Totally knackered, 5 mo waking EBF baby, should I try rice/cereal & FF mix to try to get him to sleep?

[Miffster]

What it says really. DS is a crap sleeper, even more so since 4 mo regression. was all gunned up for BLW and EBF at 6 mo but I just don't think I can hack much more of this. He feeds for 2 hours at night, then goes down at 7-8pm after being stufed, rocked, white noise, swaddling, etc etc, sleeps in cycles of 2 hours and wakes crying for the breast at 11pm, 1.30am, 4am, and then is up at 4.30am.

I am beyond shattered. I am thinking of baby rice mixed with FF and fed off a spoon, in the evenings, to see if it makes him sleep longer.

WWYD?

5 months is not too early to wean and you can stil do BLW later. why not try spooning EBM & baby rice? more likely to go down well as it will be the usual taste. whether they'll sleep better...hopefully.

not much advice, but oodles of empathy. It is really tough when you have a non sleeper. My DS was a similarly demanding baby. We tried baby rice/EBM at just over 20 weeks and it didn't make the blindest bit of difference to his sleeping habits so we gave up as it just made him more grizzly. A few weeks later he was raring and ready to go with BLW though...and still awake four times a night for a feed! Unfortunately ime (of all 3 of mine and friends babies) weaning doesn't solve it for the vast majority. If you are going to try baby rice, then I would, as Eggy says, do it with EBM; less of a shock to the system than giving formula.

Thank you for the replies. I am solely considering this in order to get the little bugger darling to sleep; I was going to do it with a spoon and see if it works. For various reasons ( just moved house/emigrated, am in hot country, no car at the mo, can't go out to supermarket to get things I need like ice cube trays and fresh veg) I was going to try and skip the purree stage and do BLW at 6mo, but I just cannot keep going like this. My relationship with DH is under starin because when he gets back from work at 8pm, DS is still dicking about not falling asleep and red eyed and shrieking and I am a maddened harridan who is weepy and no fun. I was hoping spooning cereal into his maw would make him fuller for longer and that was the thought behind FF milk as well; that, and not messing with my BM supply. ( Have expressed before, when trying to get him to take bottles - but it was hell, am already an over-supplier and he won't take bottles, and it must made me produce too much milk, and DS who had reflux just got worse).

He is a big lad and likes drinking water from spoons/doidy cups. So am hoping against hope that some carbs will have the same effect on him as on me and his dad - send him to sleep. ( His dad can't sleep without eating midnight bread and cheese and was weaned at 3 mo on cheese savouries!!!)

Don't place too much hope on there - DD is 14mo, and only recently has started dropping bottles at night - she was going to bed at 7ish, bottles at 11, 2/3 and then waking at 5 - weaning and/or formula might make absolutely no difference whatsoever.

If it did, the sleep thread would be very quiet

We had a very similar situation with DS and did exactly what you are considering assuming that weaning would help with the night feeding - unfortunately it made absolutely no difference. At 7 months I stopped feeding him in the night, but it didn't stop the waking - following advice from people on here we bought a cot-bed to put next to our bed and started co-sleeping, this has really saved my sanity! :)

I doubt his sleep issues are to do with hunger, more likely behavioural.

Do you feed to sleep?

He is fed to sleep yes, for naps and for bedtime.
There is no other way of getting him to sleep.
I have tried.
But there comes a point when I think, it is more important that he sleeps and I sleep than I dick about with 'sleep training' a 5mo baby; in any case, if babies weren't meant to be fed to sleep, why does breastmilk make them sleepy and the milk ejection reflex make mums sleepy?

In the night, if he wakes crying I scoop him out of his hammock and offer a boob with him in bed with me and DH. That's if bouncing the hammock, saying shshsh and burping have no effect. When he gets into bed he latches on voraciously.

So, I think it is genuine hunger.
And I know I sleep better if I have had something starchy...hence the cereal idea.

I think I will try it, with EBF, not FF, and see
I have to try something, it is killing me and I'm not enjoying time with him in the day quite often because I am so tired, so tired that there is no way I would drive in this condition, it is like being drunk. :(

Also, DH could try feeding him and give me a break after 5 months of nonstop round the clock feeding.

I jut want to believe that it will work, and have something to have hope in.

I can see that veg purees won't fill up a baby, and have fewer cals than BM, but surely rice/cereal + milk must be more slowly digested?

In my experience, if the boob is his sleep aid he'll need it to settle himself every time he comes into a light sleep phase whether he's hungry or not.

However, at 5 months I don't think there's any harm in weaning (obviously avoid gluten etc for now) - but be prepared that it may disturb his sleep initially as his digestive system adjusts.

I started weaning (BLW really) at 22 weeks and it didn't make any noticeable difference to my ds's sleep - stopping feeding to sleep, PUPD and moving him into his own room did though.

I think DH giving him a bottle - whether that be BM or FM - and taking over some of the night feeds would be the biggest help. I managed the night feeds on my own until DD was 9mo before I nearly cracked up through lack of sleep. Since then we've done alternate nights, and it has made THE biggest difference, really.

Certainly if DS is ready for BLW then go for it, but don't expect it to help with the sleep.