Sleeping with soother?

[@llli*mammadiliv]

My LO is 10 weeks old and we have been successfully EBFing since birth. I started giving her a soother this past week only during car rides, as she used to get very upset in the car. We've probably used it a total of an hour so far.
My question is about using it at night between feedings. Would it help her sleep longer? She sleeps a max of 4 hours straight from about 11pm to 3am, and from then on she's awake every two hours and so obviously I get less than two hours at a time. I was hoping by now she'd be sleeping 4 hours at a time at least twice! Maybe this is wishful thinking but I am getting more exhausted as the weeks go by and I am desperate for an idea. (We have no family close by and so I am alone with her from 9am to 8pm while hubby works. She naps for 20 minutes at a time during the day unless she's in my arms so I am not getting a chance for any naps myself!).
Thanks in advance.

[@llli*satin.mama]

I don't know if it would help her sleep longer, but I wanted to tell you she sounds exactly like my 10-week-old daughter (except I don't get 20 minutes of nap out of her if I put her down, more like 5!). The 4 hours and then every 2 at night is the same, too. So I don't know if that's helpful for you to know, but I don't think it's abnormal at all. I can nap with her once a day this way (if the 3-year-old is quiet enough!) - have you tried side-lying nursing? because that's the only way to get naps in this situation! I hope that idea helps. Oh, and do you have a good carrier for some of her naps so you can get things done if you want to? I find that helpful too - and easier on the arms!

[@llli*auderey]

hi mama, your baby's sleep patterns sound pretty normal. two 4-hour stretches is wishful thinking; even having 1 4-hour stretch is pretty great, and might not last.

so: the key for you, especially since she takes such short naps, is getting rest at night, minimizing how much you have to wake up and move around each time to nurse. i really think co-sleeping was amaizng for us, and side-lying nursing saved my career and sanity. i found this helpful: http://mother-2-mother.com/tut-layingdown.htm. i also went ot bed with baby around 8 pm, so even though my sleep was quite broken, i was always getting at least 8 hours. definitely worth the trade off, for us.

as far as a soother at night: yes, the big payoff to a soother (or swaddling) is that you mute the baby's cues and they sleep longer. but that means precisely that you're "artificially" muting the baby's cues to eat or suck, and so there is some risk that the baby will not be getting enough to eat. so i'd personally only try this in very limited circumstances, kind of as a last resort, and only with a healthy thriving fat baby. but i think you may have other options to try first to make sure you're rested.

[@llli*monika.h]

Her sleep pattern seems pretty normal for her age, however there are things you can do. Can she sleep with you for nights or naps? Or maybe have a mattress on the floor of your bedroom so you can spend the last part of the night together? Another suggestion: swaddling. This worked very well for DS, for at night and naps. We bought a commerical swaddle-wrap. One thing I also did with DD that is probably not recommended but I did it. I would feed her, then put her in a swing to nap, then go back to my bed. I found it helped her sleep longer.

About the soother, it may help her sleep longer, but it's also going to fall out alot. When she's older, she'll be able to find it and put it back in, but probably not at this age.