BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Breast Feeding => Topic started by: magicbelly on January 06, 2006, 10:56:13 am
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Hi
I just bought Tracey's new book, only up to 1st chapter. I wish i read her advice 5 months ago. My 5 month old was sleeping through and now waking often around 2am or 4am but varies. going to bed as late as 9pm becasue she has become hard to settle. She always seems to be crying, throwing tantrums and grumpy lately (I didnt realise such young babies could throw a tantrum!). These changes starting 3-4 weeks ago and her behaviour is becoming more challenging for me.
The change comes with increased curiosity and ability to roll and sit up. Now she is too busy to feed, has a suck then wants to sit up, look around, touch things, go back for another suck. If i try to hold her toward the breast she struggles and screams until she gets her own way then she is happy. This game carries on EVERY feed, i am frequently swapping breasts (i think she knows she doesnt have to feed as hard the other side and will fight until she gets it). Feeds are taking longer and i never know when she has fully fed because she wants to play? Now i have problems with settling and night waking. I dont know if she is hungry during the night because she always goes for the breast for comfort or food when i hold her??? (i cant have my husband get up during the night due to work).
I didnt have problems with sleeping or feeding until recently. She still sleeps usually 1.5 hrs during her day sleeps.
Please advise because i cant find anyone else with the same problems.
Many thanks in advance.
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Hi magic belly,
My ds has started to become very distracted whilst b/feeding also, and he's about the same age as your lo. What I have found helps sometimes is to change my position so that he's actually sitting on my lap and latched on, allowing him to look around whilst still suckling. I think he likes that position better than the old lying across my tummy which is a little babyish for him now he's a Big Boy. :wink:
HTH
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Hi
Same for us!! Savannah is almost 7 months and has been doing this since 5 1/2 mths, I must admitt to feeling jealous of bottle feeders as their baby's can sit bolt upright, down a bottle and not miss out on a thing!!! If we ever go out for a whole day, she battles even harder against feeding in mother and baby rooms, end up having to take solids out to offer her something. Seems she will only feed in her darkened nursery with no distractions
I am constantly changing sides and coaxing her to feed. She goes down at 7pm dreamfeeds between 9.30-10.30 then can sometimes be up again as early as 2am grrrrr. I used to think she was hungry then but i have been doing the gentle withdrawl method (is that what its called?? on one of the sleep forums) just letting her suck at night for decreasing periods of time then putting her down awake, we seem to be having SLIGHT progress as last night she went off after 15mins or so and lasted til 8am. I cannot use DH either as he is away at Police College during the week.
I really hope this is just a phase, as it is making b/feeding such hard work!!!
love sallyx
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You could try a nursing necklace.
http://www.mommynecklaces.com/nursingnecklacesdoodledabble.htm
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Thanks for your replies. I tried the dreamfeed last night for the first time and had a good feed only to wake at 3am screaming. This has been happening for 2-3 wks. i was committed to try the ssh/pat method. 50min later still screaming, i picked her up once during this time to check it wasnt hunger and she immediately stopped and fell limp on my shoulder. so still screaming i persservered until 4.10am and then fed her. she had a full feed and went straight back to sleep until 8am (has never slept this long) when i intentially woke her to keep close to the 7am routine. So adding the dreamfeed made no difference, should i perservere with it?
I think if i fed her when she woke at 3am she probably would have fed then slept to 5 or 6am but i want her to learn to sleep through. would it be possible it was true hunger or did i exhaust her into hunger?
When should i use the pu/pd as apposed to shh/pat???
advice is much appreciated.
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You could try a nursing necklace.
http://www.mommynecklaces.com/nursingnecklacesdoodledabble.htm
I just bought one these, and it is working great for Red, who is driving me batty with his distracted feeding!
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Thanks for your replies. I tried the dreamfeed last night for the first time and had a good feed only to wake at 3am screaming. <snip> So adding the dreamfeed made no difference, should i perservere with it?
Hi Magicbelly,
I would say persevere with the dreamfeed. My ds was doing the same thing, only because he was in a routine of waking in the middle of the night, not because he was necessarily hungry. Once I started the dreamfeed with a more rigorous EASY routine than I was on previously, I think it took about a week of continuing to wake during the night out of habit before he got over it.
Your lo may well wake occasionally from hunger, but you can generally tell if it is hunger or just normal stirring and difficulty resettling because your lo will continue to grizzle for an extended period. I use a 5 minute rule - if he's had his dummy put back in and he's still crying (not just grizzling) after 5 minutes, I will go in and do a short feed.
THe other thing which worked for us is definitely cluster feeding in the late afternoon. Tyson also went onto solids which has helped immensely to ensure he has enough in his tummy to go 11-12 hours at night plus the dreamfeed.
Keep at it, and good luck!
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We have been dealing with this for 3 months! Started in the fall when Evan was your little one's age and just hasn't improved. We were at a restraurant last night and he was fussy, hungry, and tired. I tried to bf him, he was so distracted he couldn't attend to anything! I just ordered a nursing necklace b/c he's scratching the ens otu of me while bf, hoping that will help with his fidgety little fingers.