Sleeping through the night
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RBXChas
Posts: 2,708 Member
Not you but your baby! (Of course *I* could sleep through the night!)
My older son started out BF'd but FF'd at night, then completely FF'd at 3 months. He slept through the night (defined as 12-6) at six weeks. He went from crappy sleep to awesome sleep literally overnight, and he's been a pretty great sleeper ever since. (He's 2.5.)
This time, not so much, but this little guy is EBF'd. Everyone, including my BIL who is a pediatrician, says it will take longer because he's BF'd.
He is sleeping in ok stints... Usually we have a 4-5.5 (on a good night) hour stint, followed by a 2-3 hour stint, then another 2-3 hours. As such I'm getting up at least twice a night and am up at the crack of dawn (today's wake-up call was 5:45AM). It's not fun but not horrendous because unless his diaper has poop (rare) or is about to explode, I don't change his diaper. I just whip out a boob, feed him, burp him, and he's usually asleep when I put him back down, so I'm up for 20-30 minutes, max.
Point being, I'm not miserable or anything, but it would be nice to turn that corner. I'm a little disheartened by all the people saying they have kids who didn't sleep through the night until a year or later, especially because my son is 10.5 weeks old
Before I gave birth I considering FFing at night but then decided not to because I knew it could screw up my supply. (I'm not up for pumping in the middle of the night.) So we've never done formula.
What have your experiences been with EBFing and sleeping through the night?
My older son started out BF'd but FF'd at night, then completely FF'd at 3 months. He slept through the night (defined as 12-6) at six weeks. He went from crappy sleep to awesome sleep literally overnight, and he's been a pretty great sleeper ever since. (He's 2.5.)
This time, not so much, but this little guy is EBF'd. Everyone, including my BIL who is a pediatrician, says it will take longer because he's BF'd.
He is sleeping in ok stints... Usually we have a 4-5.5 (on a good night) hour stint, followed by a 2-3 hour stint, then another 2-3 hours. As such I'm getting up at least twice a night and am up at the crack of dawn (today's wake-up call was 5:45AM). It's not fun but not horrendous because unless his diaper has poop (rare) or is about to explode, I don't change his diaper. I just whip out a boob, feed him, burp him, and he's usually asleep when I put him back down, so I'm up for 20-30 minutes, max.
Point being, I'm not miserable or anything, but it would be nice to turn that corner. I'm a little disheartened by all the people saying they have kids who didn't sleep through the night until a year or later, especially because my son is 10.5 weeks old
Before I gave birth I considering FFing at night but then decided not to because I knew it could screw up my supply. (I'm not up for pumping in the middle of the night.) So we've never done formula.
What have your experiences been with EBFing and sleeping through the night?
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My strong feeling is that if you are committed to EBFing, you shouldn't FF at night. Like you said, it will screw up your supply.
My son, who had been getting some formula for the first six weeks of his life (not my choice), switched over to EBF at 6 weeks (my choice), and started sleeping 7-9 hour stretches through the night the very first full day we had of exclusive BFing. Our nights looked something like 8-3 (most often) or 8-5 (rare, but there).
I was sure he would be sleeping 12 hour stretches by now. Sadly, he does not. That said, it's not so bad. Most nights are now (at just turning 7 months) 8-5:30, followed by nursing, and going back to sleep for another hour or two. Two nights ago he slept 8-7. (You know I am praying for a repeat of that.)
One of the new mom friends I made in my neighborhood FFs her son. He is 9 months, and still wakes up every 2-3 hours throughout the night. (Awful!)
So, my point is, that while it's probably true that FF babies are more likely to sleep through the night faster, I don't think it's a given. Kind of like they say breastfeeding helps you drop all that weight...I think it's really also a lot about the individual.
ETA: I'm not opposed to formula. Actually, if I couldn't BF, I would FF. Because I freaking hated pumping. Anything that "screws up my supply" right now is my arch-enemy because it means more pumping for me.0 -
I'm at the 8 month mark with my son and other than solids, we are EBF. He has never slept through the night, ever. We have had one, maybe two nights since he has been born that he only got up once. I get excited if he only gets up twice, but three to four times is the norm. With my daughter, we started formula at about 8 weeks along with breastfeeding, stopped breastfeeding after a couple of weeks, and by 3 months, she was sleeping through the night. I'm not saying this is a case of EBF vs. FF, this is just my experience with my two little ones.
That being said, even though I would frickin' love to get to sleep through the night, breastfeeding is more important to me (I often have to remind myself that this is how I feel lol). The way I figure it is, I will only have the opportunity to EBF for so long, he will only be a baby for so long. So in the grand scheme of things, a year or two isn't a lot of time. I am trying to soak in every moment (even when I am ornery and tired at 2 am) because it will be over before I know it. I wouldn't mind FF if he decided to wean or something else happened, but for EBF it is!0
