Who's tired of...............

[Jude's Mama]

hearing there formula feeding friends brag how long their babies sleep!
I just visited a friend last night with newborn twins (adorable little boys!)
She is bottle feeding. A whole issue I won't even get into!! Anyway, the babes are 3 weeks old and she's bragging about how they sleep 3 to 4 hours! She couldn't believe that my babe still wakes 2 to 3 hours a night at 4 months. He does sometimes sleep 4 hours only if we've had a busy day. Is anyone else just plain old tired of the CRAP people say? It goes far beyond just sleep but...the opions and statements are getting pretty old!!!! Guess I just needed to blow off some steam!




THANXS

[MysticHealerMom]

I'm with ya!

[teachma]

Yeah, especially since I know newborns who sleep a longer stretch than my 2.5 year old! I have (only once or twice) reminded one or two such braggers that babies aren't really supposed to sleep for long stretches, but then I felt mean about implying that I was doing it right and she was doing it wrong.

[MaShroom]

funny you would post that, i just emailed some medical reference site about their "advantages of formula feeding" list. that was one of the things on their list. yeah, it makes me grumpy too.

[candiland]

Oh, I can totally relate!
I was talking to my sister today.... I have a DS who's 8 1/2 months old and in the 100th percentile for height and weight. She was asking me why I didn't give DS bottles of water and juice yet (??!#^&**)? She told me that she started giving her formula-fed son bottles of water and juice at six months old, then said, "Well, geez, isn't all that breastmilk FATTENING? Maybe he's just thirsty sometimes..." adding to her previous comments about how huge my son is....
I mean, honestly. Only in our fat-obsessed culture do we start thinking of putting healthy breastfed babies on diets....:

[Piglet68]

Well, my 100% breastfed baby has always slept well. As a newborn she slept for 3 hours between night feeds, and it quickly got longer. Now she'll often go 7 hours between her last feed at night and her first one in the morning. I think anyone who would plan ahead of time to FF based solely on the assumption that to BF would mean getting less sleep would be really missing out!

Of course, when you are nursing and cosleeping the whole nightfeeding thing becomes a non-issue anyways. I'll take 3 or 4 barely-awake-while-doing-it nightfeeds for a quietly hungry baby over even one that made me get out of my warm bed to a screaming baby, lol!

[MamaOui]

..............

[Arduinna]

yeah, some babies sleep more than others regardless of feeding method. My dd was breastfed at birth and slept for really long stretches. So it isn't a given either way.

[mamaduck]

I have had several friends brag to me often about how easily their babies FALL asleep. I.e. -- "I just lay him in his crib and leave the room, and he falls asleep on his own!"

WELL -- in SO many cases I have later learned that they actually BOTTLE PROP their babies and leave the room!!!! Which is a horrendous and dangerous thing to do, and I thought discouraged even in mainstream circles!!! Grrrr...... Cheaters!

[DaryLLL]

2 of my 3 slept for long stretches as newborns, (6 weeks or so), but slept less well, as they got older. I clearly remember telling my FP haw my 6 week old was sleeping 8 hours at night, and he was jealous, and both babies were fully bfed.

There is a mom of twins who posts here, whose babies, who are "sororal," would like to sleep 8-10 hours at night from a very young age, but began not gaining well, and besides, the mom would get engorged and get plugged ducts. So she has to wake them to eat in the middle of the night!

Sleeping thru the night is not necc good for babies. Babies ages 3-6 months are developmentally prone to sleep apnea as their brains mature, and can "forget" to breathe for long periods, which can actually cause death, aka SIDS. More artificially fed, crib sleeping babies die of SIDS than human milk fed, co-sleeping babies. You could say that to your boasting friends, if you really wanted to. "Your baby sleeps all night in a crib in another room? Don't you worry about the SIDS risk from that?" See a recent issue of Mothering for this issue, as well as the book called SIDS, by Dr Wm Sears.

[Clarity]

My niece, BF, sleeps 9 hours, since newborn...sis has to wake her to eat! And those bottle-proppers will find out the hard way when their babe get baby bottle mouth and has to have extensive dental work as a toddler. A boy I knew had extractions, baby root canals and metal spacers at the age of 3! Formula and juoce are a lot more damaging than night nursing!

[ebethmom]

Oh, I KNOW this frustration! I always want to ask "Aren't you worried about SIDS?" Babies who sleep longer and deeper are at greater risk.

