Reverse Cycling: Nursing all night and no sleep for Mom!

[Clearwater]

I could really use some advice on this one! My 7 month old DD wakes up every hour (or even more frequently) during the night to nurse.

I was able to stay home with her until she was 5 months old and we have always just breastfed on demand, she never did like to take a bottle. She also used to sleep through the night or a least 4 to 6 hours straight and then only waking every 2-3 hours after that.

I went back to work two months ago and my DD is home with DH. He tries to give her expressed breast milk but she will only ever eat about an ounce and only a few times a day. Some days I am able to nurse her at lunch time. But there are other days where she only eats 3 total ounces from 8am-5:30pm.

She nurses all night and I am loosing it from a huge lack of sleep. I kept thinking it would get better and she would start sleeping in straight chunks again but it has been TWO MONTHS! I can barly function at work. DD only takes 1 or 2 small naps during the day and I know that her lack of deep sleep is not good for her either.

If DH tries to feed her at night she gets really mad because she knows that I'm home and I hear her crying and can't sleep anyways. Also DH is a very heavy sleeper (all men's excuse?) and I wake up at my DD slightest noise. My milk supply also seems to be decreasing. I think that DD loves to nurse and is hungry because she didn't eat all day. She is also in the 15th% for weight and always has been so i am worried about restricting her nursing time.

Thanks for readig all that, Any advice is appreciated!!!!!!

[Clearwater]

I forgot, we co-sleep (just DD and I) and the cuddle time is important to both of us and I would hate to miss that part but would love the sleep part.

[Super~Single~Mama]

I completely feel your pain!!! We have the same problem, and here's what has worked (with some minor success) for us.

1. Milk Slushies - thaw in the fridge until its able to be broken up a bit, and then its like a slurpee only its BM - Lincoln LOVES it (but hates any and all other forms of milk other than the boobie)

2. Mixing milk with solid foods. You didn't say whether your daughter is eating solids yet, but if she is, this is another good way to get some milk into her. We like to mix it with sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, oatmeal, and a few other things but I can't remember right now. It gets something in him. 8oz/day we consider a HUGE success.

Good luck!!

PS - I drink Mothers Milk Tea at night before bed, and that seems to increase my nighttime supply so that he doesn't have to nurse quite as frequently.

[sewchris2642]

No advice but couldn't pass up the chance to give you a hug from a BTDT mom to let you know that you are not alone. Dylan never liked bottles either and ended up reverse nursing for 2 years. The only thing that saved my sanity was that he also insisted on co-sleeping. I learned to nurse him in my sleep. I don't know what I would have done if he had insisted on sleeping in his own bed like his sister, Erica. But then she slept 6-8 hours a night at an early age but only cat napped during the day.

[Latte Mama]

Is your DH giving it to her in a bottle? Maybe she would take the EBM in a cup? I started my DS with a cup around 7-8 months. He also started using a straw around that time too.

I second the PP about mixing BM with food. We used to mix with oatmeal for breakfast, that was always good for 2-3 oz.
My DS also reverse cycled for awhile but what I did was nurse him as soon as I walked in the door from work. Then I'd basically keep offering the breast every hour or so until we went to bed with the hopes that would keep the night wakings down to a minimum.
GL!

[Geeka]

I think my DD is doing the same thing. About two weeks ago she stopped nursing during the day. A couple of things happened that week, she learned to walk (she is 10.5 months old) and we went to Colorado for a long weekend. I thought the strike during the day would be just that, a strike, but she hasn't nursed more than twice a day for the past week. Once around 3pm and then again when she goes to sleep around 7pm. I express around 10am and try to get her to drink from a sippy cup or sometimes I mix it in with her cereal. But she does wake up about every 3-4 hours at night. She used to sleep between 6-7 hours straight, but not anymore. We don't co-sleep anymore and this new feeding schedule is taking a toll on me. We never gave her bottles and although she drinks from the cup, I worry she isn't getting enough liquids during the day. I do offer her my breast all day, but she refuses. Will our feeding ever go back to the way it used to be? Any advice?