My 8 month old daughter has NEVER slept through the night and is 100% breastfed (with exception of solids 2x/day). We were pretty much used to getting up a couple times a night to eat and then she would go straight back to bed. (She has been putting herself to sleep in her crib for appx. 2.5 months.) A week ago I started taking Zoloft and her sleeping habits got worse immediately. She is up every one to two hours. She eats and goes back down - for the most part. Daytime sleep has not really been affected, but she needs to be a lot closer to me - where I used to be able to put her down for short periods of time.
Being on Zoloft has made me feel very sick and tired . . . and am wondering if any of this is affecting her. Does anyone have any insight or a similar experience?
Hello, My name is A. and I am a momy of a 3 1/2 year old and 15 month old. My 15 month old also didn't sleep through the night, so one of my neighbors told me to try and feed her rice ceral the one mix with apples or something about 20 mins. before bed. It worked perfectly. I was so thankful
Hope this helps
A.
My son is on Zoloft and I just looked at the packaging. It says you shouldn't breastfeed. I think you better talk with your pharmacist and doctor immediately.
My 19 month old doesn't and hasn't slept through the night either. It's frustrating and sometimes exhausting. How can we be the best we can be if we can't even get enough sleep??
I don't know what to do about it and I don't know anything about Zoloft. Just wanted you to know you weren't alone.
Hang in there!
Both of my kids didn't sleep through the night until ~3 -3 1/2. It's tough.
Have you looked up Zoloft and breast feeding on the web? You should. I had to stop breast feeding due to medication I needed to take. Also, ask your doctor how long before the Zoloft should start helping you because it doesn't sound like its helping you either right now. Our prayers will be with you.
P.
No matter what the doctors and nurses say, any type of medication that you use does directly affect your child when you breastfeed.
I had a C-Section with my son ten months ago and all the medications that the nurses talked me into taking caused my son to get side affects in his sleep patterns.
What has helped my son sleep better through the night is making him stay up until it's my bedtime. We go to sleep at the same time now. Every child is different though. Try this out, at least for a week. Make sure your daughter does not have any naps at 5:00PM or after 5:00PM because she will use that sleep time as a power nap to keep you up later at night.
My son did not sleep through the night regularly until he was two. It was mentally and physically exhausting! He ended up having food and environmental allergies. Once we got those under control he was able to sleep comfortably all night.
If you have tried everything else, you might want to speak to your pediatrician about her sleeping patterns to eliminate any possible medical reasons for her lack of sleep.
I know taking any medication while breast feeding can affect the baby also. Talk with your doctor about the side affects to yourself and your baby.
I don't know much about Zoloft, but the sleeping issue can be very frustrating and lead to depression on the Moms part. You need your rest and so does baby. My 6 month old didn't sleep through the night until she was 5 months old, and than for about 3 weeks she was getting up 2x a night and now she is back to sleeping through the night again. All babies have there own schedule and there own required amount of sleep.
What made a difference for me was pumping all her feedings, and the introduction of solids 3x a day. Once she started getting breastmilk in the bottle, and getting regular naps at 9am and 2pm, she started sleeping through the night.
I use parent directed feeding and demand feeding. I feed her when she wants to eat and I also make sure she has dinner around 6:30 and a bottle around 8pm. She may not be hungry at 8pm, but if she takes in 3-4oz she is good until about 6-7am.
Good luck and definately research the Zoloft!
YES, Yes, Yes! Anything you eat or take will be given to her through breast feeding also. It is definitely affecting her. You said you noticed it yourself as soon as you started taking it.
Babies can be more sensitive to certain foods too. You might take notice if she spits up more at certain breastfeeding times DEPENDING upon what you ate (if she spits up much). Sometimes dairy and certain vegetables will make them spit up or give them gas. Though, I'd deal with the zoloft issue first.
I did a little research. This is what I usually find: Antidepressants
Maternal depression is known to have an adverse effect on parenting and infant development.14 Tricyclic antidepressants have been shown to have LITTLE to no effect on the breast-feeding infant, although the AAP finds MOST tricyclic agents to be of possible concern.3,7 Taking a single daily dose at bedtime will limit the infant's exposure to the medication. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are generally the first choice of treatment for depression. Sertraline (Zoloft) is likely to be the safest choice among them because it has been studied extensively and because drug levels found in nursing infants are usually minimal.7,12
TABLE 1
Minimizing Potential Risk to Nursing Infants from Maternal Medications
General considerations
Avoid drug therapy when possible.
Use topical therapy when possible.
Medications that are safe for use directly in an infant of the nursing infant's age are generally safe for the breast-feeding mother.
Medications that are safe in pregnancy are not always safe in breast-feeding mothers.
Use reliable references for obtaining information on medications in breast milk.
Medication selection
Choose medications with the shortest half-life and highest protein-binding ability.
Choose medications that are well-studied in infants.
Choose medications with the poorest oral absorption.
Choose medications with the lowest lipid solubility.
Medication dosing
Administer single daily-dose medications just before the longest sleep interval for the infant, usually after the bed-time feeding.
Breast-feed infant immediately before medication dose when multiple daily doses are needed.
Hope this helps.
K.
Talk to your Dr. and your pediatrican. Make sure everyone is on the same page for your health as well as your babies. I had to take atleast three different anti anxiety/depression drugs before we found one that worked for me. I didn't breast feed so I don't know what effects it has on babies. But it is very important to make sure you are healthy so you can take care of your beautiful baby.
