8 mo up, fussy, wants to nurse every 2 hours or less

[aliciarose]

we started bed sharing with DD because we hoped it'd make things easier for everyone. 

She falls asleep in her pack and play next to the bed and after the first wakeup I bring her into bed with me. The problem is that she's still up at least every 2 hours and is very fussy when she gets up unless she gets to nurse and often she's still fussy after nursing..

This is last night's schedule:

7:40 Down awake in her pack and play. fell asleep on her own without any fussing or crying (often she'll fuss, we comfort and she goes down)

9:40 Up. Dad tries to comfort her to no avail. I give in and nurse her after some pretty intense crying (she only cried for less than 2 minutes total, in Dad's arms. I want him to have a chance to do some of the night parenting, but she just won't have it.) Goes back down into pack and play after nursing.

11: 45 Up. Nurses. Falls back asleep

1:45 Up. Nurses. Sort of falls back asleep but remains cranky in bed with us, nursing one or two more times before she finally gets good sleep again around 5 a.m.  She has been getting so frustrated in bed (arching her back, kicking, flopping around, pulling, yelling) but cries like crazy when we put in her the pack and play.

6:35 up for the day. 

I;m exhausted. She goes 3-5 hrs during the day without eating. I can't tell if shed be better off in her own room so she doesn't expect me? My nipples are starting to hurt because she's not a very gentle nurser at night (and she has no teeth yet :|) I'm afraid that I have to get her to stop doing this soon or it's just going to get worse :( 

What really bothers me is the time when she gets up is super cranky. She is so clearly frustrated but I can't figure out way. We had a really terrible night recently where she was grabbing and scratching and really hurt me. I don't know what to do.

[TiredX2]

You sound so tired.  Are you getting any sleep?

The first suggestion I would make (that is easy) is to nurse her more often during the day!  How often are you offerring?  I would be sure to offer at least every two hours.  I'm sure she is distracted during the day and harder to nurse, but I think you'll feel a lot better if you can get her to leave her 3-5 hour breaks for night time and her 2 hour breaks for day time!

[purplerose]

tiredx2, in your experience, does feeding more often in the day really lead to less feeding at night? i'm in this same situation with my 8 month old, minus most of the fussing mentioned by the OP.

and to the OP, is this recent or has it always been this way? i was thinking if it is new behavior, it could be teeth or new milestones. if normal the whole 8 months then i pity you and my own self lol.my daughter wakes every sleep cycle and won't fall back to sleep without a boob. we went through like 20+ different pacifiers and they are only toys or teething toys to her. at least she doesn't fuss all night like your baby. she does fight naps horribly with slapping, flinging and screeching.

[TiredX2]

Originally Posted by purplerose 

tiredx2, in your experience, does feeding more often in the day really lead to less feeding at night? i'm in this same situation with my 8 month old, minus most of the fussing mentioned by the OP.

and to the OP, is this recent or has it always been this way? i was thinking if it is new behavior, it could be teeth or new milestones. if normal the whole 8 months then i pity you and my own self lol.my daughter wakes every sleep cycle and won't fall back to sleep without a boob. we went through like 20+ different pacifiers and they are only toys or teething toys to her. at least she doesn't fuss all night like your baby. she does fight naps horribly with slapping, flinging and screeching.

LOL, I really have no idea.  I do know that most kids that age *can* (not necessarily do) go for at least one 3-4 hour segment in a 24 hour period.  My kids never did it at night!  It was just a suggestion--- since the OP does have a child who is willing to go that long between nursings each day the most logical solution would be to attempt to switch the timing to be more convenient.  Personallly, both of my kids were nursing more frequently than every two hours day and night at that age (except when DD was reverse cycling).

[Roodle29]

I am so heartened to hear that I have company. My LO is almost 8 months. He eats at least every 2 hours day or night. He has never slept through the night, but in the past he has never really fully woken up at night either. I didn't really mind the wiggling, waking up to nurse and going back to sleep. We practice EC as well, and i used to be able to even potty him without him waking completely, now he whines and fusses no matter whether it is potty or boobie. Honestly, two hour chunks doesnt sound bad anymore. I feel like he is awake about 10 times throughout the night. He is definitely cutting some teeth, so I'd like to blame it on that, but I'm worried this is the new norm.

I'm open to suggestions.

[aliciarose]

hey everybody

thank you so much for taking the time to respond. It seriously makes such a difference to know people have been through what I'm going through.

Sure enough, it  was teeth. She got her first one/two on the bottom and has been sleeping more, though still sometimes only 2 hours at a time. (A couple nights ago she slept from 12-5 and I woke up totally alarmed! I had trouble falling back asleep and by the time i did she was up again. Oh babies.)

We still have some trouble but she is getting one good stretch of 3-5 hours and then usually at least 2 hours after that. It's still a dance to figure out if she wants to be in her pack and play or in the bed with us.  We tried ibuprofen after her first wakeup one night because we suspected it was teething pain but it make 0 difference so we didn't try it again. I wish I could give her some relief, and am so afraid of what her next teeth (and god, molars!) are going to be like because she was literally like this for WEEKS.

I have tried nursing more during the day and didn't notice much of a difference. 
thank you again, and please, people still struggling, report back and let us know.

[Princessjules]

My son is 9mo and we r having similar night waking problems. Thankfully DH and I are both strongly against sleep training and he is helping a lot at night. DS goes down between 7 and 8 sleeps for an hour and then wakes up DH or I will put him back to sleep for another hour or longer and usually when i crawl into bed I nurse him but he still wakes often in the night although I don't always nurse him back to sleep. I think part of it is my milk supply being affected by my current pg ( 27 weeks) but for the last week he has been very restless but won't take a bottle, if he is even hungry... Last night was really bad, it seemed like he NEVER went into a deep sleep! When DH got up with him this am and changed his diaper he found a pair of nail clippers in his onesie ( he wasn't hurt or scratched or anything but I felt TERRIBLE that I didn't even think to check to see if he was comfortable.. Poor baby...) ! So the mystery of last night I think is solved but still trying to figure out what the other night's problems were :/

Just wanted you to know there is another mommy who shares your pain/ fatigue!
 

[Princessjules]

BTW in case anyone is still having issues and suspects teething, I bought DS one of those Amber teething necklaces and he is sleeping so much better! we are back to pretty much nursing two times at night  and his naps are longer and seem more restful. I found the amber necklace on amazon for $20 and it has been so worth the money considering the actual rest I get!