If you have a toddler, co-sleep, and still nurse, how're the nights going? - Page 2

[mamandedeux]

Originally Posted by kdo 

I also have a frequent night-nurser, he is 27 months.  He wakes to nurse anywhere from 3-6 times a night (more at times).  Lately i have definitely been feeling like I"ve had enough, especially because he wants to stay latched on, often sleeping on top of me while latched and it's literally irritating.

after nursing his older sister for three years and now him for a couple years, let's just say my breasts have seen better days!

We live parallell lives.

I have a latched-on chest sleeper too.

I'm so tired. I really want to nightwean but giving in is sooooooo much easier than fighting him 7 times a night. Anyone else want to tackle nightweaning together? I feel like I could manage it with some support. If he's anything like his brother, we'll all be sleeping so much better sans all-night boobie.

[Greenlea]

I just posted about this in breastfeeding.  We co-sleep as well.  My 14mth old gets up every 2 hours to nurse at night, and wants to nurse on both sides before he will fall back asleep - usually wanting to still latch.  Its driving me insane - the lack of sleep and the constant flipping back and forth so he can nurse on both sides while laying down.  I feel my only option is to nightwean.  Would you consider nightweaning - you can still nurse during the day.

My 1st son was not like this, so I think thats why its driving me mad as well.  My DC1 was a great sleeper from the get go and night weaned himself by 5-6 mths.  He's been sleeping through the night ever since, in his own bed, and he's almost 3.  I wanted to co-sleep with him, but he wanted to be on his own.

Crazy how so different my two boys are.

[Tattooed Hand]

MY DD's sleep has always been bad. Part of this was due to food intolerances that took a long time to pin down. But she also experiences teething as tortuous pain. But I work (part time and mostly at home until she was 20 months old and even now I only go to work 3 days a week) and the sleep deprivation was killing me. She woke up every 1-2 hours all night long every night to nurse (even though she had unrestricted access all day!) and sometimes was incredibly restless for long periods. Even when I took some time off from work I was non-functional. So at 13 months, once we figured out her food sensitivities, we did a limited night weaning so that I could get an uninterrupted night of sleep from 11-4. There was some crying the first 3-4 nights, but it was for a minute or two (I was surprised how short it was) and then she would just roll into me for a cuddle or a pat and go back to sleep. This all goes to hell during bad teething periods or colds, but I can handle that. The sustained interrupted sleep was killing me though.

I've recently extended it (DD is 25 months) so that we don't nurse from between 11 or 12 (when ever I come to bed) and after 5 am (she usually doesn't wake up until 5:30 or 6 now for a nurse and then goes back to sleep for an hour or two). One thing I do is to dream feed her when I come to bed unless she's woken up on her own near my bedtime. If she woke up and nursed at 9pm, I dream feed her at 11:30, otherwise she will wake up at 3 and want to nurse. Since she seems fine with going 5-7 hours without nursing, the bedtime dream feed has really improved my ability to get a good chunk of unbroken sleep. This I can do, without expecting her to do 11 hours in a row, which seems unreasonable unless it happens on its own.

Of course that's all gone to hell now with the 2 year molars coming in, but some nights are still good and I am confident that we'll go back to most nights being good once they are in.

good luck mamas. It's hard to be sleep deprived, and while I think you should do what is best for your children, it should not be to deteriment of you. If the sleep deprivation is interfering with your own basic happiness and ability to function in your life (including being a good parent) then it's not a sustainable way of life!