6 month old waking every 2 hours for feed

[Prinny_1]

Any of you bf ladies looking into food you or baby can eat to boost melatonin levels In the hope of more sleep?

Just been told about this supposedly bananas oranges pinapple tomatoes are all good,

Worth a shot?

A trip to Sainsburys for me this morning!

 

[AK89]

Welcome gingmg!

Was yours always a crappy sleeper or is it a 6 month regression type thing?

 

[gingmg]

Always bad. We coslept since basically the beginning as a result. To he honest I felt pretty rested co-sleeping and breastfeeding until I went back to work, then it all changed. I work the overnight shift 3 nights per week. My nights home are OK, but my wife's nights home are pretty bad. Some he sleeps for 3 hours at a time (a good night) and others he wakes up every hour. Every once in awhile he will go 4-5 hours but thats rare. We don't want to sleep train, so are trying to think of as many gentle ways to help him as possible. We actually stopped co-sleeping a few days ago, because I'm afraid the breastfeeding advantage I have while co-sleeping is making my wife's nights worse. She was co-sleeping too but it didn't help him to sleep in the same way as if he was next to me. I feel sad about that loss but I know something has to change. I still cosleep for naps so at least I have some sleep time with him, which I'm happy about. I just read 'the no cry sleep solution' and am trying to add in her ideas. I want to be hopeful that her gentle strategies can help us. I feel panicked every time I go to work wondering what kind of night they will have and then so guilty that I'm not home to comfort him. I feel isolated in our sleep problems because most people just suggest letting him cry. I can't do that.

 

[AK89]

I think you'd like The Gentle Sleep Book by Sarah Ockwell-Smith. I can't stop banging on about it

Sorry, I'd go into more detail but I'm practically holding my eyes open with cocktail sticks. I'm so tired. My DD has decided it's party-time again for like the 5th night on the run. I don't know if it'd be better or worse if I'd got any sleep beforehand.. like if I'd be more or less cranky (she woke up as I was coming to bed). All I know is it's 2am and there's no end in sight. I've got such a busy day tomorrow too! She's obviously tired, she just won't give in! She's also developed a habit of nipping me when she's feeding but she's not that bothered/hungry (which is the method I usually use to get her to sleep) so I don't feel confident doing that anymore! She bit me when I was dropping off this morning. Not the nicest way to be woken up! Also we were at a restaurant eating lunch and she decided she'd chow down my nipple and KEEP HOLD of it between her bottom teeth and top gums, and pull backwards, staring me right in the eye the whole time! I nearly went through the roof but had to keep my cool 'cause we were in a quiet-ish nice restaurant!

God damn the 6 month regression. It's gotta end sometime soon...I've had it for a month and a half now.

 

[Literati_Love]

AK - ouch! That is no fun! my dd is going through a biting phase too. I think they sometimes do it when they're teething but idk if she is really teething right now. Anyway, I hope she stops that soon! My dd was very difficult to settle last night and I never was able to put her down so had to go straight to bed with her. It was fine because I was exhausted anyway but kind of pathetic for a Friday night. She ended up doing every 50 min for the first few hours, then almost a 4 hour stretch, then 2 hours, then every 0.5-1 hour again. Good times.


Ging- I agree. It is hard with everyone suggesting CIO. At first when dd was really young, everyone just felt sorry for me...but now I feel like everyone judges me and thinks I should sleep train. I am not going to let her cry and nothing else works. Plus the fact that I have no energy to try anything else anyway! I am a sucker for any scrap of sleep I can get. Cosleeping and I have a love/hate relationship haha. Anyway, I hope the gentle sleep training book helps you. Let us know if you pick up any good tips? Hopefully not cosleeping will
help your wife with settling him at night.

 

[vickyandchick]

My LO has started waking every 30-60 minutes now and sometimes refuses to be put down- my OH has been sleeping on the sofa with him in his bouncer so I can get some rest

 

[AK89]

Wow...These kids are really going through something aren't they! I think it could be like sleep regression + the beginning of separation anxiety?? My DD often seems to just be in a super light sleep. Quite a few times lately, when I've gone up to give her a feed in the evening, she's been really hard to settle back down on her own. She's fallen straight back to sleep but really lightly so it's been really hard to get away without her waking up. A few times I've resorted to just coming to bed with her too...not always ideal 'cause I kinda savour my alone time in the evenings!

She was awake from 12 (when I came to bed) til 3ish this morning. I was exhausted! Even taking her for a drive didn't work. She went off to sleep but woke up on the way in Also, bouncing her really hurts my knees now - I'm going for physio for them 'cause they're basically always sore and feel really unhinged!

THEN she woke up for the day at 6. I was distraught haha.. Not felt like that since the days when I used to go out til all hours and have to get up for work the next day! I ended up falling asleep on the couch while she was in her bouncer..

 

[Literati_Love]

AK - my dd is doing the exact same thing. She will be sleeping but SO lightly for ages and can't be put down and won't let me slip away or anything. It's frustrating! It isn't like that every night but more often.

