Nightfeeding causing hellish wind, nobody getting any sleep. Any solutions, ideas???

[pevie]

My 7 and a half month old has always been a bit unsettled, windy, refluxy, problems with tummy generally. I have always fed her at least twice in night (there have been a few nights where she only woke once, but not many)but sometimes more depending on how unsettled she is. I dont mind continuing to feed her once or twice for a bit (although I;d rather not) but problem is some nights when she feeds she gets such bad wind that she cant get back to sleep or if she does, she wakes again about half hour later. Only solution seems to be sitting up with her in bed which means I dont get any sleep!!! If we put her in bed with us she writhes about as if in pain and only lasts about an hour. The only solution I can see is to stop feeding during the night but I know that it will involve quite a lot of tears. Any thoughts, previous experiences?

I feel for you - have been there twice. I had two very windy babies, used to be up for hours trying to get them winded and back to sleep. I was bfing, then ff by 7 months, btw.

Now, I will get flamed for this probably, but with dd1 we found a bit of boiled, cooled water, then lying her on her back on lap and gently rubbing her tummy in circles worked a treat -- ie winding her even before giving her milk, just in case there was anything lurking there from earlier.

This didn't work with dd3, also v. windy, but with her we found that slowly cutting out the night-time feeds solved the problem (well I guess it would!). We did it by gradually diluting her milk more and more until it was just water. Probably completely counter to current advice, or stricly illegal, but it worked for us ...

santaslittlepeatbogelf, I think you're right about cutting out night feeding. Did it involve much crying? Problem with water in bottle is that she doesnt really take a bottle so that might make her go bonkers!!! Has taken a bottle a few times recently cause I was ill so maybe if I persevere could try cutting back on feeds, or maybe trying not to feed too much from breast. Anyone tried that???? Did you do the massage thing during night too? We do it before bed and it does help. I also feed her a while before I put her down as I find that she needs a bit of time to get rid of all wind.

I feel for you pevie. Have you tilted her cot? I also use gripe water with my windy dd when she needs it. You could try giving it before a feed and maybe before tea or bedtime milk. I swear by nurse Harvey's even though I have to order it in. Sometimes the only way dd will go to sleep is if she is on her tummy.

I suspect we have a similar problem with DD. Until a couple of months ago she slept in a natures nest hammock (well, at least until 11pm!) and was never so unsettled and farty as she is now. I do find she sleeps better if she hasn't taken much milk or had much in the way of solids near bedtime.

I'm trying to cut back on the feeds and just feed a bare minimum but failing lol. I think if her tummy's sore she's more likely to want to feed.

We also did hammock and it worked at first but then got too uncomfortable and windy so put her in cot. She was really uncomfortable last night with constipation and wind so I put her on stomach and got 5 hours solid. Bliss!!!!

DD prefers her tummy too. We used the hammock with DS until near a year and had no problem with the transition. However, DD has been able to roll onto her tummy in it for the last couple of months so we've had to stop. I don't think DS can even manage that yet!

sorry to abandon you pevie, had 24 hours of running around in ever decreasing Christmas circles, and no MN.

We did the massage thing before every feed (rubbing tummy, then sitting her up) and as Swalisan says, definitely try gripe water - worked really well if we added it to the water. Yes, it will involve getting her used to a bottle, but might be worth it.

My only other thought is - if you've weaned - what is she eating at the mo, could there be anything not agreeing with her?

DS 9.5mths sounds very similar. I haven't solved the night wakings yet (up for hours last night ) but I've found that avoiding lots of veg (esp brocolli, cauliflower, parsnip, cabbage, sprouts) at dinner time helps cut down on night wind. I'm struggling with what to actually feed him at dinner time lol but he's much better.

I think I'll try gripe water again. And I'm trying to cut down the night BFs each night by a few minutes cos I know he doesn't actually need food, just comfort, til I can hopefully get to the stage where he has a quick cuddle if he wakes, then back in his cot awake. Time will tell...

Swaliswan where do you order nurse harvey's gripe water from? Is it better than the usual brand that chemists stock?

Thanks in anticipation...

Sorry didnt get back to any of you but mad Christmas rush. We went back to gripe water did help so thanks. However had a night of absolute hell where she seemed really sore after feed and couldnt bring up wind. So have decided along with DH and HV that cutting out night feeding is only way to go!!! She is now 8 months and eats pretty well in day as well as having 3 or 4 good milk feeds in day. So tonight is the night when will send in DH to cuddle and put back down. Will keep you posted.