Dd not sleeping through the night, still. HELP

[@llli*mom23cuties357]

She is 8.5 months old and will wake at night at least 4 times to nurse. I was thinking she is reverse cycling but not too sure. I know when dd1 was 9months old and not sleeping through the night my ped told me to stop the night time bottle and offer only water. It worked after a few nights and she was fine, but I am not sure if this is "ideal" for a bf baby vs ff(dd1) baby.

I am just so so tired of being tired and not sleeping at night. She loves food and if she had her way she would eat table food. She has to wait until she is 9months for more foods, i.e. protein, yogurt, .... Right now I am limiting her food during the with hopes she will nurse more. NOT My nipples are so sore and my supply is all over the map.

Does anyone have tips? She will wake about 6am - 7am nurse for about 5 - 10min and then is up for the day. She will not nurse again until about 9 - 10 for her late morning nap, lunch and breakfast is food about 1/4c of oatmeal with some fruit, then about 1/2jar of 2nd fruit or veggie and the other half at dinner. She snacks on graham cracker w/o honey, puffs, and cheerios in between. Then she will nurse around 1pmish, again around 4 or 430 and then again around 630pm - 7pm and is down for the night so we think. She will wake around 1030pm, 1230 - 1am, 3am, 4am, 5-530am agian at 6ish....you get the idea.

HELP

I am so tired, I am getting hurt, I broke my finger, almost ripped my nail off, dropped dinner on the floor, I can not function, ..... I mean dh looks at me and askes in a mean tone if I plan on hurting myself every day of the week. I snapped and said YES until I can get more than a total of 3hrs uninterupted sleep YES.

I am about to give up bf just to get her on cows milk early.

HELP

[@llli*mom23cuties357]

PS the only thing different about my diet is one I switched to folgers 1/2 caf. coffee about a pot a day and i am trying to do ww (not very well...LOL) so I am not eatting as much I normally did...which was almost endless.

[@llli*synack89]

Well, there is the 9mo growth spurt so your DD may be starting it a little early. I remember at about 9mo I was a zombie. But it WILL get better.

[@llli*hls02]

I looked up some info on the use of cows milk before a year on kelly mom, here is a quote

Use of cow's milk before a year is controversial among experts. You might want to get your baby's doctor's opinion on this.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends NO cow's milk until after the first birthday.

Cow's milk is more specific to a baby cow than a baby human. Cow's milk formula is based on cow's milk but has been engineered to be closer to human milk (still a ways off, but closer). Many infants still have problems with cow's milk formula (allergies, GI problems, etc.). Babies who are exposed to cow's milk before their first birthday are more likely to be anemic, have diarrhea or vomiting, and/or experience an allergic reaction (the proteins in milk are more numerous than those in other milk products, such as the yogurt). The excessive protein load in cow's milk can also overload a baby's kidneys. It is deficient in vitamins C, E, and copper. It is harder to digest as well, often causing intestinal blood loss. A number of studies have also indicated that early introduction of cow's milk may contribute to the development of Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus.

Others see no problem with starting cow's milk toward the end of the first year unless there is a family history of allergy to it. Dr. Jack Newman, a renowned expert in the lactation field, is one of these. See the Breastmilk, cow's milk, formula, outside work and bottles section of his article "Breastfeeding and Other Foods." Notice that he qualifies this advice with the importance of the baby being well-established on a variety of solids and continuing to be breastfed (both of which should help make up for what cow's milk can't offer at this age). He also suggests that supplemental milk of any kind is not all that necessary if the baby is allowed to nurse frequently when with mom. He suggests offering the baby solid foods with some water or small amounts of juice instead.

"Between six and twelve months, supplementing with solids (instead of formula) or very small amounts of cow, goat, soy or rice milk is less of a problem, as long as baby is still nursing for the majority of milk intake and baby is not allergic. However, babies under a year are more at risk for allergic reactions (see below) so it can be a good idea to wait."

my son is 15 months old and still gets up 4 times at night, some nights more, rarely less. My body has adjusted to the lack of sleep, but there are days where I want to rip my hair out! I really think you cant force a baby to sleep through the night if they are not ready to. My son eats plenty of solids, and it doesnt make a bit of difference. Some say more solids at night helps, but not in my case, and I know its not true for some others here as well. It WILL happen, that is for sure. You just need to make sure you get the rest you can during the day if that is possible for you. Can you pump and have your husband give her a cup at night, or bottle if she has used one? Do you cosleep? Is that an option for you?

