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Nina is now 6 months old and twice during the night she has comfort feeds. I know they are comfort feeds and nothing more because whether I feed her for 30 seconds, or for 5 mintues, she'll go back to sleep either way and wakes at the same times every night, midnight and 3am. This is happening every single night and I would really like to get her out of the habit of the comfort feed, but what can I do? I don't really want to do controlled crying.
Anyone got any ideas? TIA.
I have never had to do it, but have heard that a bottle of water can help. I'd say maybe 90ml.
I have also herd of giving water insead of feeds, Charlotte grew out of this around 6 1/2 months, but this might of been as we moved her into her own bedroom, and she started to sleep trough the night.
Good Luck, because i know what its like.
OMG Jodi - you have my life. Except my times are 1am and 5am - without fail - every single night. I'd love to move Lily out of our room but her cot is currently occupied by a very stubborn 2.5 year old. I've thought about trying the water thing but I think I have buckley's chance if I give it her and she senses bb'ies close by. I will be watching this thread closely....
I've tried the water and it worked, once! She caught on to what I was doing and won't take the water at night anymore.
She has a dummy but it doesn't settle her these 2 times. I tried letting her have a whinge and see if she self settles, but at these 2 times she won't and gets really hysterical, this is why I don't want to do controlled crying.
Do you think it would be easier if DH got up at these times to try and settle her, and not me? I'm thinking maybe cause she can smell me, she thinks she needs to have it???
Dunno, just with me being sick at the moment, I'm desperate for her to stop waking at these times.
When you find the answer to this problem let me know!!! Riley wakes without fail every 2 hours for a comfort feed and now that I am working 3 days a week its really getting to me.
My one piece of advice...
Get your partner to go into resettle. It was the ONLY way to get Seth to go back to sleep. If I went in he'd see me and that would be it. When Marc went in he'd go back to sleep. It didn't work everytime and yes it meant Marc got a little less sleep but he got the hint and started sleeping through.
*hugs*
Cailin
Fletch - can I have your hubby?
I've shown DH this thread with your responses, and told him he has to get up during the night now! Not really keen on the idea, but he knows he's gotta do it.
I'll report back in the morning with our progress ...
Marc did and does exactly the same. And he gets up early to go to work. He believed if I was up he should be up too as its "our" child iykwim.
*hugs*
Cailin
Hehe..watching this with interest...cos if you leave it you get a little man like Sammy who still wakes regularly for comfort feeds lol...crawling over to mumma saying 'boo boo mumma'!throughout the night.
Jo
I have only just gotten my son to sleep through the night without a comfort feed and he will be one on sunday. I tried everything from offering water to controlled crying and nothing worked. He wanted the feed so I gave it to him, just to get any sleep that I could. Only last week a chemist gave me a piece of advice that I will pass on to you.... start by givinng nina a feed, making it the amount that she would normally have then lessen it by 40ml each night. Turned out that my son is now eating more through the day, filling himself and making up for the lost fee, so that he can sleep through the night. Hope that helps.....
We still have feeds in the night... altho they have dropped back recently. They're definitely comfort feeds, but they're also full on feeds.. big let down.. big drink. I don't find it that hard to get up and do a quick feed.
DH doesn't get up.. I didn't want him to.. he suffers terribly if he doesn't get sleep... and with breastfeeding, I get the sleepy hormone during the feed, whereas DH would wake up and not get back to sleep again. hehe. And lets face it.. one baby is enough to deal with the next day, without a grumpy sleepy old man as well! LOL.
Can't say it's affected their bonding ;) I'm the only one that can put Tallon to sleep at the moment (coz I feed to sleep).. well.. at least it's the quickest way, and we haven't had the TIME to try DH putting him to sleep hehehe. I'm happy to have the job for now. DH can do it later when a story in bed is appreciated more. Tallon just wants to eat the story book at the moment, so story time isn't always a go these days LOL.
