Anyone breastfeeding and co-sleeping successfully?

[savanna]

I am breastfeeding and co-sleeping and downright exhausted as my ds who is 9 months wakes up several times each night to feed. He goes back to sleep easily each time but I'm worn out by his feedathons and would like to hear from anyone who is breastfeeding and co-sleeping with their baby and still managing to get enough sleep.

I don't want to do controlled crying or stop co-sleeping. I have Elizabeth Pantley's no-cry sleep solution book but the methods I've tried haven't worked or maybe I haven't tried them long enough. Please help.

yes
but not successfully
have a look at my thread savanna - sleepless in newcastle....

We have had a little success but not much

I bf & co-sleep. Am tired out but would be more so if I had to get up to bf. In fact being able to bf & lie down helps me to get some rest that I would otherwise not have. The night is the only time I can bf in bed as I'm running after 3 other kids in the day!! I also carry my ds4 with me in my arms or sling during the day to keep this closness & to help him bf on demand.

Popsycal
Thanks. I have had a look at your thread and it is very interesting. I will try a few things I learned from there and see. I feel so stressed out and wish I could get signed off sick so that I can take some time to crack ds's constant waking.

Milward
You're right about it being easier to co-sleep rather than get up and breastfeed. Since you carry ds4 in a sling I assume he is still under 6 months. I couldn't carry my ds in a sling without doing myself serious harm!

Thanks for sharing. Glad to know I'm not the only one whose baby isn't sleeping through the night.

I carry ds in a sling and dd was carried regularly in a sling till I got pregnant - so she was about 18 months.

Have not looked at popsy´s thread but variety does help imo... if you only ever offer breast then that is what they expect. If you have a partner or dh can they help with night time responses?

I have a standard sentence I use when my children wake... Go to sleep and tell them Night-time.

How long did you try the Pantley method... normally it takes afew weeks for the penny to drop and your child to start responding. And yes they do like to complain and maybe your ds still needs to be feed afew times a night. Mine was still getting 2 - 3 feeds at night at 9 months. If the feeds are very long is there a way you can make them shorter... 10 minutes maximum and then say Go to Sleep...

All the best

I have bf and co-slept with dd and ds. Neither of mine slept through until at least 1 year old.

I did start to offer a beaker of water rather than a feed at some stage (sorry can't quite remember when!) and this seemed to work a bit (they weren't as interested in water!).

Good luck.

Clayhead, how did you get your baby to accept water rather than a boob? (we are struggling with this atm - it's really hard to do without him ending up properly awake rather than almost asleep).

I did it with 3 of mine.
I often slept while they were feeding.

I had them between me and the wall, with their own set of blankets and no pillow, and I used to sleep with my arm sort of out above the baby's head, and wake up with it dead, but at least I was confident of not squashing the babe.

I abit the same Nightynight. dd has her own Futon and duvet, but it is right against our bed and the same height. And ds sleeps between dh and I.

Must say dd sleeps through any noises in the night 99% of the time. Better than if she was in the room next door.

savanna - i was signed off sick for six weeks before xmas......got so far but stuck now with him settling himself to sleep at night, sleeping in his cot (at least he will but sometimes I bring him into bed as I am so knackered...) and wakes 3 times on a good night