baby waking every hour at night for a feed.

Peita - posted on 02/02/2010

I agree with Stephanie! Try a pacifier, as much as I don't like them, I did! My 3 month old girl was waking every 3 hours at night, when she was 7 weeks old, I gave in and gave her a pacifier and 2 weeks later she was only getting up for 1 feed a night, she just wanted something to suck on and sleep! She only ever has her pacifier for sleep and it saves a lot of stress at night!

Stephanie - posted on 01/28/2010

Listen to the lady about the movie!!! It saved us a ton of heartache. You don't sound like your using a pacifier, I wasn't too keen on them either but Bannen only gets his at night and he might wake up but stick the plug in and he goes right back to sleep!!! He's not hungry cause he never wanted to eat he was just waking up but that fixed it instead of hanging out with him for an hour till he fell back asleep he goes right back to sleep when I give it to him.

Hayley - posted on 01/14/2010

hope this makes you feel better, i went through a period of my 2.5 month old waking every hour for a feed and forming a strong attachment to the breast and would only sleep when feeding and only doing the 20 minute cat naps. your baby sounds like my little 1. What i did for a while was feed till he was asleep put him over my shoulder to burp ( 5-15 minutes) and then lay him downasleep keeping my hand on him. then i spent then the 5 days sitting next to him in his cot during the day while he cried to help him fall asleep during the day, it was bloody hard work and i cried as much as he did ! but i has totally paid off, he is 95% of the time not requiring my boob to fall asleep and falling asleep by himself, but i still do feed till he falls asleep but when i lay him down he wakes slightly but is now more relaxed within himself to close his eyes with out any fuss and go back to sleep. but at the same time there is one step forward and one step back.

Lisa - posted on 01/11/2010

thanks for helping Liz

zoe seems to be a mini me,, stubborn :P she only sleeps on her sides and swaddled. she seemed to panic about her arms being free and would never settle :P so weve swaddles her since day 1. shes now wanting her arms out to suck her fingers but isnt quite able to keep them in her mouth so she wakes her self up :| we think shes teething too which is making her want to feed more.

weve just spent 4 hours trying to get her to sleep. she was soo tired...our magic tool is the extractor fan in the kitchen...seems to work 90% of the time.

during the day she has 3 or 4 40 mins naps unless were out and then int he buggy/car seat she can sleep for hours. i know shes young and still finding herself etc....its just i read abput mums where their babys and laid back and sleep easy, where as mine is demanding.then when im at the inlaws its constantly " why is she crying " and they dont understand when i say shes over tired and over stimulated.

guess i should just go with my gut and do what she likes instead of being told " oh you have her in a bad habit"

thanks again :)

Liz - posted on 01/11/2010

A few things might be going on here.

How much sleep does she get throughout the day? Because if she's not napping good, or getting too much sleep, it can affect her nighttime routine. She's getting to the age where you can try and setup 3 naps a day. (my daughter has her afternoon nap down, but still only dozes through the rest of the day, its tough). And then don't put her down for bed until 10 or so, when you go to bed. That way you can maximize that first stretch of sleep she gives you at night, which is always the longest.

The other issue is one that has been mentioned, which is comfort sucking. As Lise said, you can try co-sleeping to manage that one. And don't feed her everytime she wakes up, you know her cues, read whether she just want to be near you or actually want's to eat. (and btw, you'll have comfort issues whether you breastfeed or not, so don't give up on it yet!)

And thirdly, she may have trouble with self soothing. Dr. Harvey Karp has a book/DVD out called "The Happiest Baby on the Block". It worked wonders with my son, and i'm now using it for my daughter. Basically there are 5 "S's" that help soothe a baby. Sucking - Swaddling - Swinging - Side/Stomach - Shhhh. Obviously we can't lay our babies on their stomach at night, but we can employ the other four ideas. Your daughter is still yough enough to be swaddled, she doesn't have complete control of her arms yet. The snuggness of the swaddle will make her feel comfortable. And then you can give her a pacifier. My daughter likes Mams best, becuase they are more to the shape of my nipple. Experiment with different kinds. And then for swinging, if your daughter's bed is able to be rocked, you can lay in bed and just dangle your arm out to put her back to sleep. And for the "shhh", a white noise machine does wonders.

Hope that helps!

Lisa - posted on 01/11/2010

not sure how this site works...hmmmm !



zoe wont take a bottle, i try one atleast once a day to get her used to it but she screams when it goes in her mouth, ive tried 3 diffrent teets ! i also tried sma which she hated, im now trying aptimal, if i drip it in her mouth she doesnt act like its poison at least lol....



i do feed her lying on my side, but when she falls asleep i move her to her cot and shell sleep but she wants this every hour when its passed 5am, after 5am i cant seem to get her to sleep longer than 1 hour.



last night we bathed her in the johnsons stuff and she fell asleep at 8 :) started watching a dvd and she woke up screaming at 8:40.she then didnt go down till 11:30. then woke at 4:40,5:30 : 6:30 ,7:00. i was sure she wasnt hnugry so i only fed her at 4:40 and 7. the other times i was standing by her patting her bum. its exhausting.



i dont know if i just need to help her soothe herself, thats one thing she cant seem to do alone and so she wakes for the boob for comfort!



im really starting to regret breast feeding! ever feel like that?

Lise - posted on 01/11/2010

Can you nurse lying on your side? We do that and co-sleep, so I latch her on and go back to sleep. With her that close, she usually latches herself back on when she wants to eat again.

Jac - posted on 01/10/2010

You may need to experiment and try different formulas, Ive recently swapped formulas as I had the same problem and for 3 nights now we have slept through to 7am each day, Ive caught up on my sleep and its great. I also have this book id reccommend its called 'Save our sleep' by Tizzie Hall. She introduces a 'dream feed' it works a dream. You feed baby at 630pm then at 1030pm you feed again but without waking her, gently pick her up put the bottle to her lip and she will drink till she is full, then wen she is done slowely sit her up and becoz she is asleep and relaxed all the air comes up and you can pop her in her bed again. Works a dream, she might drink more asleep, give it a go - good luck