Sleep regression or something else

No advice but you're definitely not alone. These EBF babies are making us work 😂😍 We've eliminated dairy so I can't even eat chocolate to cheer me up 🥴😜

When we started the regression my baby was also ill and it made a big horrible difference 😅 once she got better we got 2-3 hours rather than 45 mins- hour but if I were you I'd just put her in the bed with you to get some sleep

Also she does probably associate falling asleep with feeding but it might be hard to drop as a habit unless there's another sleep association you can replace it with, like a dummy or rocking/ singing that you dont already do...my baby just stopped feeding to sleep in the day on her own, so I had to figure out what I could do instead... so even though it might happen occasionally now it's not always. I just took the lead from her and have transitioned from rocking and singing to now I just hold her with the dummy in

I’m sorry to hear that but it’s good to know I’m not alone on this. Last night mine wouldn’t sleep unless on the boob… and I couldn’t put him back in bed, he could only sleep on me. It’s been the worse night in weeks (I didn’t think nights could be worse than last week’s).

I need some reassurance from mums who’ve been through this before… this won’t last forever, right? I’m a solo mum with no support and I’m not sure I can handle this for much longer! My baby only has contact naps during the day, so no day naps for me either…

Sending love Deanna ♥️

Sorry, regarding the feeding-sleeping association, I’ve read a lot about this and it’s completely normal. They are still small babies who don’t know how to self soothe. Dummies are just fake nipples! Of course they need our boobs to sleep ☺️ It’s HARD AF but it’s also normal :)

I spoke to a lactation consultant and she advised that I cosleep, as long as done safely, so feeding in the night isn’t an issue and I get sleep. It makes for an easier latch too. I often have him in his next to me, and if he’s fussy or keeps trying to wake himself up, or is struggling with reflux, I take him and c-curl him. We sleep SO much better as we’re touching, boosts all those happy, relaxing hormones for both of us. And whenever he starts rooting, I feed him. I take him off when he slows right down or falls asleep so he doesn’t use me as a pacifier. It means he can feed whenever he wants and I don’t have to move and wake up fully, and we both have better sleep quality. I had my first full night bed sharing with him last night after doing it for portions of the night since his regression started, and omg, I feel like a new woman. He is also showing his skills off as i think his sleep quality is better so I think his brain is developing better with the sleep :)

sounds like you’re doing the best job by listening to your LO’s needs. I hope if you just relax into sleeping with him and letting him feed when he wants, you’ll get better sleep and you’ll feel much better generally. Hope you feel that there’s lots of support from people on here :)

it’s nice to know others are in the same boat and I hope it passes for us all soon! Oh no! 😩

Joanna I co-sleep with my baby but lately side-lying feeding isn’t enough for him… he needs me to wake up and hold him. It’s like nothing that used to work works anymore 😔

it’s so hard isn’t it! I struggle through the nighttime’s and then when she gives me a little smile it just makes the struggles worth it! I hope it passes for us soon and we’re able to get a decent nights sleep! I would give anything for a 4 hour stretch right now! 🤍

thank you for the advice! That’s a good idea about taking them off when they’re falling asleep rather than keeping them on, sometimes I struggle to tell when she’s actually fallen asleep! I’m glad you were able to get a good nights sleep, it makes such a difference!

Yes! I never thought I could be so patient. I’m exhausted, I desperately need to sleep, but still I can’t stop kissing and cuddling him 🥰

Last week he got his 16 weeks jabs and we had a 5 hours stretch that night… do you think I could trick the GP to get him the vaccines again next week? 😜

thank you for the advice! I must admit it’s so easy to feed her to sleep so this far I haven’t looked at other associations, but realising that it probably won’t be practical in the long run! Will look into other association we can introduce!

haha oh wow! We’ve got our 16 week vaccines next Tuesday (first ones delayed because of Christmas) so hopefully we can get a longer stretch of sleep haha! 🤣

can you try feeding, and then sleep chest to chest? I actually feed my boy upright most of the time for reflux, and you’re right he gets a proper feed that way, then when he’s done I transition into him sleeping in my arms, and then swoop him into my side to go back to sleep. There’s a group on Facebook called Happy Co-Sleepers and there’s great advice on there :)

@Deanna if she feeds before a nap and doesn't fall asleep right away that's the time to try figure out what will work,but as I say my LO just stopped being able to fall asleep so she would get fussy not being able to sleep so I was forced into figuring it out but within a week we mastered it and despite the regression we don't struggle to get her to go down for a nap or sleep now..
Just the staying asleep at night of course 😅

yep I need to try and do it the safe way. Thank you so much for the advice :) I hope this phase finishes soon though!