Sleeping through the night!

Well...at the ripe age of nearly 9 mos old now, Brody is finally starting to sleep through the night (for the most part) in his own crib! I'm hesitant to say this, as I know there will be nights when he will be with us and nights when he still wants to nurse every few hours. But the last three nights now, he has slept from about midnight 'til about 7! That is 7 solid hours of sleep! We have co-slept with him since he has been home from the hospital up until about a week ago. Now, mind you, we tried at 6 mos, 7 mos and 8 mos to get him to sleep in his crib and he resisted! He cried and screamed for about 5 minutes and that was all we could take before he was back in our room nursing and cuddling. I am happy to say that he is sleeping in his own crib WITHOUT using the CIO method. I have been told by friends, family, MH members and co workers that this is the way he needs to learn to sleep in his crib and that we were creating a "monster" by picking him up and not making him stay in his crib when he cried! This is absolutely NOT TRUE. What I truly believe to be true is that he was not DEVELOPMENTALLY ready yet. He needed more time. Some babies just need more time and it in my opinion is cruel to make them be ready when YOU want them to be.

One problem now though...I wake up ENGORGED really bad. I mean...this morning at 7 am before I had to rush to work I made him get up for a quick nurse because I was so miserable. Can I expect this to subside? Should I expect my monthly cycles to start? I am thinking that I will see all of this happening soon...just kind of curious if anyone else has similar situations they can give me their experiences with.

Also, Brody HATES formula and will not take it! So I am still pumping during the day at work and nursing at home. It's just that he's not getting enough milk. Especially now that he's sleeping through the night. Do you think he will make up for it by drinking/eating more during the day? I'm having a hard time regulating this. Honestly, he is probably only getting about 20 oz of breastmilk per day. I know that's not enough...but when that's about all I'm making and then he won't take formula, I'm not sure how to fix this. Any thoughts?

[CYW]

well all i can say is congrats on him starting to sleep through the night..you know how good it feels..i am sure you are happy...

[lfb]

I am glad to hear someone is sleeping all night!!  Do you think a 4-year-old could still not be developmentally ready?  LOL!  My DD is doing better, but my DS still doesn't sleep all night in his own bed!

[ma2isiah]

I am so glad to hear Brody is sleeping in his crib. I bet you are sleeping better, but miss him cuddling (at least thats how I feel). As far as making more milk. You could try taking fenugreek for a few days, ideally the weekend and nurse as much as possible and try to squeeze in a few pumping sessions to bump up your supply. Or try to pump when you wake up in the morning if he is still sleeping. In the morning you will make the most milk. Or feed him and then pump before you leave. When I noticed I wasn't pumping enough for Maddie I did fenugreek for a few days and I also always fed her before leaving for work and then got to work early to pump before working and added another pumping seesion at work. I work 12 hour days 2 days a week. So I have to pump a lot on those days. Hope my ramblings are making sense.

[jenstam]

Yep, it makes sense. Thanks! I think it's just going to take time for my body to adjust to not feeding him as much at night. I'm just not sure how motivated I am to up my supply...I hate pumping!! I wish I could throw my pump parts away and never have to pump at work again!! But...if he doesn't like formula...something's got to give! We're so close to being able to just give him regular cow's milk, maybe I'll just keep it up until he gets to be about 12 mos, then ditch the formula all together. I work full time, so I have to pump every day. I pump twice per day, 4 hours apart. I never feed him in the morning because he's always sleeping...hate to wake him just to nurse. I get to work and pump right away though, then pump at noon and I'm ready to feed him by the time I get home. My pump amounts though, (excluding a few good days!) are only about 12-14 oz now, where I was getting about 16-even 20 some days. I'm pretty dry by evening and he doesn't get a whole lot!

[BabyHardiman]

Congrats on getting through those short 9 months without using the torture method.  Doesn't it seem like such a short period of time to devote to nuturing, and allowing your baby that time to become developmentally ready to sleep on his on?  I couldn't imagine the dreams a baby must dream at night when they must cry themselves to sleep.  My view on parenting changes every single day as I learn from you ladies.

[jenstam]

Yes, it is a love/hate thing for me. I love that we are able to have our bed back and that he is feeling comfortable enough to sleep on his own, but I have to stop myself from going in and grabbing him due to selfish reasons! I miss him and I have woken up several times in the past few nights in a panic because he's not next to me. I'm not sleeping any better though...because I'm worried about him being alone in his crib so I go check on him several times throughout the night. You nailed it though...it is such a short time to nurture. You will never have a time like it again. If he hadn't been ready, it would have been okay, too. And if he decides that this isn't what he wants, then he is back in bed with us again until we try again. It really should never be about convenience. Parenting is many times not convenient or predictable. You go with the flows and natural rhythms that your baby shows you. Brody has been an "on demand" baby since day one and it works for us!

[ma2isiah]

I bet he is getting enough breastmilk/food because he is sleeping through the night. I would think if he were hungry he would wake up to nurse. I think that my ped's handout said avg 9 month old drinks 24 oz of breastmilk a day. So 20 would be ok considering the average some have to be below and some above to get that number. My dd is a little piggy while I am working she takes about 25 oz and I feed her before I go and during the night once.If you had to give him formula mixed with breastmilk to make your stores go longer do you think he would accept that?

[lfb]

I hear you on the missing having them next to  you.  I still haven't moved Anna to her room.  Our house is 3000 square feet with our room on one side and hers on the other.  I just can't stand the thought of her being that far away all be herself.  At least I know Bennett will just get up and come in our room if he needs somethings, but Anna can't do that.  She still sleeps in the pac n play in our room.  I love having her that close and she sleeps next to me when she wakes.  My only complaint is having both kids in my bed at the same time.  It makes for some really cramped sleeping spaces!!  I just keep telling myself that I will miss this time soon.  It goes by too fast.  I can't believe my little man is starting preschool this fall and Anna is already about to crawl!

[jenstam]

He probably would accept that. We have lots frozen also...but I think it smells weird.

[jenstam]

Brody is just right across the hall from us, so we can hear him when he cries. But that doesn't make it much easier ;)

[lfb]

I know she would probably sleep better in her full size crib since she is outgrowing the pac n play, but I can't stand the thought of her being that far away.  Another reason, the monitor drives me crazy when I am trying to sleep!  I am a really light sleeper and that sound bothers me!  Wierd, I know.