July 2009 Moms

Much better. He was at one stage only sleeping next to me and then I was waking with him every hour. It was ridiculous. I was so exhausted by morning, so I decided to move him to his room. Now he only wakes once (on a good night) Him being sick set us back a bit but I'm picking up the training again.

I hear you on the nappy thing. We use cloth nappies and the bed used to be soaked by morning. Try and cut her night feedings short, it'll do you both the world of good. That was my first step with Colby. When I first moved him to his own room he woke up 5 times but I only fed him once. I set a limit on it. I said I would only feed him if it had been 5 hours since he last fed. It really worked. The next night, he only woke up once!!! I thought he had died! I got such a fright. Does she use a dummy?

Oh another suggestion which I thought was quite cool was to put 2 mattresses on the floor for a week or 2 and sleep with her on 1 and you on the other. That way, when you get up to go pee, you won't disturb her when you come back? Only for the time it takes to teach her to sleep longer.

She did warn though that a few night nursers might be persistent and only change their ways if moved to their own room.
What I really appreciated too is that she said that we must decide what we're happy with. If you're happy feeding her twice a night, then don't change it just cos' some other well meaning person says she shouldn't be. I'm happy with him waking once a night and so that's my goal.

Deja - it's not a problem. The book is for babies who sleep alone, co-sleep and do a bit of both! (that's why I love it, there is absolutely no judging) Here are the suggestions for babies who co-sleep and breastfeed:

"step 1: shorten your night-time waking routine.
When she wakes up at night you probably have a routine which you follow to get her back to sleep. This might be: N wakes, you shift her onto the nipple, kiss her head and let her nurse til she's asleep.
This is how you can shorten that routine:
Stop feeding a sleeping baby - babies naturally make noises in their sleep. Sometimes we are so obsessed with not letting them cry that we stick the nipple in before they have fully aroused. Babies can cry and even nurse in their sleep. Learn the difference by observing her closely. Wait, listen, peek. You can even pretend to be asleep until she really starts make awake noises. Don't react too quickly to her. You might find that she'll stir and then go back to sleep on her own.
Shorten nighttime nursing times - The act of breastfeeding releases hormones which make a mother sleepy. You are probably falling back to sleep with her while nursing. Problem is that she begins to believe that the only way she can sleep is with the nipple in her mouth. There are a few ways to correct this, you can choose which suits you.
1 - Stay awake! As her drinking pace slows, gently remove the nipple from her mouth, pat her or rub her back. Repeat this process until she falls asleep without the nipple in her mouth.
2 - Make the latch on a little less convenient. Feed her while you are slightly on your back so that she really has to work to keep latched. She might decide it's too much effort and go back to sleep.
If at any point she wakes and is upset, go ahead and nurse but be sure to remove her before she is deeply asleep, while she is drowsy and happy.
It may take up to 5 times before she goes back to sleep but after a week she should be nursing only for food and sleeping much better.
Move the milk - After you nurse her move away so that she is not touching you. If she is snuggled right up against you she might wake more often to nurse. Try putting a small stuffed animal next to her instead. "

So those are all the suggestions in the book for co-sleeping breastfeeding babies. You don't have to use all of them but choose what suits you best. There are hundreds more for other situations and to even help them fall asleep on their own. I would really recommend buying the book.

She does say repeatedly that this is not a quick fix. So be patient and keep telling yourself "I am a patient and caring mother. My goal is for my baby to feel loved and secure while I slowly help her learn how to sleep through the night"

Sorry, I wrote an essay!!!! Hope this makes sense!

marijke gaan andre rieu show kyk... hy sing soooooooooo mooi!!!!!

wahahhaha oor die borsvoed en wyndrink, ja jy is reg daar, dis naughty naughty, maar so what, thats you and thats your baby...
ek hou nogals nie van die hot under the collar thing nie, maak my ongemaklik. ek voel asof ek iewe skielik op my tone moet loop en pasop wat ek se, i dont like that!
oh wel, its inevitable, daar gaan een of ander stryery kom, dis vroumense!!!!!!

marijke: im still jealous!