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Parenting

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Original poster

How to get my 5m to sleep a little more at night - still bf

17 replies

Katflowers · 14/04/2008 20:40

My 3rd child is 5 months tomorrow. Goes to bed with a nice routine at 7pm. Started to wean her at 4 1/2 months since she was putting on very little weight - 11 ounces in 4 weeks last weigh in. So now she has rice/banana for b.fast and a veg or fruit at lunchtime. She must eat about half a small jar size.
She will wake 3 times at night and although she feeds quickly and goes straight back down this is so hard when I still have 2 other kids to look after especially during the Easter hols. For the past couple of weeks she will wake up in between too so that's maybe 5 times a night. The last one at 5.15 which makes it pointless me going back to bed to get up at 6. I am so tired. Help please

Katflowers

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Elasticwoman · 14/04/2008 21:58

Did the addition of solids to her diet result in greater weight gain? I understand that prior to 6 months, any solids given will just replace milk the baby would have drunk, and solids are not as nutritious as the milk.

Try co-sleeping after the first time baby wakes in the night so that at least you don't have to get up if she wakes again. Are you having to change the nappy in the night?

5 months was a difficult age (re sleep) with my 3rd child too and there was no problem with his weight gain.

nannyL · 14/04/2008 22:16

make sure you get enough milk in during the day...

id consider giving up / seriously cutting down on solids, and 3 hourly feeds between 7am and 7pm

if you dont mind you could give formular at a 11pm feed (which IMO fills up babies more... even 'stage 2 hungrier baby') and hopefully then baby will be able to go a longer stint at night

maybe if your partner could do a formular bottle dream feed then YOU could get some sleep between 8/9pm and 3 / 4 am

Ultimately you are a mum to 3 chidlren and NEED sleep, so dont feel bad about giving formular to keep her fuller for longer

it wont damage her in anyway

Original poster

Katflowers · 15/04/2008 20:17

No she is still putting on weight slowly - even with solids. She is really awful with reflux so how would I do that when I would not be able to burp her? I no longer do night nappy changes thank goodness. She refuses formula bottles and expressed milk bottles for that matter - how do I encourage her? Any thoughts
Can I give up solids once I have started by the way?

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Poppychick · 15/04/2008 20:56

I would feed at 11pm like a dream feed. I did that with both of mine. I'd persist with the FF at night until she gets used to it - there are a variety of bottles you could try designed with BF babies in mind. Could you give her EBM in a bottle for one feed a day to get her used to the feel of the teat then when she's used to that start using the FF for the dream feed.

Elasticwoman · 15/04/2008 21:35

What's the advantage of ff over ebm? I always thought breastmilk superior in every way to artificial alternatives.

"Even with solids" - you seem to be assuming that solids should have been the answer, which is not so. You don't have to stop giving solids, but could bf first and only give solids when she's finished the milk feed. Try to get more milk down her during the day.

For tiredness, is there any way you can rest more during the day? Or occasionally go to bed at 7 pm and let your dh/p look after the other 2? Don't think you'll be stuck at a depressing early bedtime for ever. I remember doing that once with my dd2 and the extra sleep really set me up - I didn't have to do it again the next night.

You are very nearly at the end of this stage; in the 2nd 6 months of a baby's life the bf will always wind down and the solids increase. Even if you carry on bf for centuries as I did, it does gradually become less of an issue.

Poppychick · 15/04/2008 21:41

Is not 2nd stage formula meant to stay in the gut for longer therefore keeping baby full for longer? That was my understanding. Clearly breast milk is superior in other ways but surely this could be an advantage in this situation???

Elasticwoman · 15/04/2008 21:45

All formula stays in the gut for longer because it has a substance similar to wallpaper paste in it. Doesn't necessarily make a baby happier, healthier or sleep for longer though.

Poppychick · 15/04/2008 21:47

Ah right, I guess I just believed what I read on the box

It did make my DD sleep better after she started waking though, can't remember at what age that was.

Elasticwoman · 15/04/2008 22:00

"2nd stage formula" is normally given after 6 mos so she may have been ready to sleep longer anyway.

