Sleeping on me

[sleepychan]

Sleep deprived, at the end of my tether and feeling sorry for myself!

8 wo dd will only sleep on me and after a feed. I'm breastfeeding and she's feeding every couple of hrs or so. I can live with the frequent wakings but am finding myself up for most of the night as she won't go back to her Moses basket after feeding. It's taking so long to settle her that she's hungry again and ready for the next feed before either of us have had any sleep.

I have let her sleep on me just to make sure she gets some sleep. She seems exhausted as she yawns loads and generally seems overtired and that seems to be the only way she'll sleep. I'm not prepared to let her 'cry it out' as at 8 weeks I think she is too little for this.

Big arguments with my husband as I've been trying to read everything I can about sleep but he tells me just to use my common sense and believes that giving her a late night bottle of formula will solve the problem.

I have no clue what to do. She needs sleep (as do I!) but I don't want to teach her that the only way to sleep is on me.

Feel exhausted and unsupported by dh - bf so he can't do the feed and feel like I'm left to work out what to do by myself.

Anyone been here? What worked for you?

I'll tell you what worked for me, then for my sister, then for two of my friends.

Put her on her tummy.

Yes, it is going against cotdeath guidelines, but sometimes, just sometimes, you have to do something to make yourself sane again.

It will work, I promise.

How o yo9u feel about co-sleeping? even rt time co-sleeping can help you over this dilemma. breastfeeding mothers and babies are physiologically geared to co-sleep.

DD used to fall asleep on me at night time feeds (bf), and I was exhausted and fell asleep too. The only thing that worried me was rolling over and squashing her - so I made sure I was fairly upright. I think you should get whatever sleep you can, and worry about the consequences, if any, later.

Don't beat yourself up about it, being sleep deprived is horrid and once you get a few nights with some sleep you'll feel more able to tackle putting her down in the moses basket for short periods.

Btw, DD had no problems going to sleep in her moses basket, then cot eventually. One trick was to put the t-shirt or whatever you've been wearing, in with her so that she can still smell you.