Grr and now she's waking every 2 hours and I haven't figured out how to get her out of the habit of feed-to-sleep yet! (which I tried so hard not to start in the beginning - it became habit after a growth spurt)
At 7 months it's still very normal for them to want to feed over night so don't deprive her of that for fear of creating a bad habit. I (and many other BB mums) have just fed our babies when they've needed it and then before you know it, the growth spurt is over or the tooth is through and they sleep well again.
We've just been through a bad run of terrible night sleeping with DD2 (from 5-8.5 months) where she was waking every couple of hours, if not more. I fed her when I thought she needed it or to simply settle her. She's come out the other side now and has recently done several nights of no feeds and only very brief wakeups. She even did her first 11 hour night (no wakeups) a few weeks ago
So my advice is run with it and give her Panadol or Nurofen if she appears to be in pain and you're comfortable doing so. She's only still very little and sometimes they just need the comfort of a mummy snuggle too. She will pop out the other side, you won't break her or teach her bad habits
The 'growth spurt' that became habit was 3 months ago. She was sleeping up to 7 hrs before that. I was quite happy to wake up once a night. But 3 months nonstop of 3-4 wake ups a night is doing my head in. It's actually messing with my body too. Twice this week I've been lying wide awake between 2-4am while DD is fast asleep. It's so infuriating to be desperate for sleep and have perfectly good sleeping time wasted by insomnia. Then of course, when she wants me, I can barely keep my eyes open.
Reflux can continue on for a lot longer than people think. My daughter is 3 years old and still suffers. However, she is not the norm, and most babies are ok between 1-2 years of age. When she is on the play mat she is distracted from the pain so this may be why she is ok with it. Also babies can develop pain association with things, eg, her cot may not be a "nice place " for her if she associates it with pain. My daughter is still traumatised from her reflux issues as a baby and us trying to get her to sleep. She also had pain association with me, as I breastfed her and she started to associate this with pain too. Babies with reflux can also become comfort feeders aswell. This is where some doctors don't believe parents when they say their baby has reflux if the baby is a good weight. Drinking soothes their throat, so they want to drink, but it is only after that the pain comes, when it is refluxed back up again.
All of what you have described can have other causes. Some babies do just like to feed often, regardless of growth spurts or reflux. Some babies do just like to be held all the time. Some babies hate to sleep. So you can take what I have written as a grain of salt, just wanted you to know what I have found with having 2 reflux babies of my own. Its is a tough gig!
Also you may want to get involved and get support from RISA - it is a support group for mums and dads experiencing reflux with their babies. I have only just joined, but wish I had years ago.
Thanks I might do that. She's been really tired the last few days too. Like yawning her head off only 30 min after waking up in the morning. I put thee down for a nap 30 min ago and she's spent all that time wriggling around, making noises and getting annoyed. it's only in the last 2 mins that I can't hear anything happening.
do you have a sling? I couldn't have survived 2/3 of my reflux kids with out my sling.
upright, snuggly and happy. baby will relax and sleep and be less bothered by reflux.
I know your pain hon. Like I said, I've just done 3.5 months of awful nights with DD2. She also has reflux. DD1 had silent reflux but was always a good night sleeper (well nearly always). I certainly don't recall a stint like we've just been through with DD2! I second the sling advice. I wouldn't have survived my first born without my sling, it was her second home!
Have you tried a baby chiro? I did early on with DD1 but have only just done so with DD2 - started about 6 weeks ago. The chiro has been fab! Not sure where you are but we are in Perth and can highly recommend Young Chiropractic in Wembley. Magda has been amazing with DD2.
I agree with Taurean, maybe get her checked by a baby Chiro, they can do wonders, my boys first went at 3 weeks old and were all out of alignment and go regularly now - every 6mths - and even though they are 16mths old at the last check up DS1's neck was out of alignment and she said he must have been cranky as he has probably had a constant headache.
Also if baby is teething laying down flat increases the blood flow to the gum area and makes it much more painful, same my DS1 is a shocking teether so he has a sleep wedge under the head of his cot to raise his head and shoulders up at a slight angle to help.
Oh, and the night feedings I hear you on that. My boys started sleeping through at 10weeks old (10hr stretches) but everytime they hit a growth spurt they would want a feed overnight. Now if they wake during the night they automatically want a bottle of milk to resettle, this occurs about 5 out of 7 nights a week which is tiresome but they will eventually grow out of it.
She'll grow out of feeding to sleep on her own, when she doesn't need it anymore. If it's the easiest way to do things right now, just go with it adn give yourself a break.
Where does she sleep? Sometimes the best way to get through these phases - and yes, it's a phase and it will pass, though sometimes it takes a while - is to just do whatever is easiest.
Slings, feed to sleep, bed share, drive around the block, whatever makes things easier on you for right now. Forget about habits - she's a baby, she'll make a break a load of habits in the next year or two. Try not to fight things when you're exhausted.
Slings and driving are fine for daytime but not night. She has settled a bit last night. Tonight's messed up cause it's dinner at in-laws night (weekly) so we'll see what happens.
Btw breaking habits etc is what I want for my sanity more than her benefit, lol. If I can get her to drop at least one feed then yay, more sleep! I don't think she needs it. She's very fat, happy and healthy.
I understand Phebee, and sometimes that works, but sometimes they are extremely resistant to change and you end up making things harder on yourself. Just putting it out there as she is very young, yet.
Her sleep is also suffering cause she keeps getting tired 30 min - 1hr after waking up in the morning. I had to stop her solids this morning & put her to bed cause she was all glazed over and yawning her head off.
I've decided it's definitely got to be the reflux increasing because of teething. I've doubled her dosage of Losec (approved by the GP of course) so we'll see what happens. Fingers crossed it helps!
hope you both.can get a good night sleep
dd almost totally goes off her food when she is teething but I will pay attention more to her tummy then, its interesting.
ds who's 6/7 gets worse when he's tired
sounds like u got it all going on
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