co-sleeping and breastfeeding

[icy02]

This may be a ridiculous question considering the fact I am co-sleeping and bf'ing my 3 mo DS2... How can I get him to sleep better and not wanting to BF every hour-hour and a half during the night. I am just so exhausted having my sleep interrupted 5 or more times during the night. By the time morning comes I don't feel like I slept at all. I am not expecting him to sleep through the night, but it would be great to get down to 2 feedings in the night.

He is not nursing b/c he is hungry. I think it is comfort nursing. As his sleep cycle comes to an end he wakes up in search of the breast rather than just falling back into sleep.

I am just at my end of what I can handle... Advice??

[akind1]

Does he take a pacifier at all? or is he a thumb sucker? when DS took a paci, often he'd wake and I would just pop that in. If all he wanted to do was suck, that would do the trick. If he were hungry, it would spit it right out.

with my DS, I alway sleep in a cami or nightgown with easy access, so while I can get the boob out easily and in a hurry, I can also "put" it away, so to speak. I found somewhere around 3-4 months I would turn to DS without the boob "out" and he just wanted to grab a handful of cami/nightgown and would go back to sleep. If he kept rooting, it meant he actually wanted to eat, and I would let the boob out.

you might also try seeing if he'd allow your DH to give him a cuddle at some point of the night to get back to sleep.

[icy02]

He doesn't really take paci's. I've tried. If I hold it in his mouth he will use it to teethe on... I try to get him back to sleep without offering the breast first, and sometimes it works but usually he wants to nurse.

I forgot to mention that I do nurse him laying in bed and I just wear a t-shirt to bed so its really easy access. I guess I'm just complaining that he wakes up fairly often and it just disturbs my sleep. He does usually fall back asleep within 10 mins.

With DS1 it was totally different, b/c he was adopted and bottle fed. I had him on a feeding "schedule" so to speak.. Also, DH was able to give bottles and by three month was doing all the night feedings for me since I was still working. Caeleb is bf on demand and has recently started refusing a bottle..

Is this something I just need to suck up? Or is there a way to work at getting longer sleep stretches with him in our bed?

[rzberrymom]

Have you tried swaddling? Using a Miracle Blanket made my DD go from sleeping 30 minute stretches to 5-7 hour stretches...seriously. She slept like a rock in it until she was 9 months old, and then she made it very clear that she didn't need it anymore.

[Asiago]

Once we began co-sleeping, my son would just latch on and never wake up, so I am not sure if my advice will be helpful.
Perhaps just let him nurse as much as he wants and try to adapt (I know easier said than done ). It may be helpful for your milk production and meeting baby's needs.
It took me a while to figure out how to comfortably and successfully co-sleep.
Good luck, please let us know how it turns out.

[Maluhia]

Sounds pretty normal for a three month old, their tummies empty that fast sometimes if they are not getting a full feeding. Maybe encourage her to nurse longer when she wakes up instead of falling asleep after a snack? But really....sounds normal.