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Fighting sleep/feeding

2 replies

MamaMeggie · 25/02/2024 21:23

Hi, it’s a long one.
Our little girl is just gone 3 months and is fighting sleep in the evening and causing a fuss. We’ve never encountered her act like this, and it’s our first so don’t have anything to work off.
Once she’s asleep it’s not a problem, it’s the getting to sleep that’s become an issue, in the last 2-3 days.
In the morning she wakes up happy as anything, all smiles like usual and is cheery for a good part of the day, but by the evening she starts to kick up a fuss about any naps and bedtime. We thought she might be teething as a little more dribble lately but such a minimal amount and seems too early? She has also been grabbing things and putting them in her mouth, though I’ve had a look and no visible sign of anything popping through.
Other than that, others have said the 3/4 month regression, but as I say it’s not the staying asleep it’s the getting to sleep.
I offer the breast as an option and she’ll take it, but only feed for so long and then just come off and scream, then put herself back on, then come off and scream again, on repeat. I don’t feel she’s hungry and just wants the breast for soothing.
she won’t take a dummy so that’s out of the options and though she does suck her thumb to self soothe, she does the same with her thumb as she does with the breast when being fussy like this. She eventually settles down through I presume complete exhaustion and then she goes into her cot. It’s not constant screaming and crying, it’s just cries out and squawks. You can’t lay her down when she’s fussing as she’ll scream at the top of her lungs and start crying, but it equally seems like being in our arms isn’t much of a comfort either :(
I think overtiredness could play a part, but she fights the sleep beforehand to send herself into overtiredness. She’s fought sleep before but it’s never had this reaction on her.
If anyone has any suggestions or solutions, we’d greatly appreciate to hear them!
Just makes me feel awful she’s so upset and we can’t seem to help her.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Pondering89 · 25/02/2024 22:55

No advice OP but I remember going through this when my DD was a similar age. I was worried something was wrong as she had previously been such a content baby, but I’m happy to report it was just phase. I started implementing a night time routine around this particular fussy stage.

It can be emotionally exhausting when they are grizzling but they are developing all the time, just when you think you’ve cracked it, they decide to switch it up again 😅.

Superscientist · 26/02/2024 10:46

My daughter had a feeding aversion where she would be desperate for a feed but a few seconds later would pull off and screaming like I was poisoning her then latch again and repeat. We ended up having just 5-10 seconds feeds and no more than 1-2 minutes total of breastfeeding during the day. She did better overnight and fed for probably 20-30 minutes total.

For us it was due to silent reflux and food allergies. She wanted to feed but feeding caused her pain.

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