Help this exhausted Mommy

My chicky-poo is 13.5 months old....and still doesn't sleep well. She is still breastfeeding, and it seems to be the only way to get her back to sleep unless ou rock her for an hour or so. Her schedule seems to be like this right now:

8pm - Bath with Johnson's Lavender Bedtime Bath, lotion & massage afterwards
9pm - Breastfed, (she has one big feed for 1/2 hour to an hour)
10pm - Bedtime in her crib
12am - Up screaming (not escalated, just an all of a sudden scream) up for an hour
3am - Up wanting to eat (I know she doesn't need it, and she wants to eat for a LONG time! In fact I think if she could, she would stay latched on FOREVER...lol) Up for about an hour or so
6am - Up again...not sure why....but wants to eat AGAIN. After thisshe wants to sleep until 9am, but only if she's in bed with me.
9am - Get up and have breakfast
10am - Breastfed
12pm - Lunch and then breastfed to sleep
12:30 - 2:30pm - NAP
3pm - Breastfed
5pm- Supper
7pm - Breastfed


I do know she breastfeeds a lot, but I have NO idea how to get her to feed less often. She wants to breastfeed all the time!

If someone could take a few minutes and help me figure out some sort of better schedule to do, and maybe give some solutions or suggestions to how I can get this child to sleep, I would GREATLY appreciate it!! I'm just exhausted!!!

Thank you!!

Buy the book GOOD NIGHT SLEEP TIGHT.
It's a method of sleep training and is not CIO.
It worked wonders for my son (and my sanity)

Quoting Jenn & Baby Kyra:“ My chicky-poo is 13.5 months old....and still doesn't sleep well. She is still breastfeeding, and it ... [snip!] ... or suggestions to how I can get this child to sleep, I would GREATLY appreciate it!! I'm just exhausted!!! Thank you!!”

Teething? Check her molars.... my daughter did the same thing.. and I juust found like like 4 days ago that all 4 of her molars came in at once :S

Have you tried letting her go back to sleep on her own, or does she just work herself up?

I'm not much help because my son is only 7.5 months, but I've had the waking up at night (not hungry) problem and had to start letting him go back to sleep on his own or he'd wake up several times a night, and it was the same thing--he'd just want to stay latched on forever and fall asleep that way.

if its not teething it could be she needs more solid food in her tummy.

Have you ever considered putting her to bed earlier?? My youngest gets up alot through the night if she goes to bed anytime after 8pm .. If it is 7-7:30pm, she sleeps like a rock..

This has been hapening for months now, so I don't believe it is teething.

She works herself up into a panic if we just let her cry and she gets so upset that she starts screaming. She won't calm down for hours after that.

We've tried feeding her cereal before bed, we've tried putting her to bed earlier, we've even tried keeping her up later. Nothing seems to help.  

Quoting Mack&Payton'sMommy:“ Have you ever considered putting her to bed earlier?? My youngest gets up alot through the night if she goes to bed anytime after 8pm .. If it is 7-7:30pm, she sleeps like a rock..”

Mine is the opposite. If he goes to bed before 9 he's up all night. If it's 9 or later he sleeps solid until at least 7am.

Oh momma -- you need some rest! She is on a newborn schedule...My suggestions would be to give her a couple of solid snacks throughout the day, and if she wants to nurse, maybe top it off with breast, or see if she will take the milk in a cup. My daughter is 14 mos, and eats breakfast, lunch dinner and 3 snacks a day (and she's slim!), so she maybe hungry for more solid food.

Also, bedtime -- another poster suggested this too. See if an earlier bedtime will help her out. If my daughter doesn't go to bed by 7:45 or 8, she is up at 5:30 in the morning. If she goes to bedbefore 8, she sleeps until 6:30-7:00. Seems odd, but it seems to work with her internal clock best.

Good luck!

Quoting Jenn & Baby Kyra:“ This has been hapening for months now, so I don't believe it is teething. She works herself up into ... [snip!] ... her cereal before bed, we've tried putting her to bed earlier, we've even tried keeping her up later. Nothing seems to help.  ”

She shouldn't be eating baby cereal at her age. She should be on table foods.
The breast milk should be a supplement not a replacement for food.

Quoting Elizabeth (mountainbaby):“ She shouldn't be eating baby cereal at her age. She should be on table foods. The breast milk should be a supplement not a replacement for food.”

She is on table foods, but I was using the cereal as a snack at night.

She has breast milk after she eats a meal. She also gets breastmilk as part of a snack along with pieces of fruit, veggies, cheerios, etc.

How long are you planning on nursing? My son was similar I finally had to switch to a formula, but I gave him oatmeal mixed with jar food, before bed. It helped alot. I didnt mix thin cereal or anything like that. I gave it to him thick, he needed a heavier snack at night. But it was also the closeness he wanted so at night i would give him his bottle (thhe ones that support breatfeeding) with a little water in it, and just snuggle wit him until he fell asleep. it took a little ime, but he slept ALOT better that way. He never took a binkie, never would. He is four now and is still a snuggle bug.

i still think she needs sleep training.

Quoting Jenn & Baby Kyra:“ My chicky-poo is 13.5 months old....and still doesn't sleep well. She is still breastfeeding, and it ... [snip!] ... or suggestions to how I can get this child to sleep, I would GREATLY appreciate it!! I'm just exhausted!!! Thank you!!”

Mama, she has been breast feeding for over a year. it is VERy possible you are loosing your supply, or... as they get older they require ALOT more to eat.I also have to agree that BF is not a suppliment for her table food. It should be used in conjunction. Is she on regular whole milk yet? The fat content is very helpful at that age.She could also be going through a growth spurt. All reasons she may be feeding for so long and so often.

*On a side note, I was advised not to use any baby products with lavender in it. Apparently it has some effect on children as they get older and causes an estrogen surge. Even in boys! (shown to cause "man boobs" as they mature). Just thought I'd share! If ya have any questions, feel free to ask.. my son isn't much older. Just turned 16 mo.

Good luck! Get some rest!

Quoting BeautifulDisaster:“ Mama, she has been breast feeding for over a year. it is VERy possible you are loosing your supply, ... [snip!] ... share! If ya have any questions, feel free to ask.. my son isn't much older. Just turned 16 mo. Good luck! Get some rest!”

Hmmm...I never thought that I could be losing my milk supply! We are going on a trip for 10 days this coming Thursday, should I start her on whole milk before, during or after this trip? Did you BF? If so, how did you wean?

Thanks for the tip on the lavender!