[VSPsMom]

DS is now 9 months old and still wakes every 2 hours for a feeding! Please bear with me as I start from the beginning... Started out co-sleeping. Eventually the bed got too small and we slowly moved him to his crib with no real issues. He still comes into our bed for the last hour or two of sleep or he doesn't sleep long enough. For about three days (months ago) I got 5 hours of sleep in a row...but that was VERY short lived. Between travelling home for visits and reaching milestones we progress and regress! The standing one was a big set back. DS started to stand even before his eyes were open! Then there was no shh-ing him back to sleep...although that did work for a while. Long story short, we are back to 1-2 hours of sleep at a time, co-sleeping or not. I try to feed him only every second time and he is fine being rocked back to sleep the other times, but I still get a maximum of 3 hours between feedings. Is it possible that he is REALLY hungry? When I do feed him, he goes back to sleep so easily - even if he is still half awake. There is no fussing. These are also the times that rocking won't work. Of course, everyone's advice is to just let him cry...but it's not going to happen! I never thought I would look forward to 3 solid hours of sleep! Anyone else have a similar problem...or a suggestion?

Thanks!

 

[hurricanehelga]

we have about the same problem, my dd is 8 mos old and starts crawling / robbing even before she opens her eyes / simultaneously with starting to cry. though she wakes up every 1,5 hours if i am lucky. when i am reasonably sure she is fed, i just lie down besides her and put my arm around her, stroke her back, whisper, sing, but also keep her from starting to crawl again. this works insofar as if she falls asleep without too much ado, she sleeps 4-5 hours. if she really starts crying, i nurse her - but then move her back to her bed (besides mine), and if she starts fussing, i lie down with her again.
i´m strongly against cio, even though i have to confess i did let her cry for maybe 1 minute some times at night when i was close to tears from sleep deprivation.
i still think it´s less hunger than reassurance, maybe teeth, and sometimes bellyache.
good luck and strong nerves!

 

[Momtwice]

It's definitely possible for a child to be hungry at night at 9 months or older! They are still growing and you never know when they will be hungry. And I agree it can be teeth, emotional, growth spurts...sometimes they are so busy in the day they need to tank up at night.

Have you read Crying Baby Sleepless Nights by S. Jones? It had a lot of practical and compassionate help.

 

[TiredX2]

I would assume real hunger at that age (and, honestly, a lot older).

While many child *can* go longer stretches at that age without eating, it is not necessarily healthier. Both of my children were eating throughout the night at that age and they definately needed the calories.

I would try to go back to co-sleeping and see if you can sleep through the feedings a bit better. Additionally, 9 months is also a common teething time and seperation anxiety time (and, of course, increased mobility bumps up those calorie needs AND decreases how much they want to nurse in the oh so interesting day).

Good luck!

 

[VSPsMom]

Thanks for the reaffirmation TiredX2!...with a handle like that, you must know something about the sleep thing!

It seemed to me that he is really hungry. And it is true that he is so busy during the day that he often doesn't think to eat...until he is ready for a nap. He definitely needs all the calories he can get. He never stops moving (he never has-wanted to walk at three months) and he certainly is far from over weight...not underweight, but not much chub at all! Thanks Momtwice for the book referral...I'll look into that one.

Also, for sure it was related to seperation anxiety a month ago. That's when we started to co-sleep again. Unfortunately my husband works away for 4 weeks at a time and it's stressful to co-sleep without the other body there....I'm worried DS will crawl out of bed....had a few close calls. He's so quick...and fearless, of course!

I feel better knowing that I'm not perpetuating something that is only a habit.

Thanks!

 

[Momtwice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VSPsMom I feel better knowing that I'm not perpetuating something that is only a habit.

It's not a bad habit. It's a good habit that makes your baby feel loved and secure, and will benefit his emotional and physical health for the rest of his life.

As for the danger of falling, have you considered a low bed like a futon or a mattress on the floor for a while?

 

[Momtwice]

double post

 

[alegna]

just nurse him

I would NOT try to limit his nursings. As pps said, he probably is hungry and tanking up at night.

-Angela

 

[reezley]

When my ds was that age (and sometimes now, at 21 months), what I would do is try to have him nurse on both sides when he woke for a nursing at night. I found that the times that he nursed one side and fell asleep, he tended to wake up again sooner. So, when I thought of it, I would gently remove him after he was mostly done nursing on one side, but didn't yet stop himself and fall asleep, and I would give him the other boob... and so he nursed longer, and, many times, slept longer. Just an idea if you're not already doing that!

 

[onlyboys]

My 9 month old is definitely HUNGRY all night!

He's too busy tromping around during the day--learning to stand, crawling at the speed of light--to actually get a great nursing in. So, he consumes lots of calories at night.

