Sleep routines and nursing baby to sleep

However, the past few weeks
she has started to wake 2 or 3
times a night and I know she isn't hungry - just looking for a 'comfort
suck'.

She's in need of the comfort because she's uncomfortable. It's very, very
common for babies around 6 months to start waking more frequently than they
used to, for a number of possible reasons:

-Growth spurt, leading to hunger. Older babies are often so busy exploring the
world during the day that they "forget" to eat enough, and then want to make up
for it at night when there's nothing more interesting happening. Try
increasing offers of daytime feeds, especially in the evening. You might be
able to get her to "tank up" before bedtime.
-Teething pain. Try bedtime ibuprofen if you think that's it; take heart in
that if this is the reason for the waking, it's probably pretty temporary,
although it may happen many times for a few days each time over the next couple
of years. You can also try offering a cold washcloth or the like rather than
the breast when she wakes, if that's easier for you.
-Illness. Ear infections, particularly, may be symptomless during the day but
bother the baby when she's lying down. Or a stuffed up nose might be a minor
bother during the day but worsen at night. Try a humidifier, elevating the
head of her bed, and/or appropriate medication.
-Digestive upset. Babies who are just starting solids may just have an
uncomfortable tummy, even if the problem doesn't rise to the level of an
allergic reaction or true food intolerance. Their digestive systems may just
be struggling a bit with the new experience. BTW, at 5 months your DD is still
a bit young to be eating solids, so it's not at all surprising that she hasn't
"taken to" them. Try no solids for several days and see if that improves her
sleep.
-Developmental progress. A baby who is just learning to crawl, stand, and walk
may "practice" in her sleep and wake herself up with physical activity, and
then have a hard time going back to sleep. There's not a whole lot you can do
about this one, although changing your bedtime routine and/or sleep training
might help if the problem is that she just can't fall asleep without nursing.
I do know one mom who found that her daughter would stand up, hanging onto the
crib railing, and then not know how to get back down. Once they taught her how
to lower herself back down to the mattress, the daughter was able to go back to
sleep on her own.

Even if you are willing to use cry-it-out methods (which I never was), I would
advise considering all of the above before you do it. In this case it does
little good to treat the symptom (night waking) without curing the disease
(whatever's causing her to wake).

Holly
Mom to Camden, 2.5 yrs
EDD #2 6/8/04

Sarah Lee wrote:

My daughter is just over 5 months and for her night sleeps my husband and I
have been bathing her and then nursing her to sleep (she's exclusively
breastfed and won't take the bottle). Up
until a few weeks ago she was waking once for a nightfeed and sleeping 10 to
11 hours all up (I was quite happy with this). However, the past few weeks
she has started to wake 2 or 3
times a night and I know she isn't hungry - just looking for a 'comfort
suck'.

Welcome to my world
The first thought that came into my mind was that 5,6,7 month old babies
seem to *stop* sleeping through the night if they had done so
previously. There's so many developmental milestones occurring:
teething is a big one, rolling over, standing up, etc. So, night
wakings aren't unusual.


Last night we had a hell of a night, my baby went down at 7.30, woke at
10.30 for a
feed, then 12.30 and then 2am - I knew she wasn't hungry at 2am and my
husband and I went through 2 hours of hell starting 'controlled crying'. I
really hate hearing her cry, but am led to believe that this is what we now
must do. I'm wondering if anyone on the newsgroup can offer
advice/tips/words of wisdom?


Hmmm... if my son were last fed at 10.30 then I would assume that he
would be hungry at 2 am. In any case, I nurse my son (6 months old)
whenever he wakes up.

Crying it out isn't the right solution if your child is 1) teething, 2)
waking to development milestone, or 3) hungry. So you really need to be
sure why you're doing the controlled crying. It doesn't sound like your
baby had a sleep issue before, so I really doubt the CIO method is the
appropriate solution for you.

Jeanne

(Leslie) wrote in message ...
Sarah,

I have four children and never have had one sleeping through the night by five
months!

