How the hell did I do it when she was newborn??

[Lilyput07]

Anyone any advice please? 10 mth old dd used to sleep through from 7 til 6.30 ish with occasional cries during night when she just needed soothing down. For the last 6 weeks she either wakes at midnight than again at 5am ish or at 3am before waking to start her day at 6.30 ish. When she wakes at night she seems to want feeding so this is what I have done (am still breast feeding)and she goes straight back to sleep, which is more than I manage to do . Am I making a rod for my own back by feeding her, should I expect her not to need feeding by this stage? She eats really well during day, sure she can't be hungry but she does seem it and I think we have got into habit. Have tried increasing portions but made no difference to waking. She has been teething and one of her top teeth is taking a while to cut through but am not sure this is what wakes her as she does not seem distressed, she is just awake! No idea how I coped with lack of sleep when she was newborn and am sure was disturbed more than now! Sorry this is long, am getting knackered and need advice.

Hi not sure I can give any advice but you have my sympathy.... Sounds like what happened to DD1 - first night of waking she may have been due to teething pain/sore belly/heard noise etc but it doesn't take long to break out of their routine - she has cottoned on that waking up at night = comfort and therefore has very quickly slipped back into the habit of having the comfort of BF and you nearby.

With DD1 we waited longer each time before going in to see to her (she was in her room) as heartbreaking as it can be at times she soon got bored or cottoned on to the fact that we weren't coming immediatly and eventually got herself back to sleep again.

I'm afraid, as oyu said you are making a rod for your own back if you carry on BF - if she is eating well in the day.

It only took about week for DD1 to go from waking up 3 times a night to sleeping her usual 11 hours straight through again with our method, as knackering as it is in the short term it means more sleep eventually in the long term! HTH.

Could she be too warm/cold etc?

Thanks for your responses, will perhaps try leaving her a little longer than I do. Have room thermometer on during night, pretty consistent temp so don't think she's too hot or cold. Feel bit of a wimp now actually as after reading this section bit more can see that have it easy compared to some! Will keep reminding myself that sleep is for the weak!

lol! Indeed!

have you tried giving her colled, boiled water instead of the BF?

feel free to ignore me completely as i have my own thread with sleep problems on the go (how to get a 2 yr old to sleep in the first place).

i was where you are so completely understand how tiring it is. looking back, when i went to bed i knew I was going to be woken up so as soon as i heard a cry i jumped up and reacted to it. i bf and it worked everytime so found it easier to keep doing that rather than do anything drastic about it. eventually, i made myself listen first to see what the cry was or at least give her the chance to go back to sleep. sometimes she would cry because she was fed up that she was awake but would settle herself quite quickly. until that point i would have charged in. if you do go in then at least try just to cuddle her first rather than automatically feed her.
i thought it might be food and if you do too then try to think carefully about what you give her for tea. plenty of carbs to keep her going.
it could be comfort she needs - if there are things going on in her life ie. teething, developement changes, then maybe she needs extra comfort. you may deciede to just go with the flow. if you think it is teething discomfort in the night (and discomfort rather than pain can be sorted out by a nice BF) then maybe think about giving her some capol at the first waking.
or, you may decide its time to give her some formula. if not at the last feed, then maybe just a small amount at the first waking. if you have a ready made carton on standby then you don't need to worry about warming it up. if she is waking because of the breast/comfort association then this could put an end to it.
another idea - which I think is what eventually worked with my DD, is a nightlight. Sounds so simple but despite the fact that she would fall asleep by herself she would wake up and not know where she was as it was pitch black.
finally - don't be so hard on yourself. try not to worry. give yourself permission to just go with it for a few days and don't go back to bed each time fretting. then take a deep breath and have another think/try. i sense your worrying about this is actually more tiring than the lack of sleep.
good luck x