Night time BFing question

AriaAmante143

I'm trying to go through every possible scenario as to why B is sleeping so horribly. My current thought is maybe she's not eating enough in the evenings/overnight to satisfy her. During the day, B nurses from one side each feeding, usually 8-12 minutes tops. She pulls off, I burp her and offer again but she won't latch on if she's done. She can stay satisfied from 2.5-3.5 hours this way. I always nurse her right before bed using the same method. When she wakes up in the MOTN, she will nurse less than 10 minutes and then fall asleep.

So I guess my question is:

*Should I be offering her both breasts before bed? In the MOTN? How do you keep your LO awake to extend feedings at night?

DRFleener

Starting at 5:30, I try and feed her every two hours. Then she goes down around 9:30. I can get one good stretch 2-4 hours then she is up to nurse every 1-3 hours. I give her both sides. From what I have read for nursed babies this is normal.

My doctor said I could supplement with an additional couple of ounces of BM but I have a happy spitter and am worried she will just lose it any way...I feel your pain.

AriaAmante143

Jennibeanjld said:

Marlena nurses the same way you described. I offer both breasts, but she will only take the second if she is still hungry.

Is Brooklyn sleeping horribly at night or just naps? How many MOTN feedings are you doing, and do you wake her to feed or go by her cues? It sounds like we are doing things similarly - Marlena sleeps well when she does sleep, and goes 2.5-3.5 hours. Were you hoping for longer stretches or better sleep for B?

She naps just fine during the day. It's just night. I don't wake her to eat, I wait for cues, which is usually crying.

I'm hoping for both. Longer stretches of sleep (she's done 7 and 8 hours before so I know she can) and better quality sleep for her. Right now we're up every 1-3 hours. Her norm for the first few months was 4-6

kimberpoo

I nurse during the day then pump and offer a bottle before bed and motn. I'm pretty sure he eats more oz from the bottle than he does during nursing and I can also be sure that he gets the whole thing before dozing off. I also change his diaper before feeding and hold him partially sitting up while he eats. good luck!

AriaAmante143

About a week, week and a half maybe. I would chalk it up to growth spurt but she's completely fine during the day. Really happy, takes great naps, goes normal length of time between feeds, etc.

mari3607

Try to get her to eat every 3-4 hours during the day. They need a big meal to hold them off longer. The calories they get in during the day the longer they can go at night.

WoodShopGirl

Is she waking up due to gas rather than hunger?

I know that if I don't keep A upright for at least 20 minutes after his MOTN feeds he wakes himself with gas. It sucks cause he is asleep on me and I can't fall back asleep until I put him down, but I find that I get at least another hour this way.

dannie2011

Most breastfed babies do not go 3-4 hours, and it is preferred that you feed every 2-3 hours. Follow babies cues, not the clock.  Extending time between feeds does not equal bigger meals or more calories. 

dannie2011

Here's a link that may help, I did have a better link that explained it better but I cannot find it. 

https://breastfeedingusa.org/content/article/does-your-older-baby-still-need-night-feedings

Sanibel21

Is she wet when she wakes up? When is the last time you went up a size in diapers? @kaking8 had mentioned how much better LO slept after going up in diaper size, so I tried it even though they looked really big and it worked! I think the smaller size filled up too fast and bothered her sooner than the bigger size. Just a thought. I also keep LO upright for awhile to prevent reflux/gas. I hope you can figure it out!

Sanibel21

Oh and I change her diaper in between feedings to get her to take the second side.

AriaAmante143

Sanibel21 said:

Is she wet when she wakes up? When is the last time you went up a size in diapers? @kaking8 had mentioned how much better LO slept after going up in diaper size, so I tried it even though they looked really big and it worked! I think the smaller size filled up too fast and bothered her sooner than the bigger size. Just a thought. I also keep LO upright for awhile to prevent reflux/gas. I hope you can figure it out!

She pees a BUNCH in her sleep, but I never really attributed it to her being wet. She's been in size 1s for a little over a month now. I might try this too.

Sanibel21

AriaAmante143 said:

Sanibel21 said:

Is she wet when she wakes up? When is the last time you went up a size in diapers? @kaking8 had mentioned how much better LO slept after going up in diaper size, so I tried it even though they looked really big and it worked! I think the smaller size filled up too fast and bothered her sooner than the bigger size. Just a thought. I also keep LO upright for awhile to prevent reflux/gas. I hope you can figure it out!

She pees a BUNCH in her sleep, but I never really attributed it to her being wet. She's been in size 1s for a little over a month now. I might try this too.

Try it!! I hope it works!!

