feeding all night, no sleep...help!

If anyone has any suggestions I would be appreciative....

After successfully making it through the first few months with really good sleeping patterns , (we used a baby hammock for the majority of sleeping and then co-slept after waking for the first feed) we have hit a bit of a snag with our girl who is now nearly 8 months.

Our DD now goes to sleep happily in her hammock and will sleep well from 7pm till 12. Our problems start when she wakes for her first night feed. From then on, she refuses to go back into her hammock, something she previously was happy to do. From 12 onwards she sleeps with us, although sleeping is far from what we do.

My DD is comfort feeding all night. It seems that as she wakes in her sleep cycle, she looks for my breast as a comfort and will breastfeed for a few minutes until she is asleep again. I would dearly love to break this habit as it is nor sustainable, I am feeding every hour on the hour (and sometimes on the half hour) all night and if I let her cry my husband (who really needs his sleep) is also awake all night.

We don't have a cot and I am loath to get one, we dont have the room and we have made it successfully this far without one, so I wonder if anyone has any suggestions or has had a similar experience they can share with me?!?

This has been going on since 5 months now...ahhhh sleep deprivation at 7 months!

My DD used to wake up very regularly thru the night (4-5 times) and after several months of this too i knew i couldn't keep doing it, and that she wasn't really hungry, but it was the only way she knew how to go back to sleep, so off we went to tresillian and magic, only a dream feed then nothing til 6am at the VERY earliest, usually closer to 7am. not too sure about other states but tresillian have a hot line for 24hr advice. Another suggestion I have from a neighbour who was telling me a few days ago that her little one (8m.o) doesnt like the hammock any more was to move her into a cot as she was getting too big for the hammock, but now has to get her into routine of sleeping in that, which she does a couple of days at day care so she know she can do it. but me not knowing much about hammocks - is there a weight or age suggestion for their use? Does your DD take a dummy? perhaps offer some water in a sippy cup instead of BF. perhaps mums from co-sleeping forums may have some tips on how to stop hourly b.f for u, (if u r happy 4 DD to so-sleep that is ?) good luck

Jackrose, I sounds like a comfort suckle to me too. Does your DD have a dummy or suck her thumb? Can she get to your breast without waking you at night? What state ar you in?

Going by our baby buddies at the moment, it seems 7/8 months is a very unsettled time, there's lots of us losing sleep at the moment! We had this with DS as well around this time. It could well be a developmental stage that they're all going through, combined with teeth moving around and waking up to practice crawling & sitting up!

It could be something that just needs to be ridden out. IMO if bub needs comfort, then the best thing is to give it. DD sometimes needs a feed, and sometimes settles with a cuddle & dummy. I know from experience that it doesn't last forever. Sleeping patterns change all the time, just as bub changes all the time.

I hope you can get some sleep soon. Sometimes just one good sleep gives us the energy to keep going through these rough patches.

ETA: just thought I'd add that we're considering setting up a cot in DS's room, coz I have a feeling it's us waking her up too (DH snoring and us just moving around in bed) but I don't actually like the thought of her not being next to me. So we'll see :)

Elizabeth Pantley's book 'No Cry Sleep Solutions' has some detailed tricks to try regarding co-sleeping and BF (amongst other things) I borrowed a copy from our library and have since bought my own as I found it so helpful.

It sounds like she may be comfort feeding to sleep. Have you tried a dummy?

ahh,
Thanks so much for your thoughtful and wise responses!

We are still struggling with the sleep after midnight, but I do have a new found resolve to deal with it and some possible solutions after reading your thoughts. I will certainly try the 24 hr hotline if things get really bad, I had not thought of things like that. Even if I dont use it, it is a powerful tool to have as a backup if I need it. Thanks abbadabbadoo!

In response to some questions, yes DD does suck her thumb and will self settle in the day and when going to bed with her thumb and a random bit of fabric as a comforter. she has always shunned dummies, bottles and sippy cups and I never have forced the issues, but I am looking at getting a dummy for midnight sucking needs. And she still fits in her hammock and is happy in there during the day, it is ok up to 12 kg.

Alioops, part of the problem is that she cant find the breast on her own and crys out when she wakes. I did find that if I let her really cry, much to the distress of my husband, she resettled with her thumb. So it seems I have got to choose to work with that or keep going as I have been. the answer to that may be in the 'state' I am in. very bloody tired! When I read your post I thought to myself, state - distressed, tired, frustrated.... nice of you to be so concerned. Then when I read again after a little bit of sleep... I realised you probably meant State of Australia!!!! (I'm gonna take it both ways, my 'state' has improved and I am in Vic!)

I am now focusing on the old faithful this too will pass. Thank you for reminding me in such a rational way. I appreciated the way you phrased it Liz, an unsettled time that can be ridden out. Nice to know also that it is a bit more common in this age than just in our bedroom.

Thanks Sacha also for the book reference, I am keen to read some thing more about co-sleeping with solutions. I'm off to look it up!

I also had the same problem and went to tresillian which was amazing. So for DD2 I knew that she was able to sleep through, but if she needed feeding it was habit not neccessity. I just started by always leaving her in cot (or hammock in your case) and never getting her up again, but I would pat and sit with her, just taught her that it was her bed and that's where she stayed at night. It did work and to this day (she's now 2.5) she knows she stays in bed and that's where sleeping happens. On the odd occassion shes' been in our bed she has never slept a wink.

:lol: Jackrose, yes I had meant state of Australia but we all worry about our mental health too. I cant remember the 24 hour line number in Vic but every state has one. It will be in you white or Yellow Pages, the ABA line may be of some help too. Have you considered having you in another bed with her until she settles better? that way she can learn how to find the bb or her thumb without waking DH as much and you can do what you need to do to get her settled more easily.