Please Someone Help Me "Make" DS Sleep Longer!

[Quootiepie]

Hiya,
DS is 7 months, BFing and co-sleeping (although we've bought a bedside cot now, he looks too lonely so hes back in the bed ) and still wakes countless times during the night. Our day will go pretty much like...

7am feed
7.30am feed
8am feed
9am feed
11am feed
1pm feed
2.30pm feed
4.30pm feed
5.30pm feed
6.30pm feed
then from 7/7.30 when I put him to bed, its every 10-45 minutes until about 9/9.30, then about every 2 possibly but rarely 3 hours until about 5, then half hourly or hourly until 7.

Sometimes he does go 3 during the day, but only if hes doing something terribly exciting like being out and about and passed around loads of people. But, then his evening feeding is worse. Some of those feeds are 10 minute snacks. I tried a bottle of formula before bed one night when I was really ill and tired, but, did nothing.

He isnt too warm/cold he just seems to wake alot. Is there anything I can do to help him sleep longer?

[Schmauskin]

Try him in his own room in his own cot! As soon as I moved my breast fed daughter into her own little we BOTH slept better. My DH wasn't keen, but my exhaustion made me try it, and because dd and I are both such light sleepers it helped enormously. when she was in a crib in our room every time I turned over in bed or farted, she was awake and vice versa, IYKWIM! I weaned my dd onto solids at 6 months, so maybe your ds is hungry for food too?

[Quootiepie]

hes eating solids aswell, forgot to say! Im not sure im ready for him to go next door... hes only a baby...

[Schmauskin]

I felt the same but he'll only be next door! having siad that, you must do what's right for you, but maybe try it and you'll find out. Much luck, 'cos I know how exhausting broken nights can be.

[Mumpbump]

That sounds like an awful lot of feeds to me. My ds fed the most frequently of my antenatal group and by 4mo, he was down to about 9 feeds (exclusively b/f until this age). My hv suggested giving him water; the doctor said to wait as long as possible before feeding him so he was really hungry and had a good feed. Maybe you've just got a hungry baby, but are you sure he's hungry every time or does he just want something to suck on?

[Quootiepie]

Might just want a suck... but at night I have to feed him. Sometimes he has a good long feed during the night, so, he must be hungry? Ive tried making him wait abit for his feeds, but, majority of the time he gets upset and sucks my cheeks...

[hotandbothered]

Agree with Schmauskin - when dd went into own room at 7 months she slept MUCH bbetter. Think we'd been waking her up or something. We had the monitor turned up high so we'd definately hear her and it was great - my first good sleep since she was born!

[Mumpbump]

DS gave dh two big lovebites on his arms when I was out once, so know what you mean about the sucking!!

Moving ds out definitely helped me get more sleep because I woke up at every rustle. I still wake up at the first call, but generally tend to see whether he settles himself or not.

[Quootiepie]

I cant put him all alone next door I felt sorry for him in the bedside cot!

Thing is, once hes awake, he needs feeding back to sleep... I dont know how to do it any other way, and assume hes hungry so do it.

[iris66]

The No Cry Sleep Solution (book by Elizabeth Pantley) has some good tips to help get your DS away from needing to be bf to sleep (it is what it says). I started a thread in sept and my DS (9 1/2 mths) is no longer bf at night & last night he slept 8.30 - 6 for the first time and resettled himself without me when he stirred!!! HTH

[Mumpbump]

If you're really desperate, have a look for controlled comforting on google. It's a modified form of cc where you comfort them, but don't pick them up. The idea is to teach them to sleep by themselves and, I guess, break bad sleep associations. We did it with ds - it was hard work and stressful for all concerned, but it did work after about a month or so. He still has a feed before he goes to sleep at night, but not in the day and winges before his daytime nap, but will eventually lie down and settle himself...

[iris66]

just to add - he was a "bf every 2 hours" baby too!

[amijee]

i don't think the problem is sleep - it's continual comfort feeding. A 7 mth old doesn't normally need hourly feeds - and if they can get it, they are unlikely to suddenly extend on their own.

I realised this when i introduced continual bottles of ebm to my 14 week old ds - he fed 3-4 hrly instead of every 90 mins.

As far as the cot is concerned, imho the longer you leave it the harder it will be. Unless of course, you are happy with a toddler in your bed.

[littlepiggie]

We still have ds in our room, but away from the bed.
We found that master piggie started waking every 1-2 hour during the night, we found that hd going to him rather than me helped, we stated
night 1 11pm feed, then 1 only in the night,
when he was only waking once we started trying to push the feed later and later, now its around 5am.
I know we have a long way to go still, but we only started 2 weks ago.
We still have all the crying, but he is not left on his own, but i dont go to him as he will be able to smell me and will prob get more upset.

[mustrunmore]

Scmauskin!!! How you doing? Didn't think you were still on here! (I'm Ixel, BTW!)

[WriggleJiggle]

We moved dd into her own room because she started feeding continuously throughout the night, and when she wasn't feeding she was wriggling in her sleep keeping me awake. I was so exhausted with lack of sleep I decided it was safer for her to be in her own cot.

[WriggleJiggle]

Sorry, pressed mouse instead of return . What I was going to add was that it was the best thing that we could have done. She now sleeps really soundly, and although I feed on demand, we are almost down to 1 feed a night .

[Hattie05]

Quootiepie, i'd say you have two choices.

Stop co-sleeping and start using a 'sleep training method' to help you lo learn to sleep without comfort feeds.

Or accept that if co-sleeping is your choice then comfort feeding is part of it.

I co-slept with my dd until she was two and she frequently breastfed in the night - i can't be sure how frequent as i slept through most of the feeds . In the early evening where you mention he feeds very frequently, you could try other methods such as reading books, singing etc to help him back to sleep. Avoid the usual position you assume to breastfeed, and wear a top which is hard for your ds to get into iykwim.

When she was 15mths we did put her in her own bed in own bedroom but she'd sleep there from 7 - midnight and then come and join us for the rest of the night. Which was an arrangement we were happy with. Once she turned two i very gently and slowly weaned her off the breast and out of our bed, and ever since she has slept solidly all night.

What i'm trying to say is that the two choices both equal the same outcome - a healthy toddler who knows how to sleep through on their own. So you don't need to carry any guilt with whatever choice you make. Its your lifestyle and personal wishes that help you make a choice.

[Quootiepie]

I would definatly rather co-sleep and be woken alot, than DS go on his own... Ill try other methods of soothing before feeding him though. Thanks

[WriggleJiggle]

If you enjoy co-sleeping keep going with it. I would much prefer to - it somehow seems more 'natual'. Try giving your little one as much space as you can whilst in bed, just in case you moving makes him wake. You could also try making your milk a little less accessible under a few layers of clothing so he doesn't smell it as much.