Stopped sleeping through the night!!!

Hi
I have been trying to express for a few months now with out much luck...only able to get out about 30mls! We thought that if I could express enough for a feed my husband could feed Thomas and hopefully it would help with his clingyness to me. Thomas was doing really well, feeding great, sleeping through the night....until about 12wks old then it all changed! He still feeds well but since then has started to wake up during the night and now at just over 7mth he is terrible! I know its not due to lack of food as if I pick him up and cuddle him he is fine and if he sleeps in bed with me he is fine(I'm not as I cant sleep when hes next to me in bed) and will sleep until about 8am! We want to get him into his own room so for the last few months have been trying different things to get him sleeping better at night as now he is waking up every hour then after about 3.30 he may sleep until about 5.30 or 6. I dont want to leave him to cry as it just wakes everyone up(I have a 2yr old) and takes him longer to settle afterwards. We have tried the nice bath followed by a nice long feed in the bedroom with no lights on, this didnt work! We have tried just my husband going to him and settling him but this only works until about 3ish then he just wont settle at all so that when I genrally feed him. He has started to sleep really well during the day and he gets himself off to sleep, he has 2 naps the first one is for about 1.5hrs and the second one is for about 2hrs so I take it from this he can get himself back off when he wake up during the sleep cycles....so why wont he do this in the evening??? My husband suggested we give him formula for the bedtime feed, so we went out and bought the bottles(tommie tippy breastfeeding ones) and some stickpacks and did this for 5nights and it did nothing at all infact I think he woke up more! Sorry I know this is very long winded and may make no sense at all but I really dont know what else to do to try and help him learn to fall back to sleep during the night! My husband starts his new job on Monday and he is getting quite nervous that he may not be able to do much more on a few broken hours of sleep while learning a new role. Any help or tips would be great and if anyone can shed any light on why he might have gone from sleeping through to waking all the time that would be great to!
Thanks
Sus
xx

It is very normal for a baby's sleeping pattern to change. Especially at the 3 month mark. They go through a growth spurt and require more milk in order to do the growing! Night feeds are actually the best for your supply, and bub usually knows this and can have his best feeds then. They also become more aware of whats going on around them, and can be distracted with day feeds and rely on night feeds to get what they need.

Formula making them sleep is an urban myth! LOL. Some people might claim that it worked, but IMO it would be a coincidence that bub was ready to change sleeping patterns anyway. Others will tell you that it makes them worse because it's rougher on their little tums and they can get upset by it.

Neither of my babies have been sleepers, so I can sympathise! Usually these rough patches pass tho or you can all slip into a new routine. Best thing is not to worry about it, and just go with the flow, and know that it's completely normal for babies to NOT sleep through. You're a lucky one that got to experience it for a while! hehe.

I'll send some sleepy vibes your way :)

Thanks Liz! I really did think we had it made when he started to sleep through and I think as our 1st son slept through from 10wks and has been a fantastic sleeper were finding it hard to work out where and if we went wrong somewhere! Anyways hes sleeping right now so fingers crossed for a good night! I didnt think the formual would work but wanted to prove to my husband that it wouldnt work as he really thought it would...so now were back to just breastfeeding and a few solids!

Sus xxx

Hi,

Have you thought of putting him in bed with you? Most babies sleep better, feed more often (milk supply increases) and parents sleep better. Like all things new, it might take some practice to get perfect, but worth persevering with where sleep is important

Warm Regards
Barb

Hi Sus - I recommend you get yourself a copy of "the no-cry sleep solution" (if you havn't already) - she has lots of helpful advice for gently changing you baby's sleep habits and helping them sleep through the night. It takes a while to follow through her steps (ie, several weeks), but seems quite good (we've only been doing it for a few days, so can't really speak from personal experience yet..)
All the best

Thanks! Last night by about 4ish I just brought him into bed with us, he slept well and so did my hubby but I just find it hard to sleep with Thomas right next to me as hes such a little mover(it was ok when he was little as he used to just stay in one place)! Never mind he has been a real champ today and slept fantastic this morning for just over 1.45 and has been a very happy little chappy! He is sleeping now and has been for just over 1hr(and still sleeping) and he got himself to sleep this time to, so I think we have the daytime sorted out! Just need to keep working on the nighttime sleep now! I think he probably got very attached as until he was 4mths he slept in his pram and I was able to have that right next to the bed so if he woke up he could see me and also if he got a little unsettled I used to just hold his hand and he would drift off again! Hes in his cot now and has been for about 3mth(on and off as he spent time in our bed) its in our room but he cant see us really and I cant reach him to just hold his hand! The poor little thing, were probably trying to make him independant a bit before he thinks its his time really! Do you think that as I cant express more than about 30mls(and thats the best I've managed) that he isnt getting enough milk from me on the nighttime? I havent needed to express so through out the months I havent bothered, I tried a little last month when I started him on solids so I could mix it up with milk, do you think this is why I cant as I have waited to long and my boobies are just used to feeding him what he needs and nothing else. When we tried the formula I fed him first then we gave him the bottle the first time he only had about 20mls the next night it was about 60mls and the night after was about 110mls then after that he was downing about 150mls and that was after feeding from me. I never really thought I had a problem until then as he had always had wet nappies, is very alert and very happy(during the day (and the night if hes being held), gaining weight...well he has grown out of lots of clothes and isnt skinny, he looks healthy(i havent had him weighed since he was born as didnt want to get to caught up in the numbers thing), hes sitting, rolling and babbles none stop! I only tried him on the formula to shut my hubby up who insisted that if we gave him it he would sleep all the way through the night, instead I think its made him worse! Oh and not forgetting the MIL who thinks it about time he was on a bottle...I really dont want to give it up, I love it its such a lovely time just sitting there looking at each other, holding him close and as I have a 2yr old my time is always split between them so this is a nice way of me spending time with him where he gets my 100% attention. Anyways sorry to go on and on about it all!!!
Sus xxx

Suse, you don't have a problem and you don't need a bottle or formula! Your baby and your breasts are working fabulously together. He doesn't want or need the formula. he may take it, when pressed - just like I take the extra helping at my MIL's. I don't want or need it - I'm just being polite. You have done such a great job. Tell you MIL and your DP how important this is to you and ask them to support you, not undermine you! Your baby is superbly well adapted - not clingy. And, when you hold your child close, they feel secure and when they feel secure they can start to naturally move away - become independant. Children who are constantly "pushed away" by not having their needs met *stay* clingy - or they give up. this may seem to be independence, but is not. They just learn not to ask for what they need.
Being a mother is constant and hard work. We need acknowledgement for this, and understanding, not to be pushed away from our children!
Regards
Barb

Thank you to everyone who has posted its been a great help! Last night I had a nice little chat to my husband about it all and we are now in agreement that Thomas will continue to be fed by me until he decideds he no longer wants to. Regarding the sleeping thing we have decided to put Thomas in his cot but if he wakes up once were in bed we will bring him into our bed. We did this last night and it worked quite well, he didnt wake up until 2 so I fed him and that was him done until about 6.30ish so that was great!
It really is nice to know that there are people out there for suport when you really need it, all my family are in England!
Thanks
Sus xx