[@llli*mom23cuties357]

I really do not want to give her cow's milk, yet I do not the harm it can do the baby. I just venting..LOL

I do sleep with her in my recliner. She will nurse and i will fall asleep sitting up and wake in about 30min to find her passed out in my lap. I will try to put her in her crib, but then she wakes so I have to do the whole routine all over again. It would be different if she using me for a paci but she is really nursing.

Rest during the day is not possible. I have two other kids at home with me. Plus, I do all the house work, except for now I am soooo tired. Dh does not get up with her because I am a SAHM so I do not expect or ask him to. He works m - f and sat and sun he gets his time with the kids and some housework. Otherwise, she is mine 24/7. He does not even like me leaving the house without her. If I want to go to the food store w/o kids i have to take her with me.

[PeteyMagroo's Mama]

I feel your pain...my son is 10 months and has been doing what your DD is doing for months on end. I could have written your exact post! I work full time though and DH is a SAHD. There are some days, sadly, I am getting paid to be a bump on a log because I am so tired.

For the most part, I have adjusted. But it is draining. I swear between the lack of sleep and being a worry wort new mom, I have aged 10 years since he was born.

Hugs!

[@llli*hls02]

I do sleep with her in my recliner. She will nurse and i will fall asleep sitting up and wake in about 30min to find her passed out in my lap. I will try to put her in her crib, but then she wakes so I have to do the whole routine all over again. It would be different if she using me for a paci but she is really nursing.

I'm sorry you dont have help! My husband is pretty worthless to me at night too, so I long ago gave up on wanting his help at night, knowing he would be a zombie.
As far as the sleeping goes, have you tried nursing in the side-lying position in your bed? Can you do a side car arrangement with her crib, attaching it to your bed, that way you can still be close, but have your own space? That is what we started doing at about 6 months, and it has been a life saver. I just roll over, nurse him and we go back to sleep. Not sure if that is an option for you or not, but that is that works for us and makes the frequent awakenings much easier to handle. Good luck!

[oklamom]

I'm so sorry things aren't going well right now. The good thing is they won't be this way forever!

I feel like babies CAN and SHOULD sleep through the night by this age. It sounds like LO has a few quirks about sleeping through the night, but other than that doing great! Okay, here's my plan ():

1. For the next couple of weeks, just tell hubby the house will be a wreck and dinner will not be served on time! You are SERIOUSLY tired, girlfriend. You gotta get some naps in for a few days until you can focus a little bit better. Dropping dinner and breaking fingers sounds like you are EXHAUSTED! I am totally with you on the SAHM stuff, but some days, I'm just not going to be outta bed before DH comes home for lunch and then I just lament to him about how tiring it is to deal with the baby... WAH WAH... He still believes me at this point....HA!


2. It's time to start some serious research on what to do. I DO NOT believe in CIO either, but there are definitely other options. It took me SO long to find material that agreed with me, I have to share: Reading "The No Cry Sleep Solution" has a lot of ideas. And reading "Secrets of The Baby Whisperer" is AWESOME! Here's a great website as well: http://www.babywhisperer.com/babywhisperer.html They have great message boards about STTN.

HTH. Let us know how things are going down in the 'Sleep or Lack of It' forum!

[@llli*rumer]

She has to wait until she is 9months for more foods, i.e. protein, yogurt, ....

I'm a little confused by this statement. Do you mean she has to wait until she is 9 mos. until she can have more variety of foods? Is this something your pedi has said to you?

Has she always been a voracious eater? I know my LO is, it's hereditary (FYI, I've been accused of slipping him formula because his weight is above average for BF baby, even though he's EBF). Both DH and myself have high metabolisms. Because of this, my pedi has told me that it wouldn't surprise him if DS starts looking for solids early, even though the average recommended age to start is six mos. Perhaps your LO is ahead of the curve?

And you definitely got to find a way to cut the caffeine. I know it affects DS if I try to slip in just a little bit. I've since switched to drinking non-caffeinated, low- to no- sugar energy drinks (XS is my brand of choice) to get that needed boost.