Help! 8mo ds losing interest in bf, is teething, and not sleeping!!

[islandmomma]

Hello,
My ds is almost 8 months and is waking several times throughout the night . He used to sleep from the 7pm bedtime, basically through a dream feed and then until about 6:30am... until we moved to Belize from US in March and now I believe he's teething. He's waking at all different hours and ALL hours of the night. Last night, I was "blessed"  to see the number of each new hour on the indiglo clock! He used to nurse really well, but for the last month or so, he's on and off the breast like a little one bobbing for apples! It doesn't help that my dd who is 3 comes bounding in on the perfect moment when he is actuallly nursing well. ... namely the 5am feed and the evening feed. 

SO..... my question is: now that he's going to be 8 months, isn't interested in nursing well during daytime feeds  (11am and 4pm.... and sometimes the 5am depending on the arrival of his sissy in the room) AND I've not given him more than 4 or so bottles total (SAHM and haven't really needed to).... where do I go from here? Which bf times should I really be trying to keep if I can and which should I try to push with either a bottle or sippy? I do give him a sippy during the day and at meal times, but he's not gotten the hang of it quite yet and it's more of a toy than anything to him. Also, I'm still producing milk and need him to bf.... however, (don't know if this is TMI ), but this past week I started spotting so I think maybe my milk supply/breastfeeding days are going to be soon over ).

I'm soooo exhausted and am having some serious migraines from lack of sleep and really need to get some sleep.........so, any  suggestions on how his bf schedule should be going throughout the day/night to encourage a more routine sleep pattern would be so greatly appreciated.

Sorry that there are several topics I've touched on, but they all seem to coincide with one another... breastfeeding to sleeping, to teething, to dd bounding in to interrupt. 

I've read several threads on the EASY scheduling, but am having a hard time getting him back on track with this last month! My dd was a great little EASY baby once I was blessed by a friend for giving me Tracy's book and I didn't have the problem with the bottle situation as I'm having now as I had to go back to work at that time when she was 3 months.

Okay, TIA for any tips/advice. 

[Mrs. Gravy]

Sometimes in times of illness, teething etc. you have to just forget about the routine and meet your baby's needs.

Teething is traumatic for a lot of babies, and can really cause havoc with their sleep.  My son is a bad sleeper most of the time, but when he's teething he is just unbearable.

You can definitely continue breast feeding.  Many women report that their supply drops when they get their period, but as long as you keep nursing, it should be back to normal in a few days.  If he's not ready to take a sippy yet, I would encourage you to just keep trying to nurse him as much as you can.  Is there anyone who can keep your dd occupied while you're nursing?  Could you try giving her a toy to play with, or putting in a video for her to watch?  Or maybe you could try getting her involved with you when you nurse.  Have the whole family snuggle up somewhere and read a book.  If dd is there right from the beginning of the nursing session rather than having her bounding in right in the middle of things, it might be less of a distraction to ds.

Just try and go with the flow for a few days, and forget about schedules and routines.  When he's stopped teething, hopefully you'll be able to get back to the way things were.

Hang in there!

[islandmomma]

Thank you for your support and suggestions. :-) My dh is here to help, but my dd is quite active and is a nosey rosey. I will try and get her occupied before trying to nurse, but she's more excited about being with "bubba" that it doesn't last long. 

I'll continue with breastfeeding as much as possible and keep with trying the sippy cup too. I'm just sooo exhausted and am getting ready for going back to the states tomorrow by myself with the two little ones by myself to visit family.... so, I'm really anxious about his teething, schedule, and lack of sleep. I truly hope all goes well and the helping hands that come with visiting family will allow me time to focus more on being able to read Tyler more acutely.

I'm still wondering though why he's not sleeping well for so long now though.... I know the teething is a factor, but it's been almost a month now of up and down throughout the night now. I'm just wanting some input on how much he should be getting... as far as food, snacks, liquids, etc throughout the day compared to other babies. My dd wasn't this difficult for keeping asleep at night, so this is a bit new and frustrating. The funny thing is ... Tyler is such a happy loving and laughing baby throughout the day! He giggles and plays like he had a full night's sleep, when I know that's not the case. Go figure. 

Thanks again!

[Mrs. Gravy]

It took my son a good 3 months to figure out how to use a sippy cup.  I just kept giving it to him during the day and once he started solids, at meal time. 

As far as wondering if your son is getting enough, keep checking his diapers.  He should be having 6+ wet diapers a day.  If it's coming out, you know it's gotta be going in. 

For the sleeping, I can't really help you.  My son is a terrible sleeper and if I had the "magic cure", I'd be using it myself!  My son was a great sleeper until he was 10 weeks old.  Then he started waking 3-4 times during the night and he's pretty much been that way ever since.  It doesn't seem to matter what we do - he just keeps getting up.  Like Tyler, he's happy enough during the day so I'm not too concerned that he isn't getting enough sleep.

I've heard this age is a rough one sleep-wise.  Teething plays a factor, as well as meeting milestones.  I've read that whenever a baby learns something new, like crawling or rolling over, it can interrupt their sleep. 

Just keep telling yourself it's a phase, and it will pass.