Attachment Parenting

bf to sleep & super gassy baby, need help sorting it out

Hey mamas! Well, here's the story...

My baby is 8.5 months and her sleep is getting progressively worse! She's always been a gassy baby...if she has a burp while she's sleeping she'll wake up until it's out. But she used to go back to sleep most of the time, though her naps and sleeps have never been consistent (I heard that they start developing their own "schedule" by now?!?). I used to be able to nurse her to sleep while laying down and she would wake up around 45 minutes, usually going back to sleep if I nursed her back to sleep, and every now and again taking the random 2-3 hour nap by herself.

But right now it's out of control! I know that she's teething and working on new milestones. But she is also chronically sleep deprived, only getting about 12 hours a day (and that's even when I try to co-sleep for all of her naps and her night sleep) and it's all over the place. She is pretty crabby and clingy most of the time. She'll sleep for 30 minutes and then be tired again within an hour. She really, REALLY likes to nurse to sleep - in fact there is no other way she will let me put her to sleep - but doing so makes her gassy and often times wake up mid-nap. I've tried burping her in her sleep but she is hard to burp and usually requires deep belly massage to get anything out, or time. Her bedtime has been consistent but she always always has one nightwaking for at least 2-3 hours)

This is an example - today - though she got one extra nap that she doesn't usually get:
(last night) 9pm - 6:30a.m., woke up gassy and super crabby
7:15 - 9:00 naptime (co-slept)
11:45 - 1:15 naptime (I was there for half of it)
2:45 - 3:15 nap (she slept on my lap, wouldn't let me delatch or put her down)
6:45 - 8:15 "nap" (I was putting her down for bed, but again, she wouldn't let me put her down)
10:30 - 11:15 "nap"...
etc.

I'm fairly convinced that her gassiness is a big part of what is making her unsettled, because sometimes if I get the burp out while she's asleep she'll keep sleeping as normal (and I can put her down!). Everything has gotten much worse since we started solids, as I'm already avoiding corn, dairy, soy and gluten and I've learned that she also reacts to avocado, mango, banana, apples, eggs and carrots.

So, I'd like to consolidate her sleeps and break the feed to sleep association as gently as possible. It would be nice to get 20 minutes to myself at some point during the day. Any tips? Unless, all of this is completely normal?

Thanks so much...I feel like I'm losing my mind!

Re: bf to sleep & super gassy baby, need help sorting it out

  • Thanks, I'll try that. Since she's nursing for comfort a lot maybe it'll help settle her belly a bit. I should clarify that it isn't just bf to sleep but bf'ing throughout her entire sleep. She rarely let's me delatch to put her down (in our bed) and when she does she is up in 30 minutes looking for the boob. I hold and carry her a lot during the day, too! And she is swaddled (still), in a dark room, with music....
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  • I can think of 3 possible causes of her behavior (in addition to it being teething or just her): Latch, Oversupply, Food Sensitivity

    Does she have a shallow latch? Most babies with a good latch don't take in much air because their lips form a tight seal.

    Or does she bob on and off the breast a lot? Or fuss at the breast? Do you leak a lot or find that you're full in between feedings?

    Have you tried eliminating any foods from your diet since nursing LO?


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  • =Lee=B=Lee=B member
    edited January 2014

    How does she 'react' to all the foods you listed?  That is a lot of foods.  Is she allergic or sensitive or are you just meaning she gets more gassy from the foods?

    My daughter had really bad reflux when she was 0-6months.  We had to medicate, she was also very gassy and at times when she was in extreme reflux and gassy periods we used Infacol gas drops to help get the gas out.  It did work wonders for her and relieved a lot of pain...the gas pains were aggravating the reflux pain.  Now she can burp herself lying down, in her sleep.  She also long ago figured out if she fake coughed she would toot at the same time...now when gassy she just sits there faking a cough to pass the gas (babies are amazingly smart).

    But, we were able to wean her off the reflux meds at 7months and long, long ago stopped any gas drops because as she got older she was able to burp herself.  It seems like needing to do deep belly massages at 8.5months is more than just a gassy baby.  But, I have no knowledge beyond my experience with my baby.

    I'm rambling...and probably not useful.  My 10month old is working on her 3rd tooth in 8 days.  Life has been miserable.  She is up. a. lot.  I am bedsharing but getting little sleep.  She is moaning, groaning, waking, crying, wanting to nurse but then hurts to much to nurse.  Life just kind of sucks.

