Hi All,
I really need some advice about how to stop my baby comfort sucking in the night. I didn't even realise he was doing this until the past 2 or 3 weeks. We just thought he was a really hungry baby and so I was feeding him when he made all the 'hungry' signs (day and night), even if it had been an hour or less since he had fed. We then realised that if he is upset, or tired, he makes these signs as it is his cue to go to sleep!
I then found this forum and bought the book. He is now on the 3 hour EASY schedule and during the day everything is wonderful. I have learnt to recognise his tierd signs and so he now goes down for naps without a fuss, and he feeds every 3 hours just fine. It is just night we have the problem. He goes to sleep about 8 - 8.30 after a bath. He usually does the dream feed at 10.30 just fine. He then always wakes up around 2ish and around 4 ish to feed. Last night he also woke up at 00.30 - I got him back to sleep without feeding, and at around 5.45, where he didn't really go to sleep properly and then I fed him at 7am.
Last night I had an idea to not breast feed during the night to see if that would get him out of the habit of looking for the nipple. When he woke at 2am I started giving him expressed milk from the bottle, but he also suffers really bad with wind, and so I gave up as I could see he was gulping back too much air (thought he might be awake all night from wind in that case)! When he woke at 4am, I thought 'he can't be hungry again, so thought I would test his hunger with bottle again (if it was nipple comfort he wouldn't want the bottle), and lo and behold he didn't want the bottle, but screamed so loud I ended up giving in and giving him the breast anyway as I was tired and didn't want to wake everyone up! I know I shouldn't have given in, but really don't know what else to do sometimes.
Sorry for the long post!
How old is your child?
What’s his/her daily routine?
What’s nap routine?
How long are naps?
What's bedtime routine? Time?
Do you bottle or breastfed??
How much? or how long?
If breastfed.. one side or both?? (at each feed)
How many wakes per night?
What’s your LO like when waking at night? How long is he/she up?
When you go to him/her is she fussing or crying? Or is it a mantra cry?
What have you tried to settle??
What do you do for A time and how long is it?
Are there developmental issues such as teething or milestones?
Have you introduced cereal? Why, how much, and how many times a day? (for LO’s under 6 months)
Do they have a prop? If so what is it?
Do they have a lovie?