We've been having horrendous NW for the last three weeks or so. The first couple of times, it was after her vaccinations, but it's continued. Not every night, but about every third or fourth night, she just doesn't settle after her middle of the night feed. I'll feed her (which takes FOREVER - at least 40 minutes) and she's just awake. I think she falls asleep v soon after she starts to feed and then wakes up again. She is feeding twice a night and the first feed is fine. I had always given her a dream feed around ten, but she started waking up for it, so I just let her wake and I would feed her. About a month ago, we had a week where she would sleep from7.30 till 3 or so and then I would feed her and she'd sleep till 7. Lovely. Then she had her second vaccinations and for two nights, she woke around 2.30 and was then awake for two hours plus. So I started giving her a dream feed again. Now she's going to bed at 7.30, having a dream feed at 10.30 and still waking at 2.30 for a feed. And about every third night, she doesn't settle. She will bob on and off the breast, I'll wind her and her eyes are wide open. I'd been putting her back in her cot when I thought she'd had enough to eat, and she's awake. She does not cry. I leave her to it. She makes this very loud moaning sound from time to time and about two hours after she first woke, she'll fall back to sleep on her own. I can't go to sleep if I know she's awake, I'm a borderline insomniac anyway, and I'm surviving on about four hours of broken sleep.
So, the details. She's just over four months old, exclusively breast fed. She's doing the typical four month old thing, life is just too exciting to drink milk when there's so much to look at!!! So I feed her as much as I can when she wakes and then I do offer again about an hour later and she'll suck for 3-4 minutes and she's done. She sleeps in her cot in her room for the first two naps and in the baby carrier for the third nap. She's not swaddled anymore and she sleeps on her tummy. She doesn't use a dummy. She can suck her fingers but doesn't manage to do it successfully at night. She falls asleep on her own no problem. Naps are great. Too good. I wake her from nearly every nap now. This is how yesterday went ( the night before was a good night, I didn't give her a df as I slept through my alarm, I fed her at 23.20 and 3.30).
Wu 6.50 am, woke herself
E 7.30 am
A - around the house
S 9-10.50 (I woke her)
E 10.50, not very hungry, on and off
A - we went to have haircuts
E 12.30 (still not very hungry)
A a bit longer than she wanted, typical Saturday lunchtime chaos
S 13.20-14.50 (I woke her)
E 14.50
A
E 16.15
A
S 17.25-17.55. Again later than she wanted, her baby Bjorn was in the wash and she's gone off her other carrier (this nap has to be in the carrier really, I have barn chores this time of day and I can't leave her in the house)
A bath, sit in high chair while we had dinner
E 18.45. I start her off downstairs then take her up to her room for the second half. She fell asleep feeding (does this about half the time) and was in her cot by 19.40
I gave her a dream feed at 22.30; she woke screaming for food at 2.20. I fed her..... Some time around 4.30 she fell asleep and she woke at 6.50
