Nightime- comfort nursing and frequent wakings... tips?

dunvilles · June 2014

DS 2 is still in the rock and play sleeper beside my bed. He was only waking once to eat. Goes to bed at 9, wake at 2am to nurse, and goes back to sleep until 6/7am.

The past few nights he wakes up every 2 hours, comfort nurses for a few minutes, and then falls asleep in my arms. I put him back in his bed and 2 hours later he wakes up again.

I am torn because I want him to nurse if he is hungry but don't want to start a bad habit of him wanting to comfort nurse and sleep next to me.

He doesn't take a paci, so I can't offer that as a substitute.

Any tips or advice? I go back to work in 3 weeks and wake up at 4:15am to work out daily (have missed the past week due to being so tired).

Thanks ladies.

Noethola · June 2014

Could it be a phase (of the baby, of the moon?) My LO has been doing this for the last week and the last night finally slept a 6 hr stretch. Mine takes no paci either. Maybe give it a few more nights to see. If he continues, maybe try just comfort holding/rocking first to see if that will put him back down. ((Hugs)) sleepy mama!

dunvilles · June 2014

Thanks @Noethola

It has been so long since I went through this all with DS1, I forget what I did to get through these phases with him.

I could get sleep if I just let him sleep by me, but bed sharing isn't what DH and I want for the long run.

sweet*18 · June 2014

I could've written this exact post last week. LO doesn't take a paci, sleeps in the rock and play and same schedule.

He did the waking more often for about a week and a half. This weekend he went back to his routine. Not sure why but I am glad hes going back to sleeping more often (knock on wood)

So no real advice but hugs and nice work on getting up to work out.

Noethola · June 2014

@dunvilles Yes, our guy would sleep longer if I had him next to me in bed too, but I am with you in not wanting to create that habit long term. Occasionally mama just needs sleep and it happens, but here is hoping it is just the same type of phase that they are both going through.

NoelMarieFrey · June 2014

I don't have any advice to offer

But DD has started doing this as well! I don't want to co-sleep, but right now it has helped me keep my sanity.

So I just wanted to say ((hugs)) because I know the waking every two hours, and getting no sleep sucks!

dunvilles · June 2014

@Junebugz1 and @noelmariefrey hope you all get some sleep soon as well!

We didn't really go through the 4 month wakeful... wondering if that is what this not sleeping nonsense is.

Have a good day ladies.

BxMama4 · June 2014

We just got out of this phase ourselves. When DS would wake up we would try to rock/soothe him back to sleep for 10 minutes or so before assuming he was hungry. Sometimes he went back down, others he needed to eat. In the end he was in a pattern of being soothed down at times he normally wouldn't wake up and only nursing at his typical time (and sometimes one other).

All of a sudden one day he just switched back to sleeping longer. Good luck!

C12H22O11 · June 2014

If he's still in the RNP, could you gently start rocking as soon as the fussing starts? Or back/tummy rubs to soothe back to sleep?

Does DS escalate to a full out cry, or are you offering breast at first noise/rustle/movement?

I believe what you're describing sounds like it could be the emergence of REM sleep cycles - it's normal to nearly wake at the end of each cycle or to be restless. With some gentle soothing (while keeping him in the RNP) DS might fall back to sleep w/out the breast.

shellbell3845 · June 2014

I'm following every golden word in this thread because this has been us for a few days (week? Idk). I've been nursing because it gets us back to bed faster, but last night I was wondering if I was doing us all a disservice. LO has gulped down milk everytime though, so I think he is hungry.

1linedrawing · June 2014

I could have written this post. Except waking up at 4:15 to workout. FTN.
My pediatrician suggested to start letting her self soothe for small increments at a time, and moving her out of our room.

I know it'll be a tough transition, but it'll be good in the long run. Where did my tiny squish go?

dunvilles · June 2014

C12H22O11 said:

If he's still in the RNP, could you gently start rocking as soon as the fussing starts? Or back/tummy rubs to soothe back to sleep? Does DS escalate to a full out cry, or are you offering breast at first noise/rustle/movement? I believe what you're describing sounds like it could be the emergence of REM sleep cycles - it's normal to nearly wake at the end of each cycle or to be restless. With some gentle soothing (while keeping him in the RNP) DS might fall back to sleep w/out the breast.

I tried rocking the RNP last night but he would move around more and get more agitated each time. He would turn, look at me, and wiggle his arms. He knew I was there and wanted me to get him out. As soon as he would lay beside me, he would open his mouth for my breast, nurse a few min, and then be sound asleep again.

I'm going to try the soothing more tonight though before feeding him. I do believe that he mostly just wanted to be by me.

dunvilles · June 2014

@shellbell3485 hope we all get rest soon!!

@1linedrawing how old is your LO? Transitioning to crib in in our near future too.

Do we transition now when sleep is cruddy anyway or transition when they sleep better but risk sleep regression... decisions decisions....

versed · June 2014

Right now our little ones are learning so much during the day that they may be distracted at the breast. Some need to make up for it at night.

I'm a believer that baby wakes for a reason. I try paci first and if that doesn't work, he gets boob. It's a phase and it will pass. For now, he's in our bed because that's how our family gets the most sleep.

sdlaura · June 2014

We're going through the same thing but I assumed it was because if his recent heart surgery. But he slept fine the first couple nights home and had gotten progressively worse. Last night he didn't sleep longer than 1.5 hrs at a time all night. Hugs everyone!

C12H22O11 · June 2014

@1linedrawing‌, I'm glad you brought up transitioning LO's in to their own rooms. I was kind of wondering if LO's might self-soothe, but picking them up when they first start to rouse is interrupting that. Having LOs in their own room would mean that they are fully awake before we intervene.

Then again, I could be full of crap cause DS did some version of the "let's play in the middle of the night" thing from months 4-7ish and he'd been in his own room well before then.

MissDemeanor · July 2014

NextVerseUnknown said:

Right now our little ones are learning so much during the day that they may be distracted at the breast. Some need to make up for it at night.

I'm a believer that baby wakes for a reason. I try paci first and if that doesn't work, he gets boob. It's a phase and it will pass. For now, he's in our bed because that's how our family gets the most sleep.

This. My LO wakes up at 4 every morning and will nurse on and off basically until 7. It seems like he's hungry, but also sleepy and can't stay awake. I've tried putting him to bed later, putting him to bed at the usual time (9:30) but no matter what I do, there he is at 4 am.

hopefuldog · July 2014

I have no advice, but we are in a similar situation. LO is a little over 4months and was STTN since about week 7. Sleep has been all over the place for about 3 weeks. Right now we're trying to transition out of the swaddle and possibly teething. I put my finger in her mouth at this wakeup and she started sucking right away, so I assume she is hungry. But, she just ate 2 1/2 hrs ago and DH had to sooth her back to sleep 1 1/2 hrs ago. Feeding seems to be our quickest route back to sleep. LO has been in her crib in her nursery since the beginning, so fortunately we don't have to deal with that change also now.

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