BalloonSlayer · 16/04/2008 08:32

I am going to say the opposite to the others.

I was puzzled by the comment that solids just replace milk before 6 months...

I have to bf and cannot consider formula (milk allergy). All my three have been bf, and only in the case of my latest has the advice been to bf only up to 6 months. I was delighted - I hate weaning with a passion, all that orange gunge, yuck. However, like my other two, his weight gain tailed off at 4 months or so, and I was advised by HV to start solids. Yes his weight did pick up. I was very disappointed not to be able to bf only to 6 months.

Don't know why I droned on about that really, I suppose just to prove I do have some experience and didn't rush into weaning, lol!

I think the problem is usually that the last few feeds of the day are not very satisfying due to your tiredness and low milk supply. So I would recommend a small amount of fruit and baby rice before her bedtime milk feed. That will mean she would hopefully wake for the next feed later and you will have more milk, thus making the subsequent feed later.

I really don't see the value in giving up solids at the moment. You will have to reintroduce them anyway. Perhaps if you always try to give the milk feed first you will know she is getting enough.

Is she in her own room? Mine is 7 months and not in his yet (as he doesn't have one) He wakes up a lot in the night and I think it's because his sleep is getting lighter and we wake him with our snoring/coughing etc. I am not sure he would really be waking so often for feeds were he in his own room.

Zeeky · 16/04/2008 11:07

Have you tried a dummy to help with settling at night? We introduced a dummy at about 4mths wit help with settling our DS for naps and at night, as he was a nightmare to settle to sleep. We also bought a light/music box thing that straps to the side of the cot. Now for naps/waking in the night, we out the light & music on and put his dummy in & he usually settles back to sleep. He even puts the music box on himself in the night if he wakes up now (now 8mths old).

I breastfed until he was 6mths old, and was still night-feeding until he was 5 mths, but found it didn't seem to settle him in the night like it had when he was younger, so I just stopped and used the dummy instead. I also made sure that I was feeding very regularly in the daytime (every 3 hours) to make sure he kept his milk intake up.

I've gone on a bit, but hope that helps.

casbie · 16/04/2008 12:10

would bring baby to bed with you or at the very least have cot beside the bed, so feeding during the night is no problem. i've got three and i must of fed them most of the time with my eyes closed, lying down!!

ask a midwife/BF councellor for more advice/help getting positioning right.

hth

Original poster

Katflowers · 16/04/2008 20:22

Yes I am reluctant to stop solids seeing as you say BalloonSlayer that I will have to start them again soon. Plus she absolutley adores food - she goes 'nuts' when she can see it's for her.
I have fed her 3 hourly - infact more so today. I have the obvious problem though of being the family taxi driver during term time with a 1 hour round trip 3x a day - so she has to feed to fit in with all the tooing and froing.
She does have a dummy and is in her own room. I will often pop her dummy in when she wakes which will only work if it's less than 2 1/2 hours since the last feed.
So she has had fruit and rice for tea so fingers crossed.
Thanks everyone

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Elasticwoman · 17/04/2008 20:50

She's probably sleeping in the car during the day, isn't she Kat?

No one suggested you should stop the solids, did they? I don't think you should.

Original poster

Katflowers · 17/04/2008 21:19

Yes - confusing health visitor advice as always . I have been told to stop solids immediately and 'not to worry since I won't have done her any serious damage!'
She is sleeping in the car - apart from playing the radio really loudly and winding the windows down I'm onto a losing battle there.
Last night she woke twice including the now routine 5.15am wake up call! Still much better so thanks again.

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Elasticwoman · 18/04/2008 17:44

Since the hv advice is contradictory I think you can safely ignore it.

Could be that time spent in the car is making baby take naps later in the afternoon than is conducive to good sleep at night. Nothing you can do other than not take baby in the car. Could be this has much more to do with the sleep issue than feeding.

Original poster

Katflowers · 22/04/2008 20:30

Just to update that DD now only wakes once a night - still wakes at 5.15am but still this is fab. Thanks

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