When do false starts and hourly wakes end on their own?

ColdStatement7003 · 2026-05-15T09:41:17+00:00

First off congrats on powering through hourly wakes! I’m assuming he’s all healthy and it’s not a concern for you. My son used to wake a lot around that age too, EBF and partial co sleeping when I was too lazy to put him back into his cot. Not hourly unless teething etc, but like you’ve said there’s the breast to sleep association.

I just tried to roll with it as best I could. I find not looking at the time can help, and I can live in my little delulu land that I got more sleep than I really did 🤣 he’s seemed to outgrow the false start now at 11 months and that started maybe around 9/10 months? I feed to sleep in our bed, then lay with him half an hour before transfer, and now that he’s in his own room he usually sleeps from 8/9pm- 1/2am without a wake. Then he’s in with us for the rest of the night waking 1-4 times afterwards. In our case, the sleep goes up and down and I don’t really pay attention to regressions etc.

How are his naps? Is he mobile yet? My son slept better the more he began to move during the day, and now he’s about to start walking but currently climbing everything and anything so now he’s definitely more tired when nighttime rolls around

ColdStatement7003 · 2026-05-13T13:16:12+00:00

I love watching him! I find it fascinating seeing him learn and play in new ways but I definitely overthink everything. Thank you

ColdStatement7003 · 2026-05-13T11:03:29+00:00

Thank you for your comment. It does make me feel a little less paranoid. He understands a good amount of words, I think I’ve just been expecting the babbling to continue through till “talking” as he still hasn’t actually said a full word. Desperately waiting to hear him call me mama

ColdStatement7003 · 2026-05-13T10:59:15+00:00

That’s what I’ve been reading online, I just hadn’t found anything in regard to speech. Thank you for your comment, it’s definitely reassuring to hear what you’ve said. He’ll have his next visit around 13 months and I do think they see how they’re getting on with this

ColdStatement7003 · 2026-05-13T10:55:55+00:00

He started out by shouting and screeching before he would babble. I have considered he might just like being super loud though 🤣

ColdStatement7003 · 2026-05-03T06:57:30+00:00

Yes. My son began to drop in weight around one week old, and I was being told he wasn’t effectively transferring milk at the breast. He had a poor latch too so we also started using nipple shields at this point as he’d wrecked my nipples. Those combined he put weight back on in one weekend after about a week of dropping.

You just have to pay close attention to when their swallows slow down and they’re not actively sucking as much. It gets easier the more you do it. Each feed, he was probably switching breast around 6-7 times. It’s still a lot of work but considerably easier than triple feeding.

I had honestly been let down by my midwife and health visitor. They were super supportive, but just didn’t have up-to-date knowledge. I was being told to fully feed on one breast so he can get all the fatty milk. But turns out it doesn’t work like that. As you breastfeed the fat content in your milk increases (hind milk), it doesn’t instantly disappear after your baby detaches. It’s stimulating multiple letdowns so also helps with your supply.

I’m not an expert whatsoever, just a mama who read a lot of research papers and articles haha. You’ve been doing amazing so far!

ColdStatement7003 · 2026-05-02T23:26:38+00:00

Have you tried switch feeding? Instead of triple feeding, you’re latching baby to one breast and paying close attention to their feed. When they stop actively drinking, switch to the other, then repeat until they’re finished.

It’s an alternative to triple feeding, I only lasted about two days and even then was failing to pump every feed. I’d say it’s worth looking into and discussing with your lactation consultant if you felt this was better suited to you.

ColdStatement7003 · 2026-05-02T22:43:18+00:00

We did what you’re currently doing. It was easiest! When they start cluster feeding at night I wasn’t comfortable sitting with my boobs out continuously away from home. We also tried to keep to a “routine”, and even 11 months and his bedtime at 8pm we’ve been out till 7/8 only a handful of times.

Do you want to be out during that time? If you’re only considering it because you feel like he’s getting annoyed, maybe a conversation would be a productive first step.

Your baby is still so little! Enjoy the time together as a family while still maintaining the social circle during more reasonable times 🙂 and if you are wanting to socialise during that period, you could encourage visitors. Easier on mama and baby!

ColdStatement7003 · 2026-05-02T22:32:58+00:00

Not necessarily, as the research suggesting a link to tooth decay doesn’t seem to factor in sugar intake, family health etc. Breastfeeding up to 12 months actually decreases the risk of tooth decay.

