You deserve a medal, quite honestly. If I were in your shoes I think I'd have found a short pier on which to take a long walk by now as my two older boys (ages 3 and 4) require a fair bit of time and attention. Well ok, I wouldn't do anything quite so drastic, but sleep deprivation and I do not go together very well.
Here's just a few of my thoughts. I'm no expert though, it's just based on my experiences with my boys ...
I've been able to extend DS3's night feeding by using a dummy and bringing him in to our bed if it's just before dawn (I prefer to leave him in his cot if it's in the weee small hours. I'll feed him if he wants it, but often he just seems to want a little reassurance and/or something to suck.
Re: lots of wind, could you possibly take DD3 to a chiropractor? DS3 has been seeing a chiro for the past 2-3 months. I started taking him when he had terrible colic/wind issues, and the chiro got him sorted within a couple of visits (I now take him for other reasons, but he hasn't had "real" wind problems for ages).
What about sleeping her on her tummy? It's a no-no for many, but I use my discretion and sometimes place DS3 on his tummy if he seems a bit more windy than usual. He'll generally sleep more soundly and for longer on his tummy. This obviously goes against SIDS advice, so go with your gut.
I know others have said it's normal, and I'm sure that's definitely right. But based on my own personal experience, waking every 45 mins overnight when she can go 3-4 hours during the day doesn't sound quite right to me. Goodness knows I'm no expert though, I only know what my boys have been like, but I've found their night time feeding habits reflect their day time feeding habits (generally) until they start to sleep through the night. To my thinking, she may want fairly regular feeding, but she may also just be seeking comfort. Sorry if I'm not much help, but I do send you a cyber hug as you sound like you could do with one
Last edited by AndiE; December 29th, 2012 at 09:40 PM.
: Removed idea about giving water via bottle as re-read original post and saw DD won't take bottle
Sorry - I meant to come back in here the other day but didn't get that far.
Thanks for all the extra posts. Andie - the chiro is my next stop. Thanks. She's so strong now that I would have no problems tummy sleeping her, but she seems to like being on her side. 80% at least of the night is in bed with me so she just sleeps however she likes - normally sideways with her feet in my face ;-)
Just an update . . . I've put her in her cot in her room for the last few days. No real improvement. Hell, no improvement. We've tried settling her without feeds, DH settling her and me staying away, me settling her etc etc. I'm only resettling until she gets to 3.5 hours between feeds and then I'm feeding her, when she goes back to sleep easy. I've two lots of resettling I'm just bringing her into bed with me for the rest of the night because otherwise I'll get no sleep. I took her to the GP today and she's put her on losec - thinks it might be reflux that's causing her wind issues, that's waking her up - so we'll see how that goes. She also gave me a referral for Ngala but I'm going to sit on that one for a while and see how the losec goes. I'm just not prepared to let my baby cry, even though I know that both she and I need a whole lot more sleep than we're getting.
Anyway, thanks again for the support and advice. Got everything crossed the losec does the trick
Another update . . . Day 5 now of being on losec and I have a completely different baby. Nights have been getting gradually better with last night her having a dreamfeed about 10pm, and then not waking for a feed until 3.30 am, and then going back to sleep upon 7.20 am. Much happier baby. Much happier mummy.
She's going really well thanks AndiE. She has been fairly consistent over the last few nights - goes down around 7.30 pm, I give her a dream feed around 10/10.30, she wakes up around 2-3am for a feed, and then wakes for the day around 6-7 am. Probably still not flash by most people's standards for a 7 month old, but I'm pretty thrilled with it, and she seems so much more comfortable in sleep than she was before starting on the losec.
Finally you get some form of answer! How long can she be on the losec for?
Also, with her solid feeding have you tried BLS? Dd doesn't take much mashed food but she'll eat heaps of solids if she's eating it herself! Just an idea
Not sure how long she can stay on it for. As long as she needs I guess??
We're doing BLS here already. Big difference for me after doing all the purees and mashes with my first two. Watching my 7 month old plough her way through big chunks of chicken when I would have cut her sisters' into teeny tiny pieces of pulp is just awesome
Lulu I just saw this - what a traumatic time you've had. Well done you for riding it out and sticking to what you feel and believe in re dealing with it all and searching for answers. You are so brave and smart.
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Losec saved our sanity with DD2!
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