my 4 month old was sleeping thru the night up until recently. now she is waking every two hours to nurse. I am at a lost for what to do. She is exclusively being breast fed and this is wearing me out. Any suggestions?
Does she sleep with you? I agree: nurse her. At that age, they are growing so rapidly that she probably needs the milk in the middle of the night. You'll get through it!
This is a super typical age for a sleep regression! You are not alone, yes it is tiring, but you will get through it.
You can encourage more nursing during the day by going into a darkened room to lay down and have some quiet time to nurse (at this age babies often get super distracted while nursing during the day, which can lead to more night time nursing - it will not eliminate the night nursing entirely, but it may help some).
If you SAH you can nap when baby naps too, which will help you get the sleep you need.
She does sleep with me. I have been nursing her. I guess it was such a sudden change from her typical behavior that I thought that something was wrong. I am in a better place. I wrote that post completely sleep deprived and at my wits end...I appreciate the responses even the seemingly snippy ones .
Like everyone said, nurse her! Things will get better AND worse ;)
If you don't want her to associate falling asleep with sucking, make sure she is able to fall asleep without the breast in her mouth. you can read more on sleep association on Elizabeth Pantley's website...
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