Your baby may BE hungry; how can you know? Grown-ups sometimes wake in the
middle of the night and need a snack. If your baby needs a little snack, she's
depending on you to give it to her. :-) Perhaps she's going through a growth
spurt and needs more calories. Or maybe she's so busy during the day that she
isn't eating as much as she should. Or maybe she does just want to nurse for
comfort--and what's wrong with that if she does? She's still a very young baby
and is depending on you to meet all her needs, physical and emotional.

Have you considered co-sleeping? It can make all the difference. snip

We co sleep - make no difference at all, Moo is up and yelling when
ever he wants to be and falling asleep while he is on the boob hurts.

I think they do it so they don't get any siblings they would have to
share toys with :-)

teapot

"Stephanie Stowe" wrote in message news:_q1Eb.1698$%

Google "Ferber" and "No Cry Sleep Solution" If you ARE going to try
"controlled crying" (don't know where that term comes from) read the book by
Ferber called Solve Your Child's Sleep Problem. It is truly worth the trip
to the library.



Also, read Weissbluth's Healthy Sleep Habits (that's not the exact
title, I don't have it in front of me, but it's something like that).
He's great at explaining sleep patterns and cycles. It sounds to me
like it's time for sleep training. Good luck.
Rachel

Sarah Lee wrote:
My daughter is just over 5 months and for her night sleeps my husband and I
have been bathing her and then nursing her to sleep (she's exclusively
breastfed and won't take the bottle). Up
until a few weeks ago she was waking once for a nightfeed and sleeping 10 to
11 hours all up (I was quite happy with this). However, the past few weeks
she has started to wake 2 or 3
times a night and I know she isn't hungry - just looking for a 'comfort
suck'.

One thing about babies... their schedule changes
constantly! They're keeping you on your toes.

She hasn't really taken to solids and the nurse said it's probably
because she's getting extra at night, even though she's only comfort sucking
and not having a full feed, and that I should let her cry/sleep train her.

Bogus re the nurse! I don't think babies nursing
at night means they wouldn't like solids. I think
they're separate things.

Last night we had a hell of a night, my baby went down at 7.30, woke at
10.30 for a
feed, then 12.30 and then 2am - I knew she wasn't hungry at 2am and my
husband and I went through 2 hours of hell starting 'controlled crying'. I
really hate hearing her cry, but am led to believe that this is what we now
must do.

Sometimes babies do this. I personally do not believe
in "crying it out", but if you are going to do it, please
do what other people have recommended, which is read the
books thoroughly so that you know what the crying is for.
It's not just letting the baby cry and ignoring her so
that she'll eventually sleep.

Also, during the day I often lie with her for her day naps and nurse her
down - usually because I'm tired and need the sleep myself!

I nap with Pillbug sometimes on the weekends, but I
don't have to nurse him to get him to sleep. I've
found if he's making any kind of sleep motion (rubbing
eyes, sleep-fussiness, turning head back and forth),
I lay on the bed with him in my arms and firmly pretend
to be asleep. He'll fuss a bit and squirm, but within
10 minutes, he'll fall asleep.

I found the "No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Pantley, I think,
is really good. I took her advice on unlatching Pillbug
before he falls asleep at the breast at night and putting
him into the crib very drowsy helps him fall asleep and
also makes me less "afraid" and need to sneak out of his
room.

Good luck!

-- Anita --
--
SUCCESS FOUR FLIGHTS THURSDAY MORNING ALL AGAINST
TWENTY ONE MILE WIND STARTED FROM LEVEL WITH ENGINE
POWER ALONE AVERAGE SPEED THROUGH AIR THIRTY ONE
MILES LONGEST 57 SECONDS INFORM PRESS HOME CHRISTMAS.

Thank you all so much for your advice - particularly Chotti's epic posting
and Anne. Lucy - thank you also for your posting - which makes alot more
sense to me than what the nurse has said. I don't feel it's right to let my
child cry it out (controlled crying is what the nurse recommended - going in
and checking to see if there's a problem, if not leaving child to cry for
10mins, then going back, resettling child, patting tummy, reassuring them
for 10mins, then leaving them for 10 etc. etc. - repetitive reassurance).
There are some occasions when Charlotte doesn't want to feed and when I try
to rock her she wrestles to get free of my arms, as though she's being over
fussed. When that happens I've found putting her down in her cot for 10
minutes (where she soothes herself with her favourite toy) helps. After 10
minutes she then throws away the toy in frustration that she can't get off
to sleep and then is usually happy to be nursed or rocked. This usually
happens when she's overtired.

