Support - Moms of 6-9 month old frequent wakers - Page 4

[Island Mommy]

lilirose, by dd is doing the same thing. Latching on, then pulling off and crying. Sometimes she just wants to be held, but when I try to put her down she starts to cry again. The thing I don't understand is that during the day she seems just fine, not cranky. So if it was her teeth, wouldn't they bother her during the day too? I also wonder if all this nursing doesn't cause some stomach upset. Early this morning dd was nursing, then she started coughing and vomited a bunch of milk. Then she just sort of collapsed in my arms. Poor baby.

[Pam_and_Abigail]

I just wanted to bring an update with a glimmer of hope. We've been getting dd back on track, and although some nights she doesn't want to go to sleep at 10, there have been a few whem she fell asleep after just a few minutes of nursing, shortly before 10, and a few nights she only nursed twice throughout the entire night. Last night I slept so good, I felt well-rested at 6:30, like I had just awoke from SEVERAL HOURS of DEEP SLEEP. I can't believe I am saying those words!

Island Mommy, I agree with you about the teething thing. It seems that if it's pain, it should be all day, not just when you are going to bed. However, I wouldn't rule it out, either. Sorry I can't offer you any more help than that.

[Island Mommy]

Well, today I noticed that dd has cut one of her top teeth, the other will soon be through and there's another on the way!

[Island Mommy]

Horrendous nights. DD is up crying every 15 minutes or so. I can only assume it is the top teeth. The gums are red and both are coming through. Meanwhile I am walking around like a zombie with a splitting headache. DD is happily playing on the floor right now. I gave dd tylenol at around 3 a.m. last night and she slept for a bit longer at a time...maybe 45 minutes.

How's everyone else doing?

[*solsticemama*]

Weird night last night. Ds has been really tossing and turning the past couple of nights. He woke a few times to nurse. At 3:00 a.m. I finally changed his dipe and nursed him back to sleep. I, however couldn't sleep. At 4:15 dh gets up. I hear the shower, he can't sleep either. Finally at 5:30 I go out to see what dh is up to. Reading the paper and eating his breakkie. I go back to bed. Still no sleep . Ds has slept thru all of this. I lie there, tempted to give up and log on to MDC. Slowly I start to drift off at 6ish. Ds wakes and briefly nurses and then both mama and babe sleep till 7:45. When we get up papa is on round 2 of breakkie. That was our night.

[lilirose]

sorry, having to remove all posts with personal info due to an online stalker.

[Acugirl]

Hi All!

I typed a huge post the other day and it got lost..so I had to take some time off-arg!

Still here-still battling the nighttime war...

Have any of you considered food allergies as the culprit? I strongly suspect dd has food allergies-she is bf and I have been careful avoiding all common allergens except wheat her whole life...this week, I decided to take out wheat-it is too soon to tell, but I swear she is napping better and going to sleep better-she used to cry and cry-but the past 3 nights she has gone to sleep nursing or in sling, woken briefly at the 1/2 hr mark and then gone back to sleep for 2.5 hrs...I know this doesn't sound like much, but to me is means watching a whole movie with dh-a first in 9 months!
The rest of the night she is restless, but not wide awake like she was previously-just semi awake and moving around like she is trying to get comfy...I know her 3 top teeth are coming in too..

So anyway-I am curious to see how this wheat thing plays out and just wondered if any of your frequent wakers have food allergies too?

[Island Mommy]

Lilirose, I'm sorry, but I just laughed at your post. Last night I was exhausted, so think I also slept through alot of the nursing. DD is also getting pretty good at getting the nipple in her mouth without my help. I wake up so stiff though, from not moving all night.

Acugirl, I'll be interested to hear if cutting out the wheat helps. DD had bad colic until 4 months old, and I cut out everything, but lost so much weight and was so grumpy from living on rice cakes that I put everything back in except for milk (just a bit in my tea every day). I couldn't really tell if it helped dd, but as a diet for me, it sure worked!

My latest worry is that all this nursing at night is going to result in tooth decay for dd. I'm obsessively reading the dental forum. Ah, there's always something to worry about.

[Mona]

I know that DD has food sensitivities, but I don't know about allergies. She too had mild colic at the beginning, and I cut everything out. I think she still reacts to me eating dairy, but it is really hard to tell. For my own well being, I have cut dairy out of my diet, and almost wheat as well, so it will be interesting to see the results if i can keep on the diet.

DD still wakes throughout the night, but it is better then when she was teething. she has 8 right now, and i don't see any more coming in ATM, but who knows. She won't accept the paci lately, so i don't know if she's actually hungry or what.
She definetly can not find the nipple with out help from me- i think this is bc my breasts are very small. : So i have to pull her towards me and then we are set. I also have to pick her up to nurse sometimes, as she gets gas (i think) if we nurse laying down the whole night.

[Harper]

It's just getting worse

Things are just getting worse at my house. My 7 month old dd will not nap or sleep at night. I don't think she got 30 straight minutes of sleep from 2:30 on. I am so worried. I'm so upset and she is so tired. I am a WOHM and I am sitting at my desk like a zombie. How amy I supposed to work? I am also so worried that my child care provider will lose her patience. I know how close I come to losing mine and she is my angel baby. What if she was just some baby you were being paid to watch?

I'm considering an elimination diet but have to admit I can't imagine how to eat without dairy--I am devoted to cheese. My dd has never reacted to anything--I at hot sause on everything while I was pregnant and after she was born. Can food allergies or sensitivities start this late in the game? I am going to make an appointment at the peds to rule out any kind of medical cause like an ear infection. Hopefully he will take me seriously and not just tell me it is because she has "negative sleep associations."

