Bf on demand and sleep?

[queenbee_01]

Hoya. I was just wondering if it's possible to develop a sleep routine with a 5 month yr old bf baby.

She Still wakes up almost every hr for a feed. Sometimes goes 1 and a half hrs to two max. I put her to bed the same time everyday, with the same sleep routine of massage, change of clothes, storytime and feed. There's no prob getting her to sleep. It's just keeping her asleep that I find I'm struggling with very much.

I'm not comfortable with the cc method. I've tried co sleeping but found that she wakes up even more due to wanting comfort. I'm determined to soley bf her ...no formula.
Ive read dr sears approach to constantly respond to the babys need ..comfort or milk. I have always responded to all her cues but find the sleep issue extremely difficult. I just started her on puree food beginning with dinner, as she was ready for solids. I thought she would last longer at night, but there been no difference.

So, I'm thinking, is it possible to actually make a sleep routine with a bf baby on demand ?

Any advice on trying to get lil one to sleep longer? She cluster feeds in evening and night.



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[kmac625]

Sorry, I'm not gonna be much help, but didn't want to read and run. When she feeds is it for very long, or obviously for comfort. Have you tried just giving her a soother to comfort herself? Clara generally sleeps through the night, but the odd time she does wake up I first offer her the soother without picking her up, and if it does the trick, great! If she spits it out and keeps crying I know that she's hungry so I get her up and nurse her.

 

[minties]

Sounds like she is waking to be soothed, as above. I would try a dummy/soother/pacifier as well.

Thomas is a lot younger than your baby and he can go 8 hours at night before needing a feed, he is exclusively breastfed.

It sounds like your baby has a huge need for comfort suckling.

 

[Pops]

IJP was (and still is) ebf on demand and we were pretty lucky in that when she was newborn, she'd go 2 hours through the night and by 2 weeks old she was going for 4 hours and then by 9 weeks, through the night which she still does for the most part.

She wouldn't take a dummy until gone 4 months and spent a lot of time comfort sucking but again, thankfully not in the night. I'd be tempted to try that and see if it helps settle her at all and hopefully you can all get some better sleep xxx

 

[tiggercats]

Have a read of the no-cry sleep solution as well, great ideas in there. Try shushing and patting without picking LO up, sometimes it is all they need to move into the next sleep cycle.

 

[queenbee_01]

Than. Yes i did try the dummy but she spits if back out !!I tried patting but with my lil one, she suffers from eczema so once she's awake, the first thing she does is scratch herself silly, so i have to quickly pick get up and give her what she wants in order to prevent bleeding.

 

[kmac625]

Than. Yes i did try the dummy but she spits if back out !!I tried patting but with my lil one, she suffers from eczema so once she's awake, the first thing she does is scratch herself silly, so i have to quickly pick get up and give her what she wants in order to prevent bleeding.

Poor little girl. Maybe try swaddling her so that she can't scratch. Do you know what's causing the eczema? I've heard that milk protein intolerance/allergy can sometimes be the culprit. Clara thankfully didn't get eczema, but did have a milk protein intolerance and I had to give up all dairy (including looking for whey and casein in the ingredients list on food) for a few months until she outgrew it. Perhaps changing your diet is worth a shot too.

 

[minties]

Ooh swaddling, great idea, I don't even know how people get their very young LO's to sleep without it - Thomas would be awake within seconds of I put him down unswaddled.

 

[nicole3108]

Does she feed that often during the day? My son was waking that often for feeds but recently he's been cluster feeding from 5:30 until 9:30...spends most of that time on he boob and he's waking a lot less. I have to swaddle him too or he won't sleep for more than a few minutes.

 

[kmac625]

Ooh swaddling, great idea, I don't even know how people get their very young LO's to sleep without it - Thomas would be awake within seconds of I put him down unswaddled.

We tried swaddling at first, but as it was 40C when Clara was born it was way too hot for it. She'd wake up all sweaty so I had to stop after just a few days. Luckily she was ok with that and now she moves quite a bit in her sleep, rolling all over the place.

 

[Cassiesam]

Breastfed babies do tend to digest their milk much more quickly but that still does sound like a lot of waking. Have you tried breast compressions (gently massaging your breast from top toward the areola) towards the end of the feed to keep lo interested and also ensure that she's getting enough hindmilk?

Have you ruled out silent reflux at all? If she's always woken so frequently it may be worth looking into this and if it seems likely, perhaps go to your gp for some meds. Babies with silent reflux get the pain of reflux but rarely spit up and often their weight gain is really good - they feed more frequently though as this eases the pain cause by the reflux.

Just a few ideas x

 

[queenbee_01]

Ah yes I do swaddle... That's the only way she does go to sleep for that little time she does. But she wakes up quickly and the blanket jut ends up in her mouth as she explores the new cloth covering her.

Any foods that u guys found, that keep the lil one going throughout the night?
Shes just had banana and pear.. Hated carrots. I know they say it's a myth that solid fud makes lil one sleep longer..but what have u found from experience?