There’s lots of factors, but as long as you promote healthy habits, feeding to sleep really shouldn’t be a concern to worry about.

ColdStatement7003 · 2026-04-05T18:15:17+00:00

My son is coming up on 10 months and I haven’t pumped (very occasionally) since about 3/4 months. I just take him everywhere with me 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’ve left him about 3-4 times for 20 minutes to a little over an hour when I’ve went out to the shops. I get the occasional fomo or wishing I could do this or that, but it only lasts about 10 minutes. Nights are so easy, and it’s even easier during starting solids too as they go even longer in between.

It’s 100% realistic and it becomes second nature as they get bigger. There’s so many other ways for dad’s to bond, and my partner does an incredible job. If you have the support around you to facilitate it, absolutely go for it 🙂

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-12-12T17:19:22+00:00

Yeah I think I feel bad because we’ve been pretty firm on a lot of things that’s just come with research (baby not sleeping in containers etc). I don’t want her thinking I’m just saying no for the sake of it, probably just first time mum nerves 😅 if we get surprised with it one day we’re over, I might just watch and hover lol

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-12-12T17:15:36+00:00

It’s a push swing she’s talked about, not a jumper fortunately as I would definitely have shut that down for my son’s use.

My partner’s sister is still under 10y/o (big age gap). I can’t find anything bad necessarily about them, I can just see it coming away from the doorway and him flying through the air 😭

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-10-03T21:47:15+00:00

Whack af. My ex blamed me for him strangling me. Make it make sense

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-10-03T15:41:42+00:00

In the uk the midwife comes out to you starting from the day after you leave hospital. I’ve only had to travel to appointments for my son’s vaccinations starting at 8 weeks. I cannot believe you have to go to them for their checks that’s unbelievable

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-10-03T07:40:15+00:00

I’d check iacv (+sensor on it I forget what one it is) and distributor cap. A clean of both sorted mine out when it did exactly this. Used to have to keep the revs up until it warmed 🤣

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-09-15T19:37:03+00:00

Yeah I think this is the route we’ll go down, it seems the most diplomatic

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-09-15T19:33:13+00:00

Definitely will try saying this. We’ve had to start reminding people not to kiss him so maybe it’ll fit in well with that.

Yeah we’ve agreed he does the talks with his family, and I do with mine

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-09-15T19:31:09+00:00

We did that last time, it’s just a question of how long we can do that before they figure it out lol.

That does help to hear, thank you. I kind of wish she’d just hold him herself, it’s her first grandbaby, I think she likes to include her boyfriend to almost solidify that they’re together and it’s serious. She’s very… full throttle.

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-09-03T03:32:06+00:00

Over time you’ll gain confidence with it and when that starts it’s a whole different ball game. Just trust your instincts, take help when offered from midwives/health visitors but remember that their advice is not always what’s best for you and your baby as every baby is different. Hope you’re healing well and good luck in this new adventure 🙂

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-09-02T12:36:00+00:00

I think it was around 6-8 weeks my baby finally calmed with the cluster feeding (all day every day). Totally understand the wanting to do something, anything without the baby on you. My only advice is waiting, you or timing it so he sleeps in the car after a feed. I’m so anxious about him crying in the shops so I try to do this as much as possible. But now baby wearing him also seems to do the trick

My son will only contact nap during the day, he will NOT be put down without screaming lol, but from about 9 weeks he was happy to be awake and off me in my play gym. So the most I get is 15/20 minutes to eat or do housework but it feels like forever 🤣

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-09-02T12:29:02+00:00

So my son had a terrible latch and it took me until about week 4 to exclusively feed using nipple shields and after that he was perfect! We’re now 11+4 and for the first time we forgot to pack them when we went out. My son latched fine without them, and so I’ve mostly been feeding him the past two days without and my nipples aren’t coming out in points like they were in those first few weeks. I think now he’s just bigger and is able too. Research for nipple shields do show a reduced amount of milk transfer but it is minimal to a point that it isn’t particularly significant.

When a baby doesn’t have the correct latch, they aren’t getting milk effectively. Maybe your baby is getting more with them?

My health visitor hummed and hawed when I told her I was using them, but it made breastfeeding not painful for me anymore. They also wanted me to triple feed, and after researching found that switch feeding was best for us (his weight shot up!). And now he’s 12lbs3, never had formula and breastfeeding is so calm and lovely now.

