Sleep pep talk needed !!
I am completely at the end of my tether. My baby is EBF but will take a pumped bottle to feed. Baby is almost 5 months now and sleep never gets any better. The most I get in one go is 3 hours and that is a miraculous night. Normally we wake hourly/2hourly. The problem is that she feeds to sleep, so she’ll wake, latch on and then not let me unlatch without her waking. So I either stay awake all night with a bad back whilst she stays latched or she won’t sleep. It’s now happening at naptimes too which means I don’t get to nap to catch up either. She won’t take a dummy, I’ve tried loads and doesn’t comfort herself to sleep in any way. It’s either car/pram or feed to sleep.
I understand it’s a phase but I just don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I just feel like I am failing at parenting and the sleep situation is going to destroy me. Partner can’t help overnight but offers to feed her with the bottle for the first couple of hours for the night but that’s not much help as she’ll only sleep for 30 mins or so after a bottle.
Am I alone? Am I doing anything wrong? It’s becoming unsustainable but I don’t know how to move her away from feeding to sleep and I feel guilty and don’t want to break the BF relationship we have built. HELP!
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Please don’t think you’re doing anything wrong, a lot of our babies are exactly the same! I think it’s more about finding strategies to help you get through this phase which will eventually pass!
Have you tried co-sleeping so you can lie down when baby feeds and you won’t hurt you back? Some mums even sleep whilst they’re feeding doing this x
You are not alone.
I can totally understand you.
My little girl has the same issue yesterday I was crying during the night.
She only sleeps while feeding and wakes up every hour or two.
Please don’t feel guilty we are very strong we have been doing an incredible job in the last five months.
Every night I think about giving formula but I don’t think this will work because she only sleeps on the breast.
I hope that after 6 months sleeping will be better as she starts to eat.
What Yaz has explained is breastsleeping! There’s lots of info online on it by Dr. James McKenna. Leave your breasts out bare, I only lightly arouse on the occasions we have
thank you ❤️ yes I do co-sleep and side feed but I get stuck in position and it can get really uncomfortable/painful! Just want my own space 🫠😂
I’m the same. The bottle just won’t cut it because she’s not feeding most of the time, just using me as a dummy!
Completely understand, I hate having my arm up and not being able to move freely 🙊 so only do it when I’m exhausted but for some people it works magic!
Have you looked into cosleeping? Honestly, that saved my sanity. We now only cosleep for the last stretch of the night, but it's a lifesaver. She is latches however long she wants and I sleep. Takes a few nights to get used to, espeyfor you, so you're confident in your sleeping/responsiveness to your baby, but then life just gets better
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