'm a scaredy cat too - you're not alone op!), and sit in the edge of the bed to feed.

When he moved to his own room I used to go in an turn the light on low(dimmer switch) and feed him in his cot. Only did this for 2 weeks though as he was sleeping through by 8 weeks

If his nappy appeared full/he's pooed I'd change him, but generally there was no need as we changed him after his 10.30 feed anyway.

Oh, and I always took the bottle of water and milk powder up with me, so I could mix the feed in our room.

I bring DS into bed with me on waking and feed sitting up. Usually I fb/Twitter or read Guardian on iPhone. Afterwards He sleeps with me and if there are any subsequent feeds, we do those lying down. DH snores through it all and then gets up with DS when he wakes around half-six.

When DS was in with me I'd just scoop him in to bed and feed there. In the early days when it was taking an hour or so, I'd read a chick lit kind of book (re-read quite a lot of Jilly Cooper!). Only ever had a very dim light on - used a camping head torch to read!

Now he's in his own room I stagger through there in the dark - sometimes put on a very dim nightlight while I'm in there. At the moment he's waking quite a lot and feeding for longer again, so have got a book on the go again.

Am too lazy to go downstairs and mess around with the TV - and it gets cold!

Anything after 6am he gets brought in to bed with me again though.

DS cries, I stumble to cot - take him into bed, feed him, snoozing myself, rewrap him cause he enjoys the swaddle thing and put him back in cot. At no point am I actually awake - if I detect a poo, then I take him to the change table but have the dimmers on minimum.

Baby DD's room is the former spare room and still has spare bed in it, so I sleep in there next to her in her crib atm, so DP can at least get a good sleep. I sit up in bed to feed, but I set a timer on my phone for 15 mins, so it will go off and wake me up if I've fallen asleep. I also often amuse myself/stay awake my using the phone (iphone) to read the news or check emails. I have a big glass of water by the bed too. Usually there's no need to change her but if I do I feed, change then feed a bit more to get her sleepy again.

I have fallen asleep once while feeding, but my head clonked down sideways and hit the wooden bedstead, so that woke me up immediately - however I like having my phone timer system just in case.

I also hesitate to go downstairs in the night for a snack as I'm too scared

DS2 is 10 weeks old, wakes at 9pm, 12am, 3am and 6am (roughly). He is in his hammock thing next to my bed. When he wakes, I get up and feed him sat upright in my bed (I sit in the middle of the bed, just in case). We do sometimes fall asleep, but I do try to stay awake.

He falls asleep after 10 or 15 minutes, I go and change him in his room (he always poos with every feed - cannot wait for his poos to get less frequent!) and then bring him back into bed for the other side. He falls asleep on me and then I put him back in his hammock. If I am really shattered / having a bad night, I'll lie down with him next to me to feed him.

I have landing light on all night (we have a bit of glass above our bedroom door, so room is dimly lit).

I thank my lucky stars he falls asleep during feeding and I can pop him back in hammock without any pacing of the floors. He does stir and wake, but goes straight back to sleep.

I have two glasses of water next to my bed, as I get really thirsty in the night at the moment.

I go into DS's room, even though he is in our room, to feed him in the rocking chair with the light on very low and I surf on my iphone or read a book which I keep in there. I don't like feeding in bed or cosleeping. From 5am I have his crib next to me and plug dummy in as much as possible before giving in and feeding him. It's the only time he's not demand fed as I demand a bit more rest and can't feed lying down.

DS2 (8weeks) in own room due to pig squealing noises...

I stumble in and feed him sitting on the chair, no lights on, just a lamp on the landing, no talking and definitly no nappy changes unless poos!

Fortunately he only feeds for 10-15mins, sometimes less. Unfortunately this is every 2 hours or less from 1am onwards!!!

I was going to ask about the nappy changes, I feel really bad if I don't change DS's bum every feed, even when there is no poo, maybe I won't change with every feed now.........I get up cause DS is in a carry cot at the end of my bed, but have a dim nightlight on so I can see, the whole process only takes about 20 minutes, I also try to put DS in the carry cot when he is still awake so he can settle himself back to sleep, which he does now qutie nicely