Help with baby sleep issues, NF

[chris.brock]

I don't like posting personal, NF issues on here, but I respect the common sense knowledge of the people on here way too much not to ask in this case.

 

8 month old, perfect health, demeanor, an easy baby I would guess except for the fact he sleeps at night for 1.5 hours, then wakes, nurses, falls asleep nursing, 1.5 hours wakes, nurses repeat.. He doesn't seem tired at all but my wife sure is.

 

We have an expensive sleep consultant now. I've chatted with Rick MB (who I trust) on the topic.

 

Any input appreciated.

 

[Gerritt]

Breast feeding??

 

We went through much the same, even brought the baby into bed so mom didn't have to get up a million times a night.... I slept in the spare room. She would breastfeed Ford in bed.

 

It was only when we got our son on a bottle did he finally start to sleep during the night. 8 ounces and he was good for 6 hours...

 

Things will get better. Support your wife, if baby is on a bottle already get up and help in the middle of the night and let her sleep... If not have you wife pump and you feed baby...

 

G

[irishfield]

Wife have enough milk production, as to what Gerritt is allotting to.

 

First kid? Sometimes you just have to put the pillow over your head and let them cry, seems like right now he has you guys pretty much trained.

[Mondo]

Just read this to my girlfriend and her response was, if she is breastfeeding maybe the baby isn't getting as much milk as he needs and keeps waking up sooner because he is still hungry?

[Gerritt]

Or, just wants to be soothed....

[FloatnFly]

pretty much par for the course, my daughter never did take a bottle, it will take some time, but just bear through it, your wife is on mat leave? tell her to sleep when the baby sleeps and not worry about the housework

[irishfield]

BTW Chris, 1.5 hour feeding schedule at night. Is she doing the same thing all day as well?? If not it's a soothing thing, not a food thing.

[mr blizzard]

gently roll the baby over in your arms, counter clockwise ONCE sounds weird but true been there done that then the baby had too share time with me in regards to my wife lol

[chris.brock]

Breast fed. We give him blended up fruits and vegiies (apple sauce etc) and cereal during the day too.

 

Wayne, 1st kid, lots of milk, we are over sensitive and spoiling for sure. He goes way longer in the day between feedings. Wayne and G, it's a soothing comfort thing at night, he often doesn't take much before falling back to sleep.

 

FnF, yeah, mat leave, she almost has insomnia now.

 

John, that does sound weird but will try anything now.

 

He's not a big soother guy G, never was, we always have one handy though. \/ \/ \/

 

Thanks Bunk

 

Rick, I'm not young anymore

 

Yeah, I have a feeling we will John, thanks for reinforcing that though, it helps for sure

 

Chad, you just summed up about $500 worth of sleep consultant fees, I owe you a beer.

Edited November 9, 2015 by chris.brock

[Moosebunk]

Try detaching some at this point. Babe will be just fine at 8-months. Do believe that it's not a food thing at this point. In a crib in the babes own room let him cry some before going to him. You might find he stops and goes back to sleep on his own more and more often as he gets used to it... AND he will get used to it. Just like you will learn to as well.

 

With firsts it's firsts for everyone, so much anxiety. When our second was born I would have to hold Brenda back from always going to Leah every time she'd make even a little peep in the night. Before long, 90% of the peeps and more just lead to one kid going back to sleep, and we'd learn to sleep right through most too.

 

Good luck bud. There's no easy answer though for every parent. You guys will surely do well regardless of how you handle things.

[Gerritt]

Is baby using a soother?

[mr blizzard]

Chris at the end of theday u will be fine, u and your wife survived the miracle of birth, u have won a lottery

 

trust me

[manitoubass2]

You know what my suggestions are Chris but this is pretty normal.

 

My first boy was exactly the same as yours.

 

We had to take shifts. I was young then and it exhausted us.

 

Every child after that was pretty easy

[Rod Caster]

We had same issue. At 7 months, my wife's mom came over and helped "sleep train" the baby into a 7-7 sleep schedule. Basically she just supported my wife and let the baby cry (a few more details I'm likely missing) . After 5 days she slept 7-7. Still does. The baby just wants mom and mom feels heartbroken to hear the baby cry. Nothing spectacular but still it's hard for a first time mom to just change things on a whim without someone knowledgable offering support, although getting a decent night sleep is the best reward, for both

[Canuck]

Our second never did sleep through the night and would wake up crying and colicky. It was only when he was 3 or so we found out he has a lot of allergies including eggs (he outgrew that), and peanuts (that will be with him for life) and a bit of lactose intolerance. The doctors said that mom's diet can impact the baby through breast milk. We think that was the issue at the time.

