Feeding/Sleeping Pattern

Hello All,

We have reached 6 months on our little journey. To start with DD was a great feeder and sleeper. She'd feed when she work up, play and happily chirp herself back to sleep. But now I feel like I'm over the place.

I found that if I fed when she woke we'd be feeding so often that she wouldn't take a full feed, then she didn't put on weight much and I'd be exhausted from constantly trying to feed her. I have now stretched out her feeds to every 3 1/2 to 4 hours, which just as she goes to sleep and oddly she feeds better if she's tired. I have found that she'll feed somewhere around 3am and wakes at 7am and is not very hungry, but then is hungry again at 9 when its time for sleep and I spend the whole day trying to keep her up long enough to feed!

She doesn't seem to be able to settle herself to sleep anymore either and either get feed to sleep or I pat her back and shush her, by the time this is done her naps are shorter. I think she is more aware of everythng.

How can I get her eating more at that first feed? I have tired compression, feeding with curtains drawn etc and nothing works.

Personally I'd rather not feed to sleep, but am happy if it gets her dozy and ready to drift off. I want to teach her that the cot is a happy safe place where she can put herself to sleep. Long term I don't want her to be dependent on me to get to sleep and I'd love it someone else could put her down. I beleive in being caring and loving, but having her attached to me all day isn't for me, as I need to the space to stay sane. I don't want to leave to her to CIO either.

In the mean time I'll just keep trying to get it all to work and hope that some day it will all come together. Wish me luck. Sorry this has become a rant, I'm tired and rambling.

Mac is only 6 weeks old so I may be way off the mark here but this is how I do it.

Wakes, small feed, change, play, feed, sleep.

I either feed to sleep or cuddle him until he's asleep. It may not be what you want to do but I guess it depends on whats most important for you. Unfortunately babies don't always tend to do what we want them to do.

If you are more comfortable with a gentle approach then I would recommend Elizabeth Pantley's "No Cry Sleep Solution" or Pinky McKay's "Sleeping like a baby". Both books have been very helpful to me with the various sleeping issues I have had with Jack

No this is my personal experience and what I found the easiest for DD and I.

Feed whenever she is hungry, not looking at the clock, or what time she last fed - doesn't matter whether it is when she first wakes in the morning or an hour later, whether it is right after lunch, before her sleep - while I'm out and about. Point is a schedule I found simply did not work. (I realise it does for some and that's great, but millymollymandy, it sounds like clock-feeding is doing your head in, so perhaps trying a different approach may work).

At 10mths she still feeds in the night, sometimes sleeping through, but from roughly 6mths onwards I found she had developed her OWN little routine - I let her sort her own body-clock out and every feed, sleep etc happens at roughly the same time.

Please don't get me wrong, I certainly have days where I feel like my head is going to explode and tired doesn't even begin to describe how I'm feeling, but they are very few and far between.

I haven't read the books myself, but the general idea of 'gentle parenting' advocated in the books that Linzy posted above may be able to assist you. And trust me it does get better and it is only for a short time in the big scheme of things

Thanks all,

I definitely think I'm struggling to read her cues at the moment. I have found that she sometimes doesn't say she is hungry (makes a coughing type noise when she does), but I'll put her down and then she'll grizzle as she is hungry.

Today I'm watching her closely and taking it from there.

On the bright side I know I can get through the worst day now! And as my firend says I need to stop beating myself up.