AriaAmante143

Sanibel21 said:

AriaAmante143 said:

Sanibel21 said:

Is she wet when she wakes up? When is the last time you went up a size in diapers? @kaking8 had mentioned how much better LO slept after going up in diaper size, so I tried it even though they looked really big and it worked! I think the smaller size filled up too fast and bothered her sooner than the bigger size. Just a thought. I also keep LO upright for awhile to prevent reflux/gas. I hope you can figure it out!

She pees a BUNCH in her sleep, but I never really attributed it to her being wet. She's been in size 1s for a little over a month now. I might try this too.

Try it!! I hope it works!!

For the gas thing, do you just lay her on your chest for a little bit before laying her down? Sometimes I do think it's gas, she has a pretty specific cry for gas pains and I'll hear it at night, but she usually cries out once, farts, and then falls back asleep

Sanibel21

I burp her over my shoulder and then leave her there. She eventually slides so she's pretty much on my chest, yeah.

ErinE683

I have no solutions to offer, but wanted to say I feel your pain! I'm excited if Elise will do one five hour stretch to start the night, but then it's up almost every hour. And a lot of times, I'm lucky if she does four hours before the hourly thing starts. She's 9 weeks now, and hasn't yet gotten the hang of sleeping for longer. She has her two month check up this week, and I'm going to ask the doctor for insight. Not sure how helpful he'll be, but it's worth a shot!

I was wondering if part of it was congestion, because she was getting pretty stuffy at night. But we put the humidifier in her room last night... and it cured the stuffy nose, but she still woke up three times between 10 pm and 7 am!

lalaith50

Is it possible that she would go back to sleep if you waited longer? With my LO, I often hear him starting to fuss and I look at the clock and think "here we go..." But next thing I know it's an hour later bc I didn't immediately get up and he must have fallen back to sleep!

AriaAmante143

lalaith50 said:

Is it possible that she would go back to sleep if you waited longer? With my LO, I often hear him starting to fuss and I look at the clock and think "here we go..." But next thing I know it's an hour later bc I didn't immediately get up and he must have fallen back to sleep!

If she's fussing I leave her, but once she starts to cry I pick her up immediately. Usually the fussing just leads to crying anyway

Aliki

AriaAmante143 said:

Marlena nurses the same way you described. I offer both breasts, but she will only take the second if she is still hungry. Is Brooklyn sleeping horribly at night or just naps? How many MOTN feedings are you doing, and do you wake her to feed or go by her cues? It sounds like we are doing things similarly - Marlena sleeps well when she does sleep, and goes 2.5-3.5 hours. Were you hoping for longer stretches or better sleep for B?

She naps just fine during the day. It's just night. I don't wake her to eat, I wait for cues, which is usually crying. I'm hoping for both. Longer stretches of sleep (she's done 7 and 8 hours before so I know she can) and better quality sleep for her. Right now we're up every 1-3 hours. Her norm for the first few months was 4-6

I thought for their age (3 month-ish), breastfed babies should be fed at least every 3 hours to maintain your supply? If she sleeps 7 - 8 hours, do you pump? Do you feel engorged? I just can't imagine my LO going that long!

Also, I think crying is a late-cue signal for feeding. Try to catch it early so that she is fuller during the day, which may help sleeping at night.

AriaAmante143

So tonight I put her in the larger diaper, tried to keep her upright after nursing.

She made it 30 minutes before she woke up crying. It's actually getting worse.

Brittlamarche

My little guy is 10 weeks. I was getting so frustrated bc he was only sleeping in 2 hour stretches. After talking to a couple of lactation specialists, this is normal for the little ones. Breast milk digests faster than formula so they just don't stay full for very long. They also have a lot of growth spurts in the beginning so this could be part of it too. But they also said they don't recommend any sleep training until 6 months. They believe baby should be in with mom either next to or in the same room to sleep. They said babies don't always wake up bc they are hungry. They will wake bc they are alone and looking for mama. I'm not sure where you have your baby sleeping but it could be that she is waking looking for you. I am not a big fan of co sleeping but it has been the only way anyone gets rest. I nurse my son before bed and put him in his crib for the first stretch of sleep. Once he wakes up then I just bring him in with me. He will then either do like. 5 hours or only 2. Just depends on the night. The specialists swear you can't spoil your baby this early on so I hope they are right. I'm hoping that he will begin to sleep longer in that first stretch and make it to sleeping through the night but I think it's just a long road for some babies. My first baby slept like a champ in his own crib and all. This guy is different. Good luck!

Sanibel21

AriaAmante143 said:

So tonight I put her in the larger diaper, tried to keep her upright after nursing. She made it 30 minutes before she woke up crying. It's actually getting worse.

Darn, I was really hoping it was one of those things. How was the rest of the night?