I write this feeling sleepy, my 7m old has kept me awake again with 3 feeds through the night. Ridiculous I hear you say. Clearly I'm failing as a mother, I'm doing it all wrong. Well it is weird.
No 1 - Jasmine, born in Beziers - ate like a sparrow, slept through the night from 3m old
No 2 - Izzy, born in Beziers, ate well, also slept through from 3m
No 3 - Maisy, born in Camden, eats well, won't sleep through, refuses to now take the bottle so I'm still bf her through the night. 3 times! Aaargh
Jasmine & Izzy were also in their own room by now (sharing) but Maisy is still in with us - we don't have another spare room in the London flat and I'm worried that if I put her in with the girls she'll wake them up & I'll have 3 of them awake at 11pm, 2am & 5am.
She's a very happy little baby, very content but she wakes up making noises and settles quickly when fed but I just wish she would go longer between night time feeds. She refuses to take the bottle (which is also a first - the other 2 took to mixed feeding no problems). I've tried Avent (which the others used), Tommee Tippee which is more natural shaped (think boob) and a cup. She just squirms, squeals and arches her back.
You imagine that with No 3 you know what you're doing, it should be easy - done it twice before - but then she changes the rules...it's a whole different game. I need some new tactics but I need some help - any ideas?
Do you express breast milk into the bottle or is it formula? Try getting o/h to feed expressed milk (obviously with 3 small ones you have loads of time to express!) then start sneaking formula in as well to fill her up. It may the taste of the formula she hates rather than the bottle?
Otherwise is she hungry or is she just after a cuddle, try a cuddle and a dummy perhaps. Hopefully if everyone throws enough ideas at you, one will work. All the best, you are doing so well and coming up with great ideas.
i am seriously thinking of putting her in the hallway! The living room is too bright with all the lights from the City but the hallway with the door closed would be ok - it's a flat afterall so she'd be just outside our bedroom door but hopefully far enough away not to smell the milk.
No 1 went through the night (12 hours) at 8 weeks. I thought all babies did that....and then weaned herself off bf by 9 months. I thought all babies did that
No 2 would not leave my boobs alone night or day until I decided enough was enough as she was eating three huge meals a day too and drinking from a beaker. (Neither girl had a bottle or dummy as I was obsessed about their teeth - didn't make a blind bit of difference as we've spent the last decade at the orthodontist in any case!) I put her in Daisy's room and sent my OH in. She woke up but didn't wake Daisy and it took three nights of screaming to break the cycle. Continued breastfeeding during the day for another two months until I had had enough. Took two days of yelling (including getting stopped by an elderly couple in Tesco's who clearly thought I was an evil witch as my child was screaming and trying to get out of the trolley seat. I explained that she had just had lunch and was in a rage because I wouldn't get my boobs out in the cleaning products aisle. They were a bit taken aback...
No 3 was bf for 11 months and then had a bottle. My then OH refused to go in during the night so I kept doing it. Fatal mistake. We missed the 'window' ( I honestly think all children have a point where they are big enough to go through the night and small enough to be persuaded that they don't have any other option - and yes it varies hugely and only the parents can ever make that judgement call, so I'm certainly not saying 9m is the magic number - it was around then for mine but they are all different!) - so Max kept yelling for a bottle until he was 18m. At which point we moved to a house with really thick stone walls and I couldn't hear him. I was also with James who was happy to do the night shift. Again, it only took days to break the cycle but it was longer than with the girls which I think was because he was that bit older.
So, no magic solutions....it depends on whether you think she is ready to be ignored... I would def put her in with the others though. Generally the other children are far less disturbed by a yelling baby than you would think and often sleep through. And if she can't smell your milk it really helps. Good luck! x
Th only thing I could suggest is getting her away from you in the night, my first was a very hungry baby, and I am sure he could smell my milk when he woke in the night, when he went to his own room, he only woke once, even when small, then went through quite quickly after quite a late feed. Could you try putting her in the lounge area, to see if that helps? all babies are different, my 2 boys were and still are chalk and cheese. Sorry to say that you may have just got lucky with the first 2! Anyway - good luck..