I honestly don't even notice he's nursing half the time. I just roll over, pull him close, he latches on and when he's done, he rolls away (at least I think he does; when I wake he's cuddled up to me). Is co-sleeping a possibility for you? It's a lifesaver for me!

 

[VSPsMom]

Angela: I do nurse him when he really seems hungry. There are times though that I just rock him back to sleep and he's good for another hour or two. I can tell when he is hungry because the rocking won't work. He stops fussing, but he won't go back to sleep. I will never deprive him if he is really hungry. I was more concerned that he was just waking up from habit. Glad to hear from everyone that it doesn't seem to be the case! I will happily continue to nurse him throughout the night...even if it is every two hours. Afterall, he'll be out of this stage before I know it.

onlyboys: I am co-sleeping for the most part. The first part of the night he spends in his crib and is quite happy there. When I go to sleep (and he wakes up) I bring him into bed with me. It's just hard because he can easily crawl out of our bed now...and I'm a pretty sound sleeper - or I used to be! It's a bit of a worry.

Momtwice: I suppose I could bring up the fouton from the basement...I'll think about it. Or perhaps I'll go get some bed rails. Thanks for the advice.

Thank you everyone for the confirmation that I'm doing the right thing!

 

[alegna]

There are lots of reasons babies need to nurse- not just hunger. If nursing helps him go back to sleep every time, why not nurse every time?

-Angela

 

[pinkskittles]

THANK YOU! I was seriously thinking I was a "bad mom" because all my friends with babies my son's age are sleeping through the night and have been for some time. DS slept through the night from 2 months to 4 months. He went from bassinet to crib and I have a feeling he stopped sleeping well since we moved him to the crib. Too much space?

Anyway, ever since then it's been getting worse. Now he's up anywhere between 4-8 times (so far he's been up once already since I put him down 1 1/2 hrs ago). He only wants to nurse. Actually 1/4 of the time DH can rock him or I can pat his bum and shh/use cue words on him back to go back to sleep.

When I told my doc he wasn't sleeping he asked me if he was eating well in the day. I couldn't remember, but now I'm keeping track. Today I nursed him 6 times between 6am and 6pm. I think for him it's more of habit and can't fall asleep without nursing. He will cry and scream until I nurse him. It's possible he is hungry because although he nurses a lot during the day, he doesn't nurse for long.

Also he seems more congested at night and I can't clear his nose (he hates it too).

oh.. he's up again!

 

[Tonia80]

Yep, my son was like this right up till a week before he turned one when suddenly he decided he could go longer stretches. He was still waking up every 2 to 3 hours to nurse. I had my days when I worried he would never sleep through a night but he is 15 months old now and only wakes once or twice a night now in a 10 hour period. I had alot of FF moms tell me to wean him and start giving him formula with cereal in it before bed or to let him CIO but though the concept of more sleep was tempting I knew in my heart he simply needed BM.

 

[VSPsMom]

Well, hopefully it's a new trend... For the past two night my DS has slept for three full hours when I first put him down in his crib. He's good for another two hours after that and then he comes into our bed for the rest of the night. Who ever thought I'd be over-joyed to get three hours of sleep? Of course, I don't really because I don't go to bed at 7:30 with DS! But it's progress none-the-less! YAY!

 

[mezzaluna]

although the pattern keeps shifting, my DS seems to have a pattern of which night wakings he's really hungry at and which are just minor stirrings. i don't know if you've noticed this with him, but you may find that some wakings routinely are hungry times! 4-5am is the big time for us.

another factor is his need to pee. if he needs to pee (and i'm ignoring the fact) the only way i can get him to sleep is by nursing him... it's the most calming of any way to get him to sleep... so it will get him through the discomfort of a full bladder and into sleep. *however* he will then sleep restlessly and be awake again soon. so... we started doing nighttime EC. through this i became aware that there were times i was spending a lot of time nursing him to sleep when it wasn't that he was that hungry, it was that he was trying to combat the uncomfortable feeling of needing to pee. i'm not sure how you could adapt to that without doing EC... but maybe try to wake your babe up a little more fully when they do wake up... let them get it out of their system, change a wet diaper if it's not a feel-dry diaper like disposable or fuzzibunz... and then go back to getting back to sleep!

 

[Momtwice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkskittles THANK YOU! I was seriously thinking I was a "bad mom" because all my friends with babies my son's age are sleeping through the night and have been for some time. DS slept through the night from 2 months to 4 months.

LOTS AND LOTS of babies sleep through the night at some point and then later do not, for a dozen different reasons mentioned above (wanting to connect with mom, milestones, hunger, growth spurts, teething....)