Ok, so this may be Too Much Information for some of you, but deal with it. We're having major issues with Mitchell and I need the wisdom of other Moms who've maybe experienced similar situations...so, if you're not experienced in breastfeeding, you may want to stop reading! =) Sorry.
Mitchell is 3 months +1 week old. He's great. Since (LITERALLY) Day 2 of his life, he's followed a 4 hour schedule of eating, awake-time, then sleeping. He'll eat at 8am, noon, 4pm, 8pm, and then usually 1x overnight. That's GREAT and I love, love, love the routine of it all! We follow the 'Babywise' principles of scheduling, but also know that sometimes there has to be some flexibility. Also, I LOVE breastfeeding. Of course it's not always the most convenient, but I love the overall bonding experience, the health benefits to everyone, the ease of it all, etc... but the last week has been a nightmare with Mitchell! So, I would appreciate any and all advice in figuring out what to do...
A week ago, Mitchell had slept all through the night (like 10 hours straight) for 5 nights in a row. I was a NEW PERSON...I loved the full night's sleep, I was a better mommy to Elise and Ainsley, I had plenty of energy to work out during naptimes, etc...it was great. I figured we'd turned the corner on Mitchell's overnight sleeping and he was going to follow Elise's footsteps and sleep through the night from 3 months on. Yay. I thought.
About 10 days ago, Mitchell 'changed' his nursing routine a little...just started eating only about 10 minutes instead of 20. No matter what I did, he WOULD NOT eat more than that. He was totally content and would still last until his next feeding four hours later. So, no big deal, I guess. And, hey, it's easier on everyone if he eats quicker. I assumed he was just more efficient. Maybe that was unrelated, but I'm trying to give out all the info possible. =)
Last Monday night, he woke up just 3 hours into nighttime sleep. I was shocked, groggy, and confused. I fed him, no biggie, I'd only been used to a full night's sleep for a week or so anyway. He ate well (actually, he ate MORE than he usually does- probably 25 minutes!) and then went right back to sleep. He woke up again 3-4 hours later. Same thing. That was a rough night. I figured it was nothing and just a bad night but it would go back to 'normal' after that. The following day was fine, he ate/wake/slept just like he'd been doing for the last few months. UNFORTUNATELY, that has continued for 6 days now!!!!!!!!!!!! It's killing me. Adam worked a ton of crazy hours last week and that didn't help, either. During the day, he's still following his normal routine, he's not sick at all, nothing new going on, etc...but he's just a disaster at night.
Overnight, he's actually getting worse! Last night, he woke up every 2 1/2 hours and I ended up feeding him at 10:30, 2am, 5:30, and he's waking up now at 8am. WHAT!?! We've tried letting him "cry it out" some- after 30 minutes of hysterics, I have to go in and feed him. He eats great so I really think he's hungry and not just 'stuck in the routine' of eating every few hours... Last night I even tried to 'force cluster feed' him in the evening in hopes that he'd 'store up' to get him through the night. I fed him yesterday at 4:30, 7:30pm, 10:30- that's squeezing in an extra full feeding. No such luck.
So, not only am i totally exhausted b/c I'm chasing around Elise and Ainsley, but I'm losing over an hour of sleep a night feeding him, PLUS the extra energy that is sucked out of me with two or three extra feedings in a day. I don't have any energy to work out (which is a cyclical thing, I know...IF I could work out, I'd have more energy in general..but it's absolutely impossible!). I have absolutely NO patience with Elise and Ainsley b/c my lack of sleep and I HATE that they're feeling the brunt of this! I don't know if this is just a growth spurt (how long do those last? I forget....), we know his room isn't too hot, too cold, etc... nothing else seems to have changed. And still being fairly new to this city, we don't have any "people" that I can go to and drop off Ainsley for an hour, or just sit and talk with across the kitchen table (JEAN and ALLYSON especially, I NEED YOU GUYS!!!!). And that old concept of "sleep when the baby sleeps" is impossible with three kids under 4 years old. There's no way it works out that they all sleep at the same time... and, Yeah, it's the Holiday Season, so there's extra stress in life overall, right? We're having a party here this coming week for Adam's co-workers, and then my entire family is coming a week from now. I've GOT to figure this out!
So, PLEASE! If you have any advice, let me know! shoot me an email or FB message and know that I'll be eternally grateful. We also tried giving Mitchell a bottle 2x last week of breast milk, just so we would KNOW if he'd take a bottle. No luck. Adam worked with him for about 30 minutes and so did Nana (Adam's mom was here for a few days' visit). Mitchell won't even close his mouth around the bottle. So, as of right now, the idea of supplementing with a little formula to fill him up a little isn't really feasible. I want that to be a last resort anyway...I'd love to breastfeed exclusively for at least 6-8 months. But, I'm getting desperate!
Thanks again, everyone! I appreciate your patience with reading a million details and being long distance "people" for me. Love you all, Erica =)
2 comments:
I'm so sorry. It is so hard to be the mommy you want to be without the sleep you need. I totally understand.
I am pretty sure around 3 months is when little ones hit a pretty big growth spurt. Since it seems like there is nothing wrong with him, he just may be really hungry, since he is a growing boy. This means, he should grow out of it soon (it's just bad timing with the business of the Christmas season).
You could find a local La Leche League group to talk to some other moms going through it in your area. It's a great way to meet other like minded moms. And, maybe someone has gone through the same thing and has some advise for you.
Hang in there momma. God wouldn't give you more than you can handle (with Him, of course).
Love,
Beth
PS. I am pregnant with # 3 : )
Hi Erica,
Oh my goodness. I can not even imagine how tired you must be. I wish I had something to suggest.
I remember at that age Ella's doctor said that by four months old she only wanted her to have 4 bottles/feedings of milk a day. So that is what we worked towards (4 - 8oz bottles of breastmilk) Once we got her on that schedule it worked our really well. (We were instructed to give her the pacifier if she woke up in the middle of the night.) It took a while for us to get there, but she definitely started sleeping through the night a solid 10-12 hours if we could get 32oz of milk in her through- out the day. I eventually pumped into the bottles for all of her feedings so I could monitor the amount she took in. What type of bottle are you using for Mitchell? Maybe he would like a different one?
I am sure he is going to get back to his schedule very soon! Just remember that the sleep deprivation is only temporary. You are doing an amazing job and are such an inspiration for me!!
~Michelle
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