My almost 8 mo old DS will wake up every 1-2 hours and will be moving his head back and forth and flailing an arm and kicking his legs. He will babble, moan and yell out. I have been quickly nursing him back to sleep so as not to awake my DH who has to wake up very early.
However, it dawned on me that perhaps our LO is going through REM cycles and might not entirely be awake and I might be creating a nursing habit that he might not need.
I have tried to shhush him and pat and rub his back and that seems to help him calm down and fall back asleep and his babbling will slow to a whisper until it peeters out. Sometimes he will reach for my breasts, so I frequently oblige.
I am wondering if he is actually awake or if he's just dreaming (can't imagine what he could be dreaming!). Sometimes his eyes will be open, so I presume he is awake, but have heard that some people can open their eyes and still be asleep. He will quickly close them and fall back asleep, presuming he was awake.
I am going to try to hold off on nursing him unless he doesn't calm down quickly, but I am just curious as to whether he is truly awake or just dreaming.
However, it dawned on me that perhaps our LO is going through REM cycles and might not entirely be awake and I might be creating a nursing habit that he might not need.
I have tried to shhush him and pat and rub his back and that seems to help him calm down and fall back asleep and his babbling will slow to a whisper until it peeters out. Sometimes he will reach for my breasts, so I frequently oblige.
I am wondering if he is actually awake or if he's just dreaming (can't imagine what he could be dreaming!). Sometimes his eyes will be open, so I presume he is awake, but have heard that some people can open their eyes and still be asleep. He will quickly close them and fall back asleep, presuming he was awake.
I am going to try to hold off on nursing him unless he doesn't calm down quickly, but I am just curious as to whether he is truly awake or just dreaming.
