Sleepless Nights Support Thread

[Sideways 8]

Green Lady. Your story is exactly one of the reasons we chose to FF from the start. I am not patient or mentally strong enough to be the sole person to feed my LO. I get crazy and nearly evil without my sleep!! I commend you for making it 3 months so far you are much stronger than me!!! Hang in there sweetie. And it does sound like he is just wanting to help. Good luck!

 

[mamalove]

After having 3 children who slept through the night pretty much from birth,who had long naps during the day and where never fussy i now have someone who is the total opposite!

I don't think he has slept more then 10hr all together since he was born,and the biggest issue is that he will ONLY SLEEP IF I'M HOLDING HIM AND HE'S ATTACHED TO MY BREAST!!! literally as soon as i put him down he wakes up and cries.

noone else can hold him or settle him,after he finished his feed he keeps the breast in his mouth and falls asleep,but when i take him off he wakes up and wants to BF again.
this baby no.4 so i have TRIED EVERYTHING and nothing works. he will not take a dummy or bottle (formula or bm) and if he's not hungry he'll still stay attached but just spit the milk out of the side of his mouth.

what do i do? :/

 

[mamalove]

he also screams like crazy while i take a shower or go toilet ..so literally he is constantly in my arms or screaming if im doing basic things i HAVE TO DO for only few mins!

 

[Frecks]

Hellooo thought I'd join, it's only temporary sleepless nights ATM, little man has a cold and can't breathe even with one end of his Moses basket raised so I'm sat up with him, mamalove my lo slept a bit more when I was bf but apart from that your lo sounds like mine was, ff has been brilliant he's a different baby! Not meaning you should switch just I know how you feel, ff was the right choice for us as he was a very fussy feeder and got frustrated meaning constant relatching and pain!xxx

 

[mamalove]

i tried formula top ups,expressing as well ..he just wont take a bottle
i know he's not hungry every time he feeds but i think he's depending on the breast too much and makes a scene as soon as he's not skin to skin with me

 

[Green Lady]

Green Lady. Your story is exactly one of the reasons we chose to FF from the start. I am not patient or mentally strong enough to be the sole person to feed my LO. I get crazy and nearly evil without my sleep!! I commend you for making it 3 months so far you are much stronger than me!!! Hang in there sweetie. And it does sound like he is just wanting to help. Good luck!

Thank you. I think DH is frustrated too because he hardly ever gets to see the baby. He sees her for five minutes before work and she's usually asleep by the time he gets home. It's ironic, I've got her stuck to me 24 hours a day but he doesn't see her at all.

We did try giving her a bottle but she never really took to it, either FF or BM. I guess she's just a boobie baby, lol. At this point I'm just patiently waiting on weaning. We have a double whammy too because she always nurses to sleep. She *can* self-settle but only at her leisure! I'm glad I breastfed but if we have another I will definitely be trying harder on the bottles.

Mamalove, I'm grateful that our LO's ultra-clingy phase didn't last too long, I know how frustrating it can be! And you have other kids who need attention too. It sounds like your little guy just needs more of mama's comfort. Have you tried wearing him? It might make him feel more secure and get you off the sofa! Good luck. xx

 

[mamalove]

Thanks GreenLady x
i was thinking of buying a sling or baby carrier,i just don't know what to go for for maximum comfort? i'm just worried that wearing him will make our situation worse because i'm already holding him all the time,so he might decide to stick to it for a while

 

[Green Lady]

Thanks GreenLady x
i was thinking of buying a sling or baby carrier,i just don't know what to go for for maximum comfort? i'm just worried that wearing him will make our situation worse because i'm already holding him all the time,so he might decide to stick to it for a while

A Moby or similar stretchy wrap is pretty comfortable with a newborn but they're a bit fiddly to put on. It took me a while to get used to mine but LO seemed to enjoy being in it. Maybe you could ask in the natural parenting forum here, they've got loads of good advice on the subject!

