Nursing throughout the night

My daughter will be 6 months in a few days and she has been EBF. With my older DD I EBF her until she was about 7 months. One of the reasons I stopped is that from 5 months on she went from sleeping through the night to waking every 1.5 hours and needing to nurse to go back to sleep. I ended up co-sleeping just to get a little sleep. I was like a zombie everyday from lack of sleep. She did eventually (2 months later) stop waking through the night but ended up in our bed until she was a year and a half. With my younger DD I swore I would never let her in the bed and do the same thing again yet here I am. Same exact situation. She slept through the night from 2 weeks old on and then as soon as she was days from turning 5 months it stopped. She wants to nurse around every 2 hours throughout the night. I don't believe she is hungry especially since she only nurses for about 5 min. I think she is just using me as a pacifier. I tried to let her CIO out of desperation but she cried for about 45 min (with me rubbing her belly ever 10 mins or so) and showed no signs of stopping. I'm at my wits end. I'm exhausted and I don't know what to do. Has anyone had the same or similar experience? TIA

Re: Nursing throughout the night

No advice just sympathy. My daughter slept 7-8 hours until 4 months when she started waking every hour. At 17 months, she is still up every few hours and nursing a lot of the night. It's only a problem if YOU think its a problem. If you are ok with the cosleeping i will tell you it does get easier. I rarely wake up at night with my daughter anymore.

Re: Nursing throughout the night

Thanks for the reply. I've read some women don't even wake up when the baby nurses. I wish that was the case. I am completely aware that she is nursing. I even find it irritating which makes me feel bad. I really want to make it to a year BF her. Maybe I'll eventually get used to it and stop waking up every time she wants to nurse.

It's also nice to know I'm not the only one that this happens to.

Message edited 12/16/2014 8:59:24 PM.

Re: Nursing throughout the night

I also have no advice, but totally understand. My DS was sleeping very well until he hit 8 months and he's literally now attached to me allll night. I put him in his crin but he's back in our bed frequently throughout the night.

I think a lot of things happen between 6-12 months that cause sleep regression. They are more alert, active, and busy during the day and the quality of the daytime nursing sessions isn't the same so they wake more frequently at night to get in better nursing sessions. Teething, brain growth, separation anxiety, all contribute to the sleep regression. I think my DS wakes for comfort as well as nutrition. He hardly wants to nurse during the day, so I think he needs it at night.

It's hard some nights, but I know this time will eventually end. We co-sleep much more than I did with my DD, bc I've given in at this point just to get more rest.

I have heard of people "sidecar-ing" the crib. We don't have the room next to our bed, but it would definitely be an option if we did.

Good luck and know you're not alone!