help, waking every hour?

[Erin_25]

Ok, not sure if this is the correct spot...or if there is prob already a thread started. But I don't have much time so figure I'll start another.

My DS2 almost 5months is fully BF, it' been going GREAT & I am so proud of myself. From day one he slept fairly well & would always sleep a good 4hr block or so to start & then wake every 3hrs or so from there.

Though for the past week he has woken EVERY HOUR & that's no lie as I'm watching the clock! he will not go back to sleep without a BF. He does not take a dummy so that's not a prob. I've checked he's not too hot, or too cold. I thought he might be teething but gel & panadol have made no difference. Is this normal, becuase its DRAINING me soooo much. DH works away LOTS & DS1 wakes once a night still............I'm exhausted & ready to give up so DH can do some feeds when he's at home. Could this be a sign of perhaps needing some solids? Anyone else bubs do this? sooooo soooo tired!

[Ginger]

you poor thing, it's soooo tiring when they're waking that much. big hugs

hopefully it's just a phase he's going through. can you co-sleep with him at all so you can get some more sleep?

[Jennifer13]

This is about the right age for a development change. How was he last night?

[Jasper76]

My DD2 started to do the same at around that age. It seems like a very common age for frequent night wakings and needing the breast to go back to sleep. Often the huge developmental leaps, teething and practicing their new skills are to blame. Solids probably won't help. It might just give him a belly ache and make the night wakings worse.

We just fed her as she needed (we co-sleep so I'd just roll over and feed her at her first peep so she didn't wake fully) and rode it out. Now at 7 months she's sleeping much better - some nights she even manages 4 hours sleep in a row!

Huge hugs - sleep deprivation is the pits. Hope it passes for you soon.

[zwan87]

Same thing happened with my bub with not much helping but in the end i tryed some constant sound like a fan that humms i found for a while that worked then my mother in law told me to put some farex in a bottle so its just a bit thicker that worked aswell but my midwife said it was not a good idea when i told her, i hope that helps

[BekZ]

Sounds very much like a developmental stage. The phase will pass, in the meantime I found taking my DD to bed and just letting her feed helped. At least I got some rest and she got what she needed. Hugs it is draining

[Arcadia]

some great advice given already.

Just wanted you to know it's normal. Can you rope in a friend to take your older child for a walk so you can sleep in the day?

This too shall pass.

[~me~]

and sleep vibes to you and your little man.

At 5mths I would consider starting solids. I have only just got DD onto them (she is BF). We skipped the whole rice cereal as she didn't like it and went straight onto weetibix. I also give her toast to suck and munch on which she is doing well now. See if he will even suck on some steamed carrot sticks or vegetables. Offer morsels of food and see how he goes.
Perhaps also take him to the GP and rule out any ear problems...does he have the sniffles or a cold?
A developmental change could be the cause, it wouldn't hurt to give the solids a go now to see if that helps.
The baby led solids thread is a good one to have a look through if you are considering starting solids.

Hope things improve for you soon...it is exhausting no matter how much we love our little people

[MantaRay]

Same thing happened with my bub with not much helping but in the end i tryed some constant sound like a fan that humms i found for a while that worked then my mother in law told me to put some farex in a bottle so its just a bit thicker that worked aswell but my midwife said it was not a good idea when i told her, i hope that helps

Hmmm,not a good idea is a bit of an understatement given that this is a huge choking risk. And also farex meets no nutritional needs so is unlikely to help the situation.

Erin, this must be very tiring for you. Waking every hour is not so common, but unfortunately waking frequently at this age is very common. This is the age at which the brain is rapidly developing in readiness for the next milestones of crawling and sitting if they are not already, or walking and talking. What is really needed at this stage is frequent drinks of breast milk, so solids either don't make any difference, or potentially make it worse. Babies do not need solids until 6 months, although this behaviour is commonly mistaken for a readiness for solids.

I wish I could give you a magic fix, but really it is just a phase which will pass, but which you can't do much about just yet. Keeping up the bfing on demand is exactly what your DS needs right now. Good on you for doing just that. And wow at 5 months of exclusive bfing. You are doing a fantastic job hun, keep up the great work!!

[Erin_25]

Thanks for the ideas, replies & encouragement everyone!! I just got back onto the computer to see the messages as DS sits here wide awake....grrrrr!

I am so proud of myself for BF this long & do not want to give up. I also promised myself to give babyled solids a go past 6months....not before. So I'm keen to ride it out but it's been going on for 2wks now & I am exhausted!!!!

Arcadia, I would love someone to take DS1 for even an hour, but DS2 doesn't sleep much during the day either grrrrr & we don't have any family help here. I guess that's why its so frustrating.

ooooooh I'm sooooo tired, but I'm pushing through. Is there anyway with this stage they can mix up day & night?