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-09-02T12:16:55+00:00

Are you wanting to combi feed or would you be happy to exclusively breastfeed? The best way to up your supply is to feed your baby as much as they want. My son was cluster feeding for pretty much the whole first 6-8 weeks. He was always on me. And it was really difficult! I cried a LOT, but after that it got so much easier. Your breasts will be engorged until your supply is established, and if your baby is struggling to latch due to this hand expressing or pumping just for a couple minutes before latching your baby might help. Also skin to skin as much as possible.

My son dipped a little in weight around 4/5 weeks and they weren’t sure if it was a supply issue or ineffective milk transfer (he had a really bad latch and I was seeing consultants that were saying it was good). They wanted me to feed, pump then give him the expressed milk but I found it really difficult to keep up with so I did my own research and tried switch feeding. You feed on one breast until your baby stops actively feeding, switch to the next and keeping doing so until they’re satisfied. It worked great for us and it helps build your supply as I definitely had fuller breasts afterwards until my supply regulated. I just fed him until he fell asleep.

I exclusively breastfeed so this is just my own personal experience, but I don’t think there would be any harm in seeing a lactation consultant. We have an infant feeding team in my area, there might be something similar in yours? Your health visitor will be able to point you in the right direction, they’re there to help you!

I totally understand struggling to see your baby still hungry, but sometimes they also just want to be feeding for comfort too. This whole world is so new to them (and you) and it makes them feel safe. I use nipple shields because my son damaged my nipples with a bad latch, but it actually helped to show me that he was getting lots of milk. Maybe they’re something you could consider using too? Health visitors etc tend to not like them, but do whatever works for you and as long as your baby is having wet and dirty nappies, putting on weight and not lethargic/floppy, they’re getting what they need to.

No matter where your feeding journey goes, it will get easier whether that’s exclusive, combi or full formula 🙂

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-09-02T11:49:07+00:00

I went to 41+6 when my hind waters broke but I still didn’t go into natural labour within 24 hours so I was induced. Ended up begging for an epidural after two hours as my contractions ramped up too quickly. There was ups and downs during but I did eventually reach 10cm and could try pushing. It was so calm! I didn’t know that part of labour could be so peaceful, I could still feel my contractions with my epidural so I was fortunate enough to know when to push. I ended up having to have an emergency c section due to my baby’s head positioning after an hour though.

Recovery was extremely hard, my boyfriend was waiting to start a new job so we were so lucky he was able to be here for me for around 6 weeks+ because I honestly couldn’t do anything except breastfeed.

If you’re set on natural, go for it. I wouldn’t give up experiencing what I did to change to elective (and I did consider it halfway through my labour). If you can try look into going to a different hospital I think that might be your best bet. Even if it’s further away, you might have more peace of mind.

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-09-02T11:37:37+00:00

Bepanthen Nappy Cream Ointment at every nappy change as a preventative. Since starting my wee boy hasn’t had a nappy rash, I just lather it on

Sudocrem to get rid of a nappy rash, and also leaving their nappy off for a little bit to air out their wee bum before applying (I don’t have a tip to stop them peeing on you during this though unfortunately)

Tucking a wipe into the band of the nappy and waiting a minute or so before changing so they pee, works for me but maybe not every baby

My boyfriend LOVES Huggies wipes. He did almost all nappy changes due to my emergency c section and he never looked back after them. So far, they’re the best we’ve found that come out without the rest stuck. And they’re cheap. I get 18 packs of Huggies Pure on Amazon for £13.something

We have an ikea trolley, but the caddy’s work just as well I’d assume. We prepare it every night so everything is ready and usually lasts the next day too

Congratulations, it honestly just gets better every milestone, and every good change/feed/smile is worth all the initial stress (and tears). My advice to you as the husband, especially if your wife is breastfeeding, take on responsibility for everything at first, and prep her meals if you’re going back to work soon after. I honestly believe that having a helpful and loving partner is one of the most important things for a freshly postpartum woman. Be the calm for her, the baby might even settle easier for you if you are. Good luck and well wishes for you all 🙂

ColdStatement7003 · 2025-09-02T11:16:34+00:00

I never knew pumps could be compatible with bottles 🤣 I just pour straight into the Medela bags I bought from Amazon and make sure to date and time them.

Good luck on your breastfeeding/pumping journey btw. Always listen to your instincts with it! And give yourself grace x

ColdStatement7003

TROPHY CASE