Anyway, sorry.. none of that answers your questions on how to reduce the night feeds does it! Perhaps when you're feeling better the night feeds won't bother you so much. I've just gone with the flow and not forced anything on him... he's getting better as he gets older :)
I also need to deal with this problem as well.. Xander has decided that 2 hourly comfort feeds during the night are required. I'm a walking zombie and barely functioning during the day - and consequently loosing even more weight.
Someone suggested that to cut back the duration of the comfort feed each time (and only offer water or dummy etc after this)... I'm currently trying this so will let you know how we go. Occasionally DH will go to him, but my DH with little sleep is terrible, so not really worth it!
Hi Anna,
For the first 6 months of my sons life he was breastfeed and comp'd with a bottle. I averaged 2-4hrs of sleep daily, lost a staggering 29 kilos and suffered with post natal depression. So I feel for you and know all too well how miserable and helpless one can feel when our babies don't sleep. I hope that you are able to believe me when I say that it does get better as they get older. My son will be one on sunday and he has only just started sleeping through the night, so i now feel great! It does take a bit of hard work on your part but it will pay off. I tried everything from controlled crying to buying 3 different beds and two different prams just to get him to sleep but none of that worked. Before I go on are you giving your little one solids??.....
ok, well it's 1.50am here, and Nina is WIDE AWAKE and so am I now. DH got up at midnight to her, tried for an hour to re-settle her. In the end she decided that cause Daddy was there it was playtime. I went in after an hour to see if feeding her would put her to sleep ... but nope! Now she's sitting in her bouncer in front of the TV talking to it. At least she's not screaming the house down, but still, I would rather be in bed like the rest of you!
He tried cuddles, water, dummy, and more cuddles. She wasn't getting hysterical, and he left her in her cot on her own for a while, but she did get unsettled when someone wasn't there.
Reckon I should persist and start again another night???
mummahol - yep, she's on solids.
oh Jodi, hugs to you!!
It's not much fun is it, Rylee is on the midnight, 3 am and 6 am time slots (and that is on a good night, sometimes it is 2 hourly). I tell what, I am at the end of my tether too, especially since she is a hopeless sleeper during the day too. I spoke to the paediatrician today and all she said was that booby-fed bubs love having comfort feeds, the only way to stop was to start on full-time formula, which I don't want to do, she didn't have any answers for me. Also said Rylee was teething so gave me something to rub on her gums which may also have been why she was waking so frequently. Sorry I don't have any answers, but I am with you in spirit on this one and hanging out for more than three hours sleep in a row!!! :)
Laurin
I think many will attest to the fact that formula will not necessarily make them sleep through. In fact it can make them worse. There are also PLENTY of breastfed bubs that sleep for 12hrs a night!
Every baby is different. Gosh some professionals make some silly blanket statements. :rolleyes:
This thread has made me feel so much better cause I realise I'm not the only one with a baby that wakes up every 2 hours. I don't mind feeding him and I am NOT switching to formula but I am getting so tired and my PND is flaring up again. DH is no use, he gets angry if his sleep is disturbed at all and as he gets up at 4.30am to go to work its not an option for him to go to him. The clinic sister wants me to go to Tresillian for 5 days but a) I hate the sound of it b) I have no one to mind the girls from 5am when DH leaves and if I leave them alone they will kill each other LOL. Oh well, at least i got to whinge to people who understand LOL.
That's what we're all here for Christine! hehe
Are you able to co-sleep with Riley? Perhaps even in another bed so as not to wake your DH? That way you don't need to wake up as much to feed, it's a real sleepy feed then. A few nights like that might help you get on top of things? We haven't had problems with co-sleeping becoming a habit or anything.. I'm still able to put Tallon down in his cot. But co-sleeping is useful in so many ways, especially with breastfed bubs, and teething and sickness... the list goes on ;)
Tallon woke every 3hrs for many many months.. it's only the last maybe 2 or 3 months that we're gettiing longer stretches of sleep at night.