 

If its any consolation, they all do eventually sleep through the night (until they are teenagers, and then the staying up all night starts all over again)

[Roy]

32 OZ per 24 hours? I'd say that's pretty good for a Ford.

 

He'll grow out of it Chris. Just be supportive of your wife.

[ccmtcanada]

Had the same issue with my daughter, although not quite as often as you per night. On a regular visit to the family doctor she said to start feeding cereal just before bed. She said baby was waking up hungry...and cereal keeps the belly full much longer than breastmilk or formula. It worked like a charm. Six hours of sleep almost instantly!! She was 8 months old as well....so chances are your son will tolerate it just fine.

Edited November 9, 2015 by ccmt

[i2cool2fool]

A lot of good advice and comments here especially from Roy.

 

I recall the same time period Chris. It was a tough age to parent and to have a clue of what to do as a first timer. I would never wake a sleeping baby but when my daughter woke up around 11 PM, I would load her up good with a 8 oz bottle of formula. We didn't breastfeed and it gave me a chance to help out. I am a good bottle man - for me and the kid! You may want to consider a pump/bottle approach and help with the feeding during the night on weekends, etc.

 

Your wife will love you even more if you are able to help out more in any way that helps her get more rest.

 

Good luck! We are all pulling for ya!

[solopaddler]

Pretty sure we had this exact conversation right after Jack was born. Find a good formula and fill him right up before bedtime.

[Gerritt]

Lol Roy, Crawford (Ford) only gets the bottle just before bed. Helps mom get about six hours of sleep. He's 16 months now, so he drinks it on his own now.... The first 9 months were tough though... I slept in the spare room (due to shift work) and Ford co-slept with Lyndsey.

 

Once he got on the bottle and filled up, life for her got a lot better..

 

 

Chris, not every baby is the same.... In only offering advice from my own personal experiences

 

G.

Edited November 9, 2015 by Gerritt

[bigugli]

My daughter is going through the same thing with 5 month old Savannah. On the breast, and she don't want the bottle. Yes some of it is the comfort/security thing. grandaughter will only sleep 1/2 hour on her own in her crib before she is crying for mommy. She just has to let her cry a little longer each time.

[chris.brock]

Thanks everybody.

 

Mike, we did try that without any results. Our pediatrician said that theory isn't true, can't remember his reasoning .I've heard others say it works for them though.

[alexmedic]

Who ever invented the saying "Sleeping like a baby", should get a kick in teeth!

 

I remember the same thing when my youngest was that age. It may not seem like it will end, but it will.

 

I would keep trying the bottle and that way both of you can share the responsibility a bit.

 

If you can swing it, hire a housekeeper once in awhile, to help your wife with the stress levels.

 

I remember your feeling. The worse for me was the occasional feelings of resentment towards my baby, followed by extreme feelings of guilt for feeling that way.

 

Man, parenthood is a crazy ride. That being said, I could never picture anything else!

[adam lancia]

We had to start bottle feeding our daughter very early on, she was only 3 weeks old. It actually helped her latch and has really made our life a lot easier, though we didn't know it would at that point. We would feed her cereal for dinner and give her either a bottle of formula when we put her down. She was able to hold the bottle herself at that age. That's what worked for us but our daughter has been a pretty good sleeper so your mileage may vary. When she was going through a tough sleeping period, she was sleeping in our room and I had the bottle warmer and a small thermal bag with 2 bottles of breastmilk or formula (we stopped breast feeding when she was 4 months old) at my bedside. I would warm the bottle and feed her, allowing my wife to get some rest.

[wallyboss]

The problem we had with our first was that he was taking his nights for his days. He'd sleep most of the day and be awake every hour or so at night. Somebody told us to try an "old Wives Tale" When the baby gets up at night carefully take him and flip him backwards 3 times!! Sounds stupid but it worked for our baby the very next night he slept from 10:00pm to 6:30am.