 

[Sidsapple]

Hello,
Allow me to join you in the sleepless nights issue.
Well, LO does sleep but wakes up every 2 hours if it is not less. And hardly sleeps during the day
She is 8 weeks now, I'm breastfeeding her but Hubby gives her a bottle around 11pm to let me rest a bit.
I think the problem is that she sleeps while I feed her which can take an hour...
In the early days I have been told that she will settle... but when !??
Good luck Ladies

 

[sailorsgirl]

Im driving myself crazy. My 9 week old baby girl has been sleeping through the night for about a week now...so why cant I? Im getting between 2 and 4 hours a night. And ive only myself to blame lol xz

 

[katlin]

I wish she would just effin sleep! I'm so fed up I try to keep her up most of the day with naps but she just turns into a limp sleepy noodle n then at night she just cries and cries I'm so frustrated she usually doesn't let me sleep until midnight and then she wakes up at 4:30 till close to six and then I have to be up at 8:30 the latest cause of zain... I've literally had a headache for two weeks straight I'm drinking a pot of coffee every day. I really don't think I can do this anymore I seriously just want to chuck her at the wall some nights, I cry, I snap at my son all the time. I'm seriously second guessing having a second child...

 

[katlin]

Oh and I'm drinking more then I ever have I'm a great mom eh?

 

[Lauki]

I notice Sophie sleeps better at night when she has 3 (4 at your daughters age) proper naps. She would never be up longer than 1-1.5 hours at a time. If I try to keep her awake, she turns into this horrific monster that doesn't sleep or wakes up every 30 minutes.

Or does your daughter want to sleep ALL the time during the day? (Just trying to help!)

 

[Sideways 8]

Katlin, its ok hon. We all get frustrated. You are a great mom don't worry. You know sometimes I even second guess having my first child!! I wanted 3-4 kids before she was born, now I go through moments where I don't even want the one!! And sometimes those "moments" can last for a few days in a row. You can do this. We can so this, and these babies will grow out of this stage sooner than we realize.

And don't worry about the drinking!! I look forward to margaritas all the time LOL!

 

[qpaulina42]

lauki, I love that picture with the headphones!

 

[katlin]

Well I talked to my doctor and she says I have pnd and prescribed me zoloft. I'll be starting it tomorrow I'm starting to have some pretty sadistic thoughts so its probably a good thing.

 

[Lauki]

lauki, I love that picture with the headphones!

Thanks!! .

Well I talked to my doctor and she says I have pnd and prescribed me zoloft. I'll be starting it tomorrow I'm starting to have some pretty sadistic thoughts so its probably a good thing.

So sorry to hear that! I hope you feel better soon with the medication. Well done for looking for help! Don't ever feel bad about yourself. Having a baby is the biggest emotional rollercoaster ever!!

 

[Green Lady]

Well, baby injections are good for one thing: last night Caroline actually slept for 4 hours straight. That's the longest she's slept in months! I was awake of course but I managed to get a little shuteye in. I think I'm going to focus on establishing a bedtime routine. We've never really had one. Usually she just puts out tiredness signals, I get her changed and nurse her to sleep. I don't know if a bedtime routine will help our particular situation since going to sleep isn't her problem (just staying there!) but it's worth a try.

Katlin, I know how awful a lack of sleep can make you feel. I feel like an entirely different person sometimes, and she's not someone I really care for. Be strong and I'm glad to hear you've taken steps to help. You're not a bad mummy at all, just a tired one!

 

[Kasia]

Hi ladies
I am joining this thread as my baby girl is definitely a night owl. She parties like a rockstar from midnight till about 6-7am when she falls asleep for 3-4 hours (I probably just jinxed myself). She will be 3wks on monday. After having to supplement per dr orders due to jaundice she stopped latching after one week. After hours & hours of her screeming & me crying I gave up bf & am now expressing & ff. Its hard. I try to pump every 3 hours during the day but come night time (which I KNOW is when you establish milk supply) it's so hard because once she settles down all I want is to lay ny head down. So I usually pump @ 10pm 2am again try to @5 then not again till 11-noon.the formula is making her super gassy @ night. Gas drops & gripe water don't always cut it. She won't let me pump while in same room she screams I have to leave the room cause she wakes up if I pump next to her. I'm really hoping she starts sleeping longer intervals @ night. Hope everyone is able to get some rest

 

[Sideways 8]

Kasia, which formula are you using? Our LO was gassy till we switched to Enfamil Gentlease. Maybe you can give that a shot?