my eye is twitching, i am hallucinating and depressive, HELP ME.

[sherazade]

please help me someone with a solution or words of hope or anything. i need to rant! my dd2 who is 15 months old has always breastfeed 2-3 times a night and it has never usually been a problem for me, but now for the past 2 weeks she has been waking every 30-40 minutes crying at night and will be only consoled by the breast i have tried water, cuddles but she screams blue murder like she has never seen milk before, depsite eating well in the day. I am so tired that it can take upto an hour for my milk to let down and this frustrates her even more, i have to keep doing deep breathing and swapping breasts and positions over and over again so that my let down occucrs at which point she stops fussing, take a sip for 2-3 minutes and then goes back into sleep instantly only to wake up half an hour later. then she is bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6 am, as is my 3 year old. is this because of teething, she is cutting her molars now? will it pass? i am starting to despise breastfeeding and even being a mum, i am too tired and ratty to do anything all day.

Is that you goat?
What a nightmare anyway, it's relentless isn't it the tiredness, just buggers your whole day. Have you tried doing a dream feed (when you go to bed just pull her out of her cot and wake her enough to have a last feed)? Although sounds like she might be a bit old for this. My best guess would be teeth. Maybe give her calpol one night before bed and see if she sleeps better then at least you will know what is going on. You have my sympathies.

Have you tried giving her a cup of water? She may justbe a bit thirsty.

you are doing a fabulous job of caring for her and I am sorry this is such an awful stage for you
do you think she could be unwell? ear infection or similar that is causing pain? oterwise as you say, perhaps teeth

feel very sorry for both of you and am SURE that it will pass, but you need some help desperately during the day so that you can have a rest
does she sleep during the day and can you rest too? Is there anyone that you could beg to take the children for a bit each day so you could rest?

She's tried water Colditz.

Oh sorry.

What about calpol and neurofen? She is the right age for cutting molars and they really hurt some kids.

I think she sounds unwell tbh - try the calpol and an extra long feed before bed and see if this helps

good luck x

thanks for the replies so far.

you see there is not much point in doing a dream feed (thanks for your suggestion though) because as soon as I put my head on my pillow she starts crying and is wakeful although she has had a full day.
So she has about a dozen or two dream feeds!

frannyandzooey, I doubt she is unwell, she is the picture of health during the day- no temperature or any signs of being ill, generally very content albeit extremely energetic. she is an angel during the day but is just killing me at night.

i am in tears right now i have forgotten the meaning of sleep or a normal life that is not plagued by hopes of continuous sleep.

i used to think the 2-3 breastfeeds a night were tiring but that was bliss compared to this.

what about taking her into your bed so you can doze while she rootles about?

i really don't think she is unwell, she is cheerful and active during the day no temperature whatosever. and she is eating enthusisastically which she never does when ill.

she is in my bed she will become inconsolable if i put her in her cot.

Do you think your supply might not be what she is used to at night and she is getting angry?

yes, definitely could be an issue. my let down takes ages and she is not quite glugging it down like she used to.

Do you feel ready to give her some cows milk yet? Or is this not an option for you? She might fill her tummy quite well on it, and you may get some more sleep.

Also, what about a big bowl of porridge before bed?

Seriously, have you tried calpol? DS seemed completely untroubled by day when he was cutting teeth, but they really gave him gyp at night. Otherwise, speaking as someone who is going through the same thing (only every hour rather than every 40 minutes - I really really feel for you), I am sleeping with DD in the spare bed so she can virtually latch herself on. It ain't ideal but at least I can be half-asleep rather than fully awake, which means that my eye has stopped twitching. FWIW, not even Medised is doing the trick with DD so God alone knows what's going on here.

i have been trying cows milk out of desperation. she takes a sip, goes 'ahhhh' and then chucks the beaker/bottle on the floor before signing for milk and attemtping to eat my top off. (been trying consistenly for a month at bedtimes and other times but she has never liked it )

Sorry, x-posts re: co-sleeping

Overtired? Does she nap during the day?

she can latch on at night but she still cries, on and of the breast for ages till she gets a bit of milk ,sleeps, wakes, repeat pattern.

my eye is constantly VIBRATING. i will try calpol again tonight.

corriedale she has a two hour nap in the day consistently.

Blimey. One more thing - does she feed during the day?

Do you still want to breastfeed? Is this a "I want to stop and she doesn't" situation or is it a matter of getting your supply back up?

If you want to stop, personally I would wear clothes to bed, and let her have a cup and just say "no more " every time she rootles around, and she will eventually just accept it (sop I have heard anecdotally) but if it's about your supply, lots of fluids and feeding and perhaps half a glass of wine might do the job?

Has she ever been able to settle herself to sleep without being on the breast?

If not, the problem may be nothing to do with hunger or thirst, and everything to do with being unable to self settle and therefore over tiredness and ovber stimulation.

Self settling is an essential skill that has to be learned at some point - and the later, the harder, IME.

I breast fed my three for well over a year each, but there comes a point when you have to take a step back and consider your own needs, your lack of sleep and your mental health, and above all the quality of life of your family. As you have said you are too tired and ratty to do anything during the day.

I know lots of people will disagree with me, but maybe the time has come to stop breast feeding, and help your dd to learn to fall asleep unaided. You will all be happier in the long run.

I would really recommend "My Child won't sleep" by Jo Douglas and Naomie Richman. It explains far better than i can.

There is another quite recent thread about a similar problem, and I think it took less than a week to sort out. Maybe someone will remember and link. I am hopeless at anything technical.

I feel so sorry for you - I went through this with DS1 and the little book saved my life.

Please, also bear in mind that she will not remember any of this. They really don't remember much that happens before the age of three.

she has settled herself to sleep without the breast. Our normal routine is she has a breastfeed, i put her in her cot and tell her to sleep and she does.

well you are doing a wonderful job and no wonder you are knackered. FZ suggestion of a sleep in the day could really help - is there any way this could happen?

Feeding goes through all kinds of stages - I hope if you don;t find a solution this passes soon.