    If it's truly teething there isn't a whole lot to do she is seeking comfort.  Relieve the teething pain so your not the only source of relief.  Have you been giving Tylenol?  My daughter loved cold watermelon from the fridge, with rind on.  She would devour it and chew on the rind.  It would cool the gums and provide the needed pressure for teeth.

    To break the nursing to sleep association, or at least the having to keep boob in the mouth you'll need to find new soothing bedtime associations.  It would likely get worse before it got better but you'd eventually get some alone time while baby slept and I truly believe that mom's need that alone time to be able to give their all to their child when they are awake.

    ok...stopping my rambling, hope some of this made sense...haven't slept in days. 

     

  • I think her latch is ok because there isn't any pain on my end. She does have a slight tongue tie, which our ped said it was only an issue if she wasn't gaining. Would that cause gassiness? I used to think I had oversupply, so was doing block feeding, but her weight gain slowed and my supply dropped to where she was getting super frustrated at every feeding. I will be more mindful though, maybe I am switching sides prematurely. I have a few food sensitivities so I wouldn't be surprised if she inherited my bad gut. I avoid a ton of foods already and she is barely eating solids. When I eat dairy, soy or corn she gets a bad diaper rash and green poo and is super fussy. When she eats the foods I listed for her it's everything from diaper rash (carrots) to puking (avocado and egg yolk) to increased gassiness and wakefulness (banana, mango, apples). I'm just assuming it's gas because she will rub her face against me, grunt, rub her feet and squirm a bunch. Last night she was awake for 3 hours because she had to poo... Don't most babies just do that in their sleep?! Once she got that out and a huge burp she fell right asleep for 3 hours straight (on the boob, of course). LeeB, thanks for sharing your experience, it is helpful to get perspective. I kept thinking she would just grow out of it, too, as I heard even reflux is better by now. And teething is no picnic either! 8 days of no sleep, ouch. I give her Motrin sometimes but it doesn't seem to do anything for the nightwakings. I hope you get some rest yourself soon. :) Replacing sleep associations is a good idea, too. Maybe I just need to go cold turkey on the boob and hold her while she cries? I feel bad doing it, I've even been tempted to CIO (but I know I could not go through with it)...I just think I would be a much better parent during her playtime if she would nap! Thanks for all the support. :)
  • Sorry for the lack of paragraphs - they were there until I hit post!
  • Oh and Emerald, I have eliminated some foods with some luck. For example she gets fussy if I have chocolate or coffee. I have also eliminated nuts and some veggies. And I know some days are likely just normal infant fussiness, too.
  • Hmm...maybe a food sensitivity. I know you've already eliminated a lot from your diet (and are watching her solids closely). Have you talked about this to your pediatrician? I know that there is some allergy/sensitivity testing you could do, to help identify the culprit(s).
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  • MrsCaseyKMrsCaseyK member
    edited January 2014
    Have you been SUPER strict with dairy and soy? That nap schedule kinda sounds like my twins when we had unknown MSPI. I was off everything but butter and soy lecthihin. When I cut those two out they completely changed!! Worth a shot...? It took about a week to ten days and still struggle with green mucous poo here and there but I've heard it can take a month to THREE months for the milk and soy proteins to leave all our systems. I think she's also sensitive to chickens if they eat soy!! Even cross contamination can mess my babies bellies up.
    Married to my dream husband
    Mom to 2 year old BG twins (Incompetant cervix, cerclage, and LOTS of bed rest)
    Pregnant with our next!
  • I asked my ped about allergy testing at her last appt and she said she was too young. Would I need to talk to a specialist for that? Also, I'm interested about mspi. Is there a test for that? I am pretty careful because I'm also sensitive, but I'm probably not 100% as I haven't been paying attention to things like lecithin or soy sauce, and we do eat out on occasion, so maybe that's the problem! I do know that when I have eaten a normal portion of dairy or soy it gets really really bad...and I had noticed that during the period of time I was having cream in my coffee everyday, her weight gain slowed down. So i stopped having dairy and soy regularly but maybe haven't been as strict as I need to be. And the soy fed chickens make sense too...she was fine with egg yolk until I switched brands, so maybe the feed has something to do with that. I'm glad your little ones are doing better with the change. :)
  • Have u tried probiotics? Life changing over here? Dd toots all the time, but she doesn't scream or wake up
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