i’m not sure i can bear even one more night of multiple feeds. BB not slept properly since we moved, and I am truly shattered. Have gone so far as to buy tin of formula, but not managed to bear to use it.
i feel such a failure for even considering bailing out, but if I could get some sleep at night, maybe I would have a bit more perspective and not be knocked about by every passing squall.
Don’t feel a failure – never that. Sleep is kind of a necessity, and if you are not getting it it will colour every other part of your life. Do something to get some sleep – she won’t suffer for it, and you do know that. (((Helen)))
(((((((Helen)))))) don’t be too hard on yourself! Not a militant BF-er here, in fact Becca had bottle milk from day 1 to supliment mummy milk (no flaming please, when your baby’s glucose goes down below 2 you do exactly what the midwife says….) and she seems to have survived teh experience. Sleep is indeed pretty essential, especially if you want to make good milk for her! Those cartons of 1 individual feed are quite handy if you are too shattered to think straight enough to count scoops too ;o)
You are so not a failure Helen. BB’s had loads of your milk and has thrived magnificently on it. I remember being fed up with feeding M and not wanting to consider feeding a third child and realising I only _had_ (from ‘medical’ pov) to feed a third baby for 6 months.
Our nights are bad too and I find my mind toying with the idea of solids, but he’s only 17 weeks. I have a couple of other ideas to try first though.
It’s all to do with working out your priorites. How can that be a failure? You are not ‘bailing out’ but you are making a painful decision to do what is best for your baby, and an exhausted mother is not best for baby. There has to come a point when the balance tips. Sleep shouldn’t be seen as a luxuary, not by this stage. You’ve done so well. Please don’t beat yourself up.
i suspect sleep might be helped if we consistently went to be at a sensible time (which for us would mean before midnight……) Helen’s sister goes to bed something bizarre like 10 pm – or even earlier, well that just aint’t gonna happen – we’ve got blogs to read
iknow Helen feels like she is giving BB a poor deal comapred to SB, but we stilll ahve small stash of frozen milk, and she is managing to get enough for her work days (helped by BB not being a great bottle drinker). We did start giving SB a formula bottle from around 11 months (for reasons that now escape me).
I am so with you on the broken nights thing. Isabelle has been much worse lately – probably 6-8 wakings per night. I hate it. I want to just night-wean her, but I can’t really see how it’s going to happen with the way she screams if I don’t go to her. And yes, it really does affect tolerance level for everyday stuff. If only we weren’t so hard on ourselves. My friend with same aged baby has totally weaned without a second thought. Sometimes I wish it was so easy – other times I know that I don’t want it to be like that.
((((Helen))))) You have done fantastic so far – especially considering the stressful house move and job move and what you have to put up with in your job and shifts etc. You have to be at your best for your beans and if it is going to be done by getting more sleep and bb having a little formula then go for it. xx
Helen, I sleep trained all of mine at about this age. did not take long and did not involve them screaming all night either. Its not an either/or situation with bf or formula. Do give me a ring if you want to talk it over .
Am considering same as Josie is also keeping me up dreadfully; i’ve not had a decent stretch of sleep in weeks now. Love feeding her but need to save sanity/marriage/life (not neccessary in that order) – not a failure.
Shall we get together this week and do some gossipy stuff with bfing mum support thrown in for good measure?
thankyou all for hugs and sympathy and on and off blog advice.
BF last night, and we may try a single BF in the night and chris cuddling the other occassionas while I ignore, and then hopefully she will settle, otherwise it will be over to formula.
I think we will soon have to supplement while I am at work with formula anyway, as I am finidng it increasingly diff to express in the evening [2oz] though if I get a lunch moment at work I tend to do 4-6oz then.
will keep with the waking hours bf though for as long as supply carries on.
I think I am a bit more concerned with this one that my supply will disappear far more quickly since my life is majorly stressed!