XP: the sleep topic again... need advice

hrhone328

Posted in 3-6 months too, since LO is almost 6 months.

I know there are TONS of posts about sleep on here and everyone is going to hate me for bringing this topic up yet again, but I need some advice b/c I'm at a loss... I also know that the first year is nothing but sleep changes, but I just need others thoughts on this and what I should try.

So LO hasn't always been the greatest sleeper in the world, but after we sleep trained, it got a lot better. (Yes, we did sleep training a little early and I know lots of people say it shouldn't be done until at least 6 months... not what I'm getting at here). Well, at about 4 months, she went through a small sleep regression. Lasted about a week. By the end of the week, we let her CIO for a night or two and she was good to go again. Now, when she turned 5 months (she'll be 6 months in 2 weeks), we hit another one and this one is hanging around. I started feeding her when she would wake up (though, not immediately, I'd give her a chance to go back to sleep). Then I started letting her CIO again and would end up having to go up and feed her anyway after about an hour or so of on and off crying. She'd look like she was going back to sleep then start crying again. So we thought maybe it was a regression at first... then we thought maybe she wasn't getting enough to eat in the evenings (my supply has been slowly dropping the last month or two and we've been supplementing with formula during the day, but I'd solely nurse in the evenings), so we started giving her some extra formula in the evenings. Seemed to work for a night, but now we're back to lots of crying.

Anyway, to the point... maybe it's a sleep regression, maybe it's teeth, maybe it's a growth spurt (though, I thought those only last a couple of days)... but I'm just not sure how to handle her nighttime wakings. Should I go in and nurse her anyway? I'm just afraid that's going to start a bad habit (which I think has kind of happened already), but we try to let her CIO and we all end up awake for 1-2 hours in the middle of the night and she ends up getting nursed anyway. Hubby tries to go in and soothe her, but it seldom works. She knows how to put herself to sleep, so I know it's not that she needs help with that. Though, maybe she does if she's going through a sleep regression. I am just one tired mama and am barely functioning! I don't know what else to try!!

Cellis

I don't have any advice for you, but my DS wakes up once (sometimes twice) a night to nurse. He use to sleep 10-12 hours. I think it's a mix of being more active during the day so he's making up for any missed calories at night and he's teething. I did what you did, let him fuss for a little bit, but he would just end up waking up even more and I would be up that whole time anyways. So I just nurse him and he goes right back to sleep. DS also knows how to put himself back to sleep, he does it several other times throughout the night. I just figure it's a stage that he will eventually grow out of, but he probably needs me more right now since his gums hurt and he's learning so many new things during the day.

So to answer your question, I would just go in and nurse anyways. :-)

VPGIRL06

I would track how much she's eating in the day, and seeing if it's dropping off since you've been feeding her at night. if it's stayed the same, she probabley needs the extra feedings or you can try extra nursings in the day .if she's eating less during the day then shes supplementing what she'd usually eat during the day for night time feedings. also see if it seems like she's taking a full feeding...but if she's crying for 1-2 hours i'm thinking it's definitely hunger, but I would only say it's a "bad habit" if she's dropping day time feedings.

 

 

hrhone328

Well, turns out it might have actually been a tooth! My SIL (and daycare provider) sent me a text on Friday afternoon to let me know that a tooth had popped up. In the back of my mind, I had a feeling it could be a tooth and her gums looked a little white and puffy. But being a FTM, I just wasn't sure what to look for. But lo and behold, we have a tooth! She is still waking up occasionally, but STTN over the weekend (woke up last night though, albeit not screaming like she had been). So she may be coming around, until the next tooth comes in. Ha! I did decide to just go in and nurse her when she is crying a bit more heavily. Sometimes, she'll just make noise for 10-15 minutes and go back to sleep, but never actually cry.

Thanks for the advice!