I feel very bad for you with your dd being up so much last night! My dd was up partying from 4-6 am! She wouldn't settle for anything. She did thankfully go back to sleep for a bit after that. I can't imagine how rough your night must have been! Hugs!

Hope tonight is better!

Vickyandchick - Sounds like we are all in the same boat. How was your night?

 

[Prinny_1]

Hi all. So the banana wasn't completely effective, but combined with new blackout curtains it seems to have cut out the early pre-10pm wake ups. Just the other 5/6 to sort out then...

Wishing you all good (better??) sleeps... X

 

[Literati_Love]

Wow, good to know! I need to remember to feed banana tonight.

 

[gingmg]

We had two AMAZING nights where he slept through from 11-4:30 then the past two were back to waking up every 2-3 hours. I work tonight and I'm soooo scared he will be up all night for my wife. We've been sleeping on his bedroom floor hoping it would make the transition to not co-sleeping easier but I end up putting him next to me by 4 anyway. I feel like all our sleep problems are my fault. I held him, nursed him, loved him, rocked him, bounced him, wore him, and coslept from day one. I wouldn't want to go back and not do those things, I always want him to feel loved but I didn't know that this was going to happen as a result.

 

[Literati_Love]

Ging - I don't think I could ever regret all the cuddling, nursing and rocking to sleep, etc. There are a few things I might try to do differently with the next one, but I can't regret providing all the nurturing my dd needed even if it has had a crappy result as far as sleep goes. Hope your LO improves for your wife at night soon.

After feeding bananas a few nights ago (probably coincidence), my dd did an amazing 6 hour stretch (up every hour the rest of the night). Hasn't had banana since and went back to longest stretch being 3.5 hours. Gave banana again tonight so we will see but I doubt it will help any.

 

[gingmg]

No I wouldn't want to go back and do anything differently either, I just didn't realize that it was going to create such sleeping problems later on. Oh well.

Actually the one thing I would do differently next time is not letting him always fall asleep at the breast. Its one of the things in that sleep book I read that I really feel is making a difference. You nurse them mostly to sleep, then remove your nipple and break the latch. They will startle awake and look for your nipple so you give it back. Once they are mostly asleep again you do the same thing and break the latch. Again they will startle awake and root for your nipple so you give it back. After a few times (or many) they just go to sleep. Over a week or so it breaks the sucking to sleep association without any tears. When I put my son next to me in the early morning now he just rolls over onto his belly after he eats instead of falling asleep on my breast.

What time do your babies wake up for the day? Just curious.

 

[Literati_Love]

How are all your babies sleeping these days? Mine is still sleeping as bad as ever (if not worse). Any success stories?

 

[Prinny_1]

Sorry, no hope to be had over here! He now has a cold, so things actually even worse in last three nights (who knew that was even possible??). Sorry yours hasn't improved. X

 

[mummytobe_93]

How are all your babies sleeping these days? Mine is still sleeping as bad as ever (if not worse). Any success stories?

I just want to give you some words of encouragement. My daughter is now 18 months old and up until about 7.5months she was the worst sleeper ever, she was mainly nocturnal and if she did sleep she was up every single hour without fail. Wouldn't sleep without my boob in her mouth. I was exhausted.

I found the things that helped was stopping breastfeeding (it's not something everyone would want to stop or sacrifice)... When I stopped breastfeeding she would start taking a dummy, whilst I was breastfeeding she refused. So she still sucks on something all night long but it isn't me! And also weaning helped a lot. I got her as stuffed as possible in the day offering food and milk all day long.
Putting her in her own room definitely helped, and sleep training. I started ignoring all of the moaning and little whimpers and actually only going in if she was hysterical. No eye contact no talking. Nothing.

Once she learnt to fall asleep by herself in her cot everything got better.

We had a rough few months at 12 months because of teeth and are going through the same again. But at that time from 0-7.5 months of sleep hell I swore I would never do it again, here I am 34 weeks pregnant!!

Don't worry it will soon be a distant memory x

 

[apple_20]

Mine occasionally does 2 hour sleeps but is still up every hour most nights she's also done a few random 3-4 hour first sleeps. It shows she can do it! But why then? Dunno..

 

[AK89]

How are all your babies sleeping these days? Mine is still sleeping as bad as ever (if not worse). Any success stories?

Hey!

We're still in the same boat too.. We don't have as many midnight parties these days though.. that was just a short phase luckily!

 

[Prinny_1]

I even bought and read the first couple of chapters of a sleep training book... I haven't done anything with it though, just keeping it in my back pocket in case things get really desperate...

 

[gingmg]

Still not great here either. We've been working on putting him down drowsy but awake and most nights we can do it, but these last two weeks we are back to patting his but and rubbing his back until he is asleep. He can put himself back to sleep sometimes now, which is great, but only about 10% of the time. I still put him in bed with me at some point though. I keep saying I'm going to work harder on the crib but I don't. I really need to make more of an effort though cuz I'm starting to really think it will help. I'm always just so tired and its sooo easy to co-sleep and nurse to sleep overnight.