NOT sleeping :-( exhausted parents.

[bonjourmama]

Our 6.5 mth old has suddenly started waking up all through the night. As in every hour or so.

No longer naps very well either.

Here is what has been happening:

-teething...2 front teeth, she has also been feverish, sickish but have been chalking that up to the rather hard time she is having with these teeth.

-in the last month almost completely supplementing because I have such small supply. She no longer wants to wait for my slow let down and since she was tongue tied for the first 4 mths she doesn't like to work very hard to get milk out.

-we have moved. She now shares a bedroom with us. When I try to bring her into bed with us she does not allow herself to sleep, she seems to think we just want to play (or she will just cry)

- she takes a very long time to go down to sleep. Abnormal for her. Wakes up with a screaching cry shortly after we have put her down.

-we don't cry it out, or practice sleep training.

-I have been extra stressed now that we live in an apartment. I am afraid people will get mad that my baby is crying so much. Because she has generally not been happy lately either. 

What could be going on? I try to talk to my mama friends about this but they just sort of look at me and say, "huh"

[Snapdragon]

is she waking because she is hungry? I only ask that because when my ds was around 7 months he went through a period of waking up every 2 hrs to nurse- which was not what he had been doing, ithad been every 4-5 hrs.  At that point he was mostly still only exclusively breastfed- only a little solids. After trying different approaches to it,  we upped his solid intake- and he started sleeping longer stretches again- so for us the issue was that he got hungry every 2 hrs from only the breastmilk.

Are you formula feeding? Are you doing solids? I am only sharing my own limited experience so take it for what you will!

[bonjourmama]

well, she nurses for a minute (literally it only takes a minute because I have very little milk) and then we give her about 2 oz of formula. Then she lays down, and we pat her. She seems to drift off after 15 minutes or so, but then wakes up shortly after. We have tried nights without formula, essentially trying to see if she could just be comforted and put back down. But she just cried.

Yes, she eats solids, but maybe I need to up her intake. Thx for the response.

[Snapdragon]

yes- you could try feeding her something solid before bed- like baby cereal ( I know lots of people on mdc hate baby cereal! just my opinion- no flames please!) and see if that helps. good luck!

[expat-mama]

It sounds like you've struggled with your breastfeeding issues, and I'm not sure where you've gotten your help or info from or what measures you've taken to deal with your low supply. But just in case you didn't know this, if your LO is only nursing for a minute or two your supply won't increase. For your supply to increase she needs to stimulate the breast often and for longer than a minute- even if there isn't much milk coming out, let her nurse and suck for a long while every hour or two- this is almost a sure way to up your supply and she should find comfort in it as well. I've had dips in my supply and letting my son nurse all day for a couple of days (and eating oatmeal for breakfast every day) REALLY worked. It sounds like she might be hungry if she is not getting much breastmilk and then only a couple oz of formula. Also, my let down definitely takes longer than a minute- you said yours was "slow" and that your DD won't wait... does she not like sucking for comfort? Could you try having her suck after she has had some formula so she's not desperately hungry?

My little one is 7 months old too and teething with 2 bottoms coming in at the same time. He's been up a lot at night too- it IS just part of the process and it's a rough time for everyone. We're going to take a gentle and slow approach to our DS's night wakings using the No Cry Sleep Solution and hope that helps a bit, but I'm also keeping in mind that this is all part of life with a babe and this it will soon be a memory.

[Knitting Mama]

Consider trying to supplement her at breast instead of with a bottle. Get an SNS or a Lact-Aid, and try that. There are a few reasons this is beneficial. First and foremost, the more she nurses, the more she will help stimulate your supply. Secondly, it takes away the preference that some babies get to having a bottle, which leads to rejecting the breast (which may be happening to you as you say she only nurses for a minute). Thirdly, your nursing relationship remains. I highly, highly recommend this method over a bottle whenever possible. We've been using an SNS here for my daughter's whole life, so 10 months.