8 months in and suddenly new BF habits/soreness UPDATED

[the2boysmama]

Hello!
Short background- I have 2 boys ages 3 and 8 months. I breastfed DS1 for 6 weeks and never had a full supply, so switched to formula.  He was a great eater and sleeper and I never had an issue.  We bedshared for 8 months and then he switched to his crib without an issue.

Now enter DS2.... EBF from the beginning.  Bedsharing worked well the first several months.  He has never been a great sleeper, but his sleep is getting worse.  He all of a sudden needs to be nursed to sleep for naps and bedtime. 
At night he used to wake up, nurse for a few minutes and then I could give him the binky and he would fall back to sleep. Now, he wants to basically sleep while latched on all night.  If I try to give him a binky after a feeding he gets all frantic and looking to latch again. My nipples are so sore from the constant nursing and the latching/unlatching constantly. He has 6 teeth and bites often. 
AKA this whole BF experience has taken a turn for the worst! I decided to switch him to formula the other day and I gave him a 3 ounce bottle of similac sensitive.  He took the bottle like a champ and then proceeded to vomit the entire thing back up on me while I was rocking him, so that idea went out the window. 

Is there some type of 8-9 month crazy growth spurt?  I was anticipating that he would at least be sleeping 3 hours at a time by this age, but he is still up every 1.5-2.5. 

Sorry for the rambling.  Any and all advice appreciated!

UPDATE: So, yeah that new nipple soreness is Thrush! Ahh. The little guy has a full mouth full of white patches and my nipples feel like razors are coming out when he first starts nursing.  I'm combing the internet now for remedies and it sounds like I have my work cut out for me getting rid of this from both of us! Doctors appointments for both of us in the AM to start!

[casey]

Yes, there is a growth spurt about that time, and there's also a sleep regression (it was our worst sleep) that goes with all the new developmental stuff.

How important is bed sharing to you?

[ashanne88]

DS used to sleep in our room in his own bed. Around 5-6 months he started sleeping worse and worse and I ended up bringing him to bed every night at some point. Once we transitioned him to his own room/own crib (around 7 mo) he started sleeping way better. If you're comfortable with moving him I would recommend it.

[fish8412]

Yes we experienced sleep regressions at 4 months and 8.5 months. Now might be a good time to transition him to his crib. If you try formula again I wouldn't give a straight bottle of just formula. Give a bottle of 75% breast milk and 25% formula. Then gradually increase formula and decease breastmilk. This will be easier on his stomach.

[Deleted]

We bed shared for a few months until DS was doing the same thing: needing to nurse to fall asleep and wanting to sleep latched. We ended up transitioning him to his crib in his room (5.5 months) and he started sleeping significantly better because I wasn't there as a constant reminder of what he wanted. You can also get the app "The Wonder Weeks". It tells you approximately when certain leaps happen and whats going on with the leap. It can kind of help you have a better idea of when to expect sleep regressions or increased nursing.

[the2boysmama]

Feb 12, 2015 11:49:31 GMT -5 casey said:

Yes, there is a growth spurt about that time, and there's also a sleep regression (it was our worst sleep) that goes with all the new developmental stuff.

How important is bed sharing to you?

I'm glad to hear this is typical for this age! Yikes. 
Bed sharing is not important to me at this time.  I bed shared with both of my boys because getting out of bed after a c-section was hard for me, so I just kept them with me at night.  It ended with no work or effort with my oldest son, so I figured it would be just as easy this time to transition to the crib (silly me for thinking both boys would be the same!).  I am definitely ready to be done bed sharing, but have lost more sleep than it is worth trying to transition him to a crib.

[the2boysmama]

Feb 12, 2015 13:13:08 GMT -5 ashanne88 said:

DS used to sleep in our room in his own bed. Around 5-6 months he started sleeping worse and worse and I ended up bringing him to bed every night at some point. Once we transitioned him to his own room/own crib (around 7 mo) he started sleeping way better. If you're comfortable with moving him I would recommend it.

This is something I am considering.  We have a 2 bedroom apartment, so if I move the little guy to his own he will be sharing with his brother.  I wanted to wait until he was sleeping through the night so he doesn't disturb his older brothers sleep.  I might need to just do it though and see if it works out better for us.

[the2boysmama]

Feb 12, 2015 13:57:17 GMT -5 fish8412 said:

Yes we experienced sleep regressions at 4 months and 8.5 months. Now might be a good time to transition him to his crib. If you try formula again I wouldn't give a straight bottle of just formula. Give a bottle of 75% breast milk and 25% formula. Then gradually increase formula and decease breastmilk. This will be easier on his stomach.

Thank you for the advice.  I am so traumatized by the amount of puke that happened after the first bottle I will be waiting a little bit until we try that again!  I didn't mix it, but I will try that next time.

[the2boysmama]

Feb 12, 2015 15:17:55 GMT -5 @mamak1218 said:

We bed shared for a few months until DS was doing the same thing: needing to nurse to fall asleep and wanting to sleep latched. We ended up transitioning him to his crib in his room (5.5 months) and he started sleeping significantly better because I wasn't there as a constant reminder of what he wanted. You can also get the app "The Wonder Weeks". It tells you approximately when certain leaps happen and whats going on with the leap. It can kind of help you have a better idea of when to expect sleep regressions or increased nursing.

I think the overall consensus from the responses seems to be that he needs his own sleep space away from me.  I will have to come up with a solution for this so that we can all get some sleep!  I will download that app now, thanks for sharing!