[Erin_25]

Ok....HELP...... I got some great replies to this thread, thanks everyone. But 4 weeks on and he still is waking every hour, some times every half hour. I'm actually starting to regret having succeded in BF this long & wishing he would just have a bottle of formula.

I'm soooo tired, and I've a 3yr old who wakes still sometimes, a DH who works away lots!!! and I study and am getting nothing done.

He used to sleep great, now it seems to me he wakes most sleep cycles and will not go back to sleep without using me....what can I do, I'm ready to give up. I can't even get him to take EBM in a bottle so DH can do some of the work. So over it.

[Lewis's Mummy]

Hugs to you! I remember it well from DS1 although he'd never been a terribly fabulous sleeper before. I don't know if you can do it, but I ended up going to a day service settling/sleep clinic thing to get him used to going to sleep without having to feed. It didn't magically make him sleep longer overnight, but gradually he did get better at going back to sleep between cycles. Even now we still use some of the techniques from then... he has music going softly for his day nap and sometimes stll sit and pat his bottom (although now he requests it when he's having trouble winding down). He needs one of us sitting beside him while he drifts off at night and if he wakes at all during the night, which still happens every few days too. I found back then that expressing so someone else could feed him was just more work for me. He didn't start solids til 7 months and that didn't change the waking thing either. This time around I'm consciously reminding myself that the hug police are not going to walk through the door and we co sleep whenever we need to. It's a matter of time and yep, it sucks! But remember you're not alone - you have the rest of us sleep deprived bellybelly girls to keep you company in the wee hours via cyber space. Hope it gets a bit better for you every day.

[MantaRay]

Erin, that must be exhausting How is he during the day? Can you give us some idea of how much he is sleeping during the day, whether he has one longer period of sleep at all? There will be some things you can try but it is hard to suggest things without knowing more about your situation.

Another option is to call the ABA helpline - 1800 mum 2 mum (1800 686 2 686, drop the last 6 for VOIP) and talk it through with them. They can ask questions and give you appropriate ideas to try.

I hope things settle down soon for you.

[Erin_25]

Lewis's Mummy, we live in a remote area so no access to a sleep school or anything like that.

Mantaray, he has about 3 sleeps a day. I was about to jump on here and say how he only goes through one sleep cycle during the day also.....then he slept for 2.5hrs this morning?!?!

I never BF DS1 so didn't even think about any issues with BF....I'm told its usual for a BF baby to wake more regularly but every hour....ouch!

He goes to sleep fine both day and night, most days doesn't sleep longer than an hour at a time. We've checked he's not too cold, too hot etc and so on. Can't get him to take a dummy and prob would have given up with BF now too but he won't even take a botttle!!!

[Kmn]

Maybe get some opinions from the queen elizabeth centre - they do phone consultations....

[willow5]

Hi Erin_25

Sorry no help here but stalking your thread now to see if I can get any tips as DS is the same at 6months old so I know exactly how you feel!!!! He was on hourly feeds until a few weeks ago now he'll go hourly pretty much every night.

It is exhausting!!! Like you I am so proud I've come this far with exclusive BF as I didn't with DS1&2, and my DS is the same won't take a dummy.
I co sleep and feed in bed laying down so I can get a little extra sleep through the night couldn't stand the idea of getting up and down every hour DP has been banished to the lounge room. Poor DP but no room in the bed for three, and he's a noisy sleeper and wakes DS a lot too so he's out lol

Good luck if I find something that works for me I'll let you know

[onthefly]

Big hugs - this is very hard, I know!
First I have to say, this is not a breastfeeding problem. He turns to you for comfort during the night in the most efficient way he can - at the breast. DS did this a lot between 5.5-7.5 months. It was a developmental stage (I think maybe with some separation anxiety thrown in). We took him out of the cot he hated, slept him on a mattress on the floor, and I slept there with him a lot. IT was not ideal (he's not the best bed partner), but we both got a lot more sleep this way. Sometimes the only way to beat the up-down nighttime yo-yo is to just bring baby to bed with you.
We had to do the same thing for most of the time between 8-18 months as he was teething and/or sick for most of this time. It was pretty dreadful. But, I'm happy to report
that we survived and DS doesn't do this any more!

Just BTW, I night weaned at 14 months to get my cycles back and it made no difference to his night waking.

[Erin_25]

Thanks for the reply, I know what you mean....it's not a BF problem, good point. I just put it in this thread as I figured many who had BF may have been is the same situation as it's a different form of comfort etc and I could get some advice. Guess I'm just not that good with being soooo tired, my DH works away lots & we don't live near any family.....so there are no free arvo's etc for a catch up nap & DS 1 doesn't sleep in the arvo anymore. I never like DS 1 sleeping in our bed, but perhaps I could chuck DH out for a night & see how it goes. Thanks.