It is so hard to think straight when you are this tired. I was half way to work this morning when I realized that I had forgotten my breast pump. I had to get off the trolley and turn around. I was 40 minutes late to work....

[Mona]

Ugh- Sorry you are having such a hard time Harper.
I would just try to give up dairy for a week and see what happens. I don't know exactly how long it takes to get out of the system, but i think after a few days there would be a change.
IS your DD teething? Sounds like she might be. I have used the homeopathic remedy chamomilla successfully for during the day to help calm her. I have also used it at the beginning of the night, but don't use it in the middle of the night as they are pellets and unless she is fully awake i won't give them to her.
Anyway, you might want to try that out.

[Harper]

Thanks for the support. I see no evidence of teeth but I can't rule it out. I have heard that they can teeth for quite some time before you see a tooth. I tried some tylenol in the middle of the night last night but it didn't seem to help.

Ok. Starting right now I am off the cow. No more dairy. Wish me luck.

[Island Mommy]

My gosh Harper, I can't imagine how I'd manage if I was a WOHM. I'm at WAHM, but I only work part-time at that so when I'm really tired, I just don't work. No such luxury for you.

Try not to worry. For sure, take your dd to the ped to see if there is anything amiss. We had a couple of bad nights here where dd was waking every 15 minutes crying. Then, poof, her top 2 teeth came through. The last few nights have been better (well, relatively anyway).

The dentist that moderates the Dental forum says that Baby Motrin is better for soothing teething pain than tylenol.

Forget the negative sleep association thing. If there wasn't something bugging your dd, she'd be able to sleep for at least an hour at a time. That is the regular sleep cycle. When babes start waking more frequently than that, I'm sure something is causing them grief.

[lilirose]

sorry, having to remove all posts with personal info due to an online stalker.

[Mona]

lilirose- go figure, eh? i am still night nursing (obviously or i wouldn't be addicted to this thread ) and i started last month. i will be curious to see if af returns regularly...

s

[hollyhobbie]

bah, humbug, i have been nursing constantly since baby-loo was born and aunt flow came to visit when i was i think 3-4 months post partum. a friend who pumps 2X per day still doesnt have hers back. the only explanation i have seen is if you have enuf body fat to support another pg then you can get it back but that said i have another friend who weighs more than me and she doesnt have hers back either!!!! sigh.

loo is sick and not sleeping great ofcourse but she was sleeping better just before she got sick or as she got sick. maybe that is why. she is not sleeping completely horrifically but maybe it is b/c the dr at the walk in said to give her dimetapp to decongest her so she could nurse. she had stopped nursing so i was panicked a bit. before that i was not too worried b/c she was eating playing and pooping etc. she is like a newborn. wanting to be held constantly and wanting to sleep on ya. makes me realise how far we have come from the days when it seemed like i couldnt go to the bathroom or eat b/c she was on me. i mean i could do those things with her in the sling but not otherwise

i hope someone is sleeping better than us. it was nice to have a real quiet sleepy day. we dont get many of those anymore either.

i dunno how moms do it who have to work. i made dh come home from work yesterday afternoon b/c i was exhausted and mothered out. i feel spoiled but i like to be able to call for help when i am at my wits end. i started looking for daycare for when i go back/find another job next year. the first place i looked seemed pretty good so that helps me rest a little easier. she is now on the waitlist for 2 daycares for sept 2004!!

gotta get me something to drink and maybe a piece of pumpkin pie. i eat way to much crap when exhausted. how bout the rest of you? chocolate covered ju-jube anyone??

[Island Mommy]

Maybe you're right with your theory Hollyhobbie. I got my AF back at 13 weeks postpartum (boy, was I ticked), then I went on that elimination diet and lost a ton of weight and haven't seen my AF since.

Newsworthy event here. Took dd to the doc today to discuss her third stool sample that has tested positive for reducing substances. Doc says it doesn't make sense, as dd is thriving and usually this test result indicates a malabsorption of nutrients. DD is over 19 lbs at 8 months so she must be absorbing something! Anyway, we're off to see a ped at the beginning of October.

Wouldn't it be something if there was a medical reason for all this nightwaking? Actually, cancel that thought. I don't want there to be anything wrong with dd.

DD is still sleeping poorly. Is anyone's sleep improving?

[lilirose]

sorry, having to remove all posts with personal info due to an online stalker.

[wickedchick]

DS was up 5 times last night and 7 times the night before, so I guess we're getting better. However, he didn't go to bed until 11:00 and woke up at 5:30!! I think I'd rather have the early to bed, late to rise schedule back.

[seraph]

I'm glad I'm not the only one! Here is our current schedule:

11pm: bedtime (and here's where I stay up till midnight to read, because it's my only reading time!)
4am: wake to nurse. If I'm unlucky, it's playtime, but most of the time it's nursing back to sleep.
4:15: wake to nurse. Repeat ad nauseum, switching sizes, every 15 minutes until 7am.
7am: sleep peacefully till 8:30 am
8:30 am: up and at em!

She also takes 4-5 one hour naps at intervals during the day. She nurses to sleep or is rocked to sleep - I think the only time in her life she has ever gone to sleep on her own is in the car. She sleeps with me on my chest until 4am, and then next to me until we get up. God, I'm tired just looking at this schedule, no wonder my left eye is twitching. I sometimes nap with her during the day, but it often makes me more groggy than anything.
It'll change someday, right? I'd be happy at this point to have 2 two hour naps instead of 4 - 5 one hour naps. *sigh*