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.

[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?