Nighttime nursing nightmare

[eccomi]

I don't know if it's because I am at work during the day and ds is at home with dad, but my 9 mo has started to nurse NON-STOP at night. I know he isn't hungry because he is eating during the day (they come by to nurse at lunch and he also eats solids). But he literally nurses continuously and even once asleep it's hard for me to detach myself. Other than this he has been a good sleeper- in the sense that he usually woke up only to nurse and never screamed at night and always went straight back to sleep. But this is beyond difficult. I want to continue to co-sleep and refuse to do the CIO thing, but...when will this end??? No one is sleeping this way now. Did anyone have the same thing and how did you get through it?

[mowilli3]

I'm right there with you. No advice, but I hope someone can help us. I just posted something very similar.

[CathMac]

eccomi,
This is pretty much the same response I gave mowilli3 in her thread.

I vaguely remember this with DD1 and DD2. It's kind of like childbirth ... it's a blur.

Keep in mind that although they start taking more solids after 6 months they are getting bigger and they are more mobile and burning more calories. I think that for most nurslings it takes longer than most people think for solids to offset the nursing. I have heard that breast milk is usually the biggest source of nutrition through age 2.

If you work full time, as I do, that means reverse cycling.

Hang in there. It will get better.
~Cath

[eccomi]

Thanks for the responses. Even though some part of me was hoping for that miracle post (5 quick tips to getting a whole night's sleep!), I realize that support might be the best thing I can get right now. Cathmac, I don't think he is reverse cycling because it really isn't about eating- he just wants to nurse nurse nurse even while in a deep sleep! Plus I have been working for months now and this thing just started a month ago. But it is true that he is getting major nutrition and that is what keeps me from getting exasperated and saying Enough Already. The sad thing is that, after spending the entire night with a little person attached to my body and waking up as if I never slept, it takes away some of the pleasure I used to find in nursing even during the day.
Mowilli...hugs to you too. The one thing I thought of today, and I don't know if this applies to you, but I've been sleeping shirtless because of the heat and tonight I am wearing a shirt. We'll see how it goes...

[Llyra]

If you CAN detach yourself at any point, it always helps DS to stay asleep longer if I turn my back on him and move away a bit. Wearing a shirt does help too, but less so than moving away and turning my back. If the milkies aren't right close to him, he is less likely to wake up looking for him. (I have another "can't sleep without a nipple in his mouth" child, but mine is only 6 months.) Also, we're having some luck extending his sleep, and letting me get away for awhile, by using Pantley's Pull-off, a method she talks about in no cry sleep solution-- have you read that? It doesn't work for every kid, but it's helped DS a lot.

[eccomi]

I did read No Cry Sleep Solution, but the pull-off just made ds panicky. And, you're right I do move away and that helps a bit, but I've got to tell you- the shower right before bed and wearing a freshly washed t-shirt was amazing. who knows why, because he still woke me up at least 6 times, but I could detach.