Nighttime Sleep « Back to Group Discussions

[siffleuse319]

Hey Mamas! We're having some difficulty with 4.5mo old DD and her night time sleep. She sleeps in our bed and wakes every hour or so to nurse. She doesn't really wake up...unless I don't provide my breast. Then it's all out screaming until her need is satisfied. She came into this world as a naturally good sleeper and I really feel like co-sleeping and BFing changed all of that. I haven't had DH take her when she wakes yet because honestly....we all just need sleep. But, I have a 2.5yr old DS that needs me to be more lively during the day. I feel like I can't keep up with this lifestyle for another year or 2. But it's my instinctual way to parent, so I'm conflicted on whether or not to intervene to try to change things. Any suggestions or commiserations??? How do you put your baby down for the night? How often is he/she waking? 

[mtn.mama]

have you tried putting her on the potty at night?  my baby has to pee several times overnight or she can't sleep.  i'm consciously reducing nursing sessions all through the day and night, trying to push it back to 3 or 4 hours so that we can get big blocks at night.

[siffleuse319]

BUMP for more stories about how you LO sleeps at night...

[atomicrocket]

My little guy is sleeping for 3-4 hours at the beginning of the night and then he usually wakes up every hour after that to nurse. I'm hoping it's just a phase and that it will end soon. He was sleeping fine until a few weeks ago. I am so, so tired! Definitely feeling your pain.

[1blueheron]

Originally Posted by atomicrocket 

My little guy is sleeping for 3-4 hours at the beginning of the night and then he usually wakes up every hour after that to nurse. I'm hoping it's just a phase and that it will end soon. He was sleeping fine until a few weeks ago. I am so, so tired! Definitely feeling your pain.

Basically this.  But honestly I'm not complaining because he takes such good naps.  DD was an awesome night sleeper and a really cruddy napper - this way (bad night sleep) works so much better for me than the other way around.  

And honestly....if I can be sappy for a minute...this is my last baby, and I really relish those semi-wakings when we snuggle and nurse and doze back off together.  DS is such a sweet, sweet co-sleeper, my heart is going to break when he leaves our bed.

Siffleuse, hope it gets a little easier for you!  Not sure I'd relish the night wakings if they were that frequent  ;)

[yippiehippie]

Well, this one's awesome at night, compared to his big brother. Our difficulty is more at naps, which are HORRIBLE.

DS1, though, woke every hour to nurse all night long. He did that for months and months, actually he didn't start sleeping in longer than 2 hour stretches until he was over a year. Sorry, I know that's not what you want to hear and, yes, it sucks. I look back on it now, and I really did try everything (short of CIO, every gently approach!), nothing worked. He just couldn't sleep well. He didn't start sleeping all night until he weaned himself when I was pregnant (about 18 months).

My best advice is to embrace it, it will pass. Otherwise you'll just be pissed off and she's so young that it would be hard, if even possible, to try to control it. If she's waking to nurse that much it's what she needs. If your sleep is suffering so much that you are tired all the time and grumpy then have a talk with DH and see if he can help. Mine used to try to give me a longer stretch of sleep by taking the babe at first wake up and hanging out with him, going for a drive, whatever, just so I could at least get a couple or so solid hours in. OR take naps on the weekend by yourself while DH watches DD. It's soooooo hard to be a good mom and wife when you're so tired:(

Other suggestions - get on the nighttime parenting forum here, there's lots of good advice and helps to know you're not alone. No Cry Sleep Solution is good, or just look up elizabeth Pantley's site. Also, try seeing if you can nurse her to sleepy, then put her down at the beginning of the night. Many babes feel they need to do whatever they were doing when going to sleep when they wake.

[TeamGR]

I don't nurse to sleep for naps, we do eat-play-sleep during the day (and the baby is the one who initiated the pattern), but for the last hour before he goes to sleep, we nurse 2-3 times, and he falls asleep at the last nursing. 

So right now I'm getting 8pm-4am which is amazing amazing.   The problem is at 4am.  I go get the boy, bring him in to bed, and nurse.  But he is AWAKE!  Grabbing at my other nipple, kicking me in the stomach, punching my boobie to get more milk.  After I nurse, he' just up up up.  Which is impossible at 4:30a.  I'm starting to try and rock him back to sleep, this morning it took until 5:15, and then he was up again at 6a, which is when I just give up and get up.  (Or my husband does, depending on whose turn it is). 

Any suggestions for my super awake morning baby?  Is 8-4 simply enough sleep for him?  I can't imagine trying to keep him up until 9p, he's so miserably tired by 8p.  

He's also a short napper. Three 45-minute naps per day if I'm lucky!