But I do have to admit that I'm envious of those EASY bedtime babies (not the bottle propped, though!!). One of my friends nurses her toddler, then brushes her teeth and lays her down in the crib. Then her dd just falls asleep and sleeps all night.

Maybe next baby!

[Mommiska]

It's interesting - I work in a residential drug rehab unit for women and their children (we help the women with their dependency problem and parenting skills at the same time...supposedly : ).

Anyway - we have two newborns (relatively) at the moment. One mom bottle feeds and the other breast-feeds (she breast-fed her first until almost 3 years...in Scotland...with no support - yeah for her!).

Anyway...the bf mom gets really tired of all the other women in the unit asking how her dd is sleeping, etc. She's also co-sleeping (fine, as she is clean), so barely wakes up for those night-time feeds. The ff baby, of course, sleeps a good 8-10 hours at night (he's 3 months old). Everyone is always comparing...

We went out to lunch the other day and talked about it. I just reminded her of all the other things the ff mom deals with that she doesn't have to.

Her baby isn't constipated (ff baby is).
Her baby doesn't constantly go to the doctor with this or that virus (ff baby does).
Her baby breathes easily (ff baby wheezes away).
AND she doesn't have to mix formula, make bottles, carry all that stuff with her when she goes out, etc...

It really is interesting when you can see the differences between formula and breast milk right there in front of your eyes.

And STILL - people only see which baby is sleeping longer at night. :

[Joi]

My dd slept like a champ... and was exclusively breastfed. She still sleeps great at three and if I am counting right she has been sick all of four times.

[momma7]

hey there mommas;just thought id throw my two cents in.i have seven babes and i think ive heard it all.the most common is the baby wasnt getting enough milk and neede formula.then of course the babe finally slept.most of the mommas i talked to didnt have resources made known or available to them or had no ideal who to call.it would be great if us bf mommas could get together in our community and have a system where we could help out those mommas.i know a lot of different stories from women who had support at home and overcame or worked out their problems and bf successfully for long periods of time.i think its up to us to get the support out there and help these mommas and not become too angry with the ff mommas that we know.i think in our knowledge and peace in the way we choose to parent and feed our babes is the only way to show people we are right in making the choices we have.theres a lot of ignorance out there.well ive gone on long enough.happy momma to sugar ray and the rest of my brood.

[MelMel]

my girl slept 10 hours last night, and thats what she does when the alarm doesnt go off on weekends. weekdays she sleeps about 7-8 hours...till dh's alarm goes off..

I do worry, she sleeps so long and soundly...but I cant 'wake her up' to feed or change (unless she wakes first and I hear her go poop) because I think thats how her body is, it wouldnt do that if it wasnt her natural way to be....?

she is cloth diapered and bf, 3 months old....nobody can believe she sleeps so long and well...but I ALWAYS tell people when they ask that silly question, because everyone I know ff and uses plastic dipes, and I want them to know not all babies fit into stereotypes, and its not somethng you have to deal with automatically if you cd and bf...

we dont co-sleep, either, she sleeps in a bassinett next to our bed....not sure what to do when she outgrows that...dont want her in a seperate room...ugh.

so, my point is, that all babes are different...and I tell ff moms who ask me, cuz i like to wipe that smug look off of their faces, maybe not nice, but after the crap they give me, its a small consolation.

:sinister :sinister :sinister :sinister

[momma7]

i can relate to having a hard time dealing with some of those smug ff mommas out there.i almost had a fit at the y because i asked if i could use their rocker in the nursery to bf my dd.these women were very ignorant and insulting to me.one was a young (20s) girl and told me that i shouldnt subject the other children with my disgusting habit.i asked her if she kept her children away from the pool all summer because they show mor t & a than i ever have.the manager offered me their lounge to feed my dd and i made a complaint about the three women working in the nursery and their ignorance.people like that bring out the worst in me.i would like a little more tolerance from our general society.these are the same people who think people with aids are always gay or deserve it.ignorance for them is bliss because they cant handle their own inadequacies.well id better go im getting sick of my own voice.i hope i didnt wander too off track.cindy

[DaryLLL]

OT--memel, why do you think you have to move the baby out of your room when she outgrows the bassinet? Put a crib in your room. You can even take the side off and put the crib mattress level with your bed, so you can reach out and touch her if you want, or if she should want, as she gets older.

[mamaduck]

told me that i shouldnt subject the other children with my disgusting habit.

[mamazee]

Disgusting habit??? Add me to the list!