I'm perfectly happy to nurse my bubs during the night, it's just the past
few nights the second or third time she's woken she hasn't really fed - just
latched on and dozed, but then cried when put back in her cot. She doesn't
seem to be showing teething symptoms - though Anne's posting where she
mentions the
teeth moving around in the jaw even if they aren't close to coming
through is interesting. Also, Charlotte's cry, when she wakes, hasn't been
one of pain, which led me to think she could have been waking and struggling
to resettle herself - though as one person pointed out - if she was
previously waking for only one feed then she does know how to settle
herself.

I'm really thankful for the reassurance that it's okay to nurse Charlotte to
sleep and to trust my instincts. So many people/nurse/other parents/books
say to do the feed, play, sleep routine - but sometimes Charlotte's need for
a feed and sleep come at the same time and I know, as an adult, I enjoy a
glass of hot milk before I go to bed - so what's wrong with a little'un
having a sup of Mummy's milk!

It's so hard to know if what I'm doing is right, when there is so much
conflicting advice 'out there' - though it's interesting and reassuring to
read that many of the posters in response to my e-mail seem to think along
the same lines and disagree with letting a young baby 'cry it out' and agree
with doing whatever possible to soothe and comfort their babies.

Charlotte is a very happy baby and is so alert and interested in the world
around her - her proud Daddy has set up a wee website so her Grandparents
and family in the UK can keep tabs on her progress - which you're welcome to
visit at http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/danlee73/ - I just want to make
sure I'm doing the best for her, but often wonder what that is! I really
must learn to trust my instincts and put blinkers on when the nurse/joe
bloggs/whoever tells me something that doesn't feel right.

Sorry this is such a HUGE posting! Thanks again for all the wonderful
advice and reference to books,

Best wishes, Sarah & Charlotte




"Sarah Lee" wrote in message
...
My daughter is just over 5 months and for her night sleeps my husband and
I
have been bathing her and then nursing her to sleep (she's exclusively
breastfed and won't take the bottle). Up
until a few weeks ago she was waking once for a nightfeed and sleeping 10
to
11 hours all up (I was quite happy with this). However, the past few
weeks
she has started to wake 2 or 3
times a night and I know she isn't hungry - just looking for a 'comfort
suck'. She hasn't really taken to solids and the nurse said it's probably
because she's getting extra at night, even though she's only comfort
sucking
and not having a full feed, and that I should let her cry/sleep train her.
Incidentally she hasn't increased her number of day feeds, and generally
feeds every 3 to 4 hours, sometimes going 5 hours without wanting a feed
(usually around the middle of the day).

Last night we had a hell of a night, my baby went down at 7.30, woke at
10.30 for a
feed, then 12.30 and then 2am - I knew she wasn't hungry at 2am and my
husband and I went through 2 hours of hell starting 'controlled crying'.
I
really hate hearing her cry, but am led to believe that this is what we
now
must do. I'm wondering if anyone on the newsgroup can offer
advice/tips/words of wisdom?

Also, during the day I often lie with her for her day naps and nurse her
down - usually because I'm tired and need the sleep myself! Otherwise I
go
out for a walk in the pram. I've found the latter is no longer working as
her ability to fight off sleep has become very strong. Anyone got any
ideas, or am I going to have to face the music and let her cry it out
(which
I've done on occasion when she's overtired and doesn't want to be
rocked/nursed).

Any advice very much appreciated.

Sarah & Charlotte (born 28 June)

Hi Sarah, I too remember you from p.p.p.

I come in late to this one but read avidly cos my DS is doing exactly the
same. I have saved all the responses to jam under the noses of the
'doubters'.

I went to Charlotte's website and she is an absolute cutie- such enormous
eyes, you could almost drown in them :-) Glad it's all going well after the
traumatic start.

--Alison