BFers - cutting night feeds

[english rose]

Is this possible?

I feed on demand. For some time my LO was going 6-7 hours before her first feed of the night, then feeding every couple of hours or so until morning. Then the 4 month regression thing hit (at least that's what I'm assuming it is) and she started waking every 2 1/2 - 3 hours and feeding each time!

Last week she went a couple of nights where she slept 9-10 hours without waking and I thought 'Yay, we've got through the 4 month thing' but now she's back to waking every 2 1/2 - 3 hours! Aaaarrrggghh!!!! So it's been about a month now and I'm getting tired!

So now I'm thinking she CAN go much longer between feeds and maybe she's just using me as a dummy at night.

I feed on demand and I'm worried about not feeding her in case she's having a growth spurt or something.

Has anyone else had this problem? I'm considering various things....put her in her own room, try her with a dummy (never got her to take one so far), try to settle her in the middle of the night without a feed (not sure I'll have the energy for this), just carry on and hope she grows out of it, wait until she's weaned onto formula (in a month or so) to see if she won't bother waking for bottle.....

The list goes on, and I'm not sure which option to go for!

Any ideas? Do you feed your baby each time they wake at night? Have you ever tried to cut down night feeds?

Thank you!

 

[TORino]

I don't feed in the night unless she's very very unsettled. I haven't done for a fair few weeks.

We had a couple of nights were she went a long stretch so I thought she didn't necessarily need it over night.

The only trouble you might find is feeding on demand. If the baby hasn't taken enough in the day time they might need it at night. My LO isn't fed on demand so I know when she wakes in the night it isn't likely to be through hunger.

Tilly wakes in the night most nights, I resettle with a dummy.

 

[michelles1985]

Hey hun, it's not very nice not getting much sleep is it? I am breastfeeding my second baby and he is still waking for night feeds. I have never tried to cut his night feeds becuase if he needs it then he needs it. I started weaning him about 3 or 4 weeks ago now and have established a good breakfast routine with him. My next focus is to get him to have a "meal" in the evening to see if this satisfies him a bit more so he sleeps through. I will still be giving him a breastfeed before bed to though.

Is your LO showing any signs that she is ready for weaning? I know they say wait until they are 6 months old but some babies need more sooner and you know your baby best so if you think she needs more, maybe try to start weaning???

I have been discussing things like this on my blog. It is at the bottom of this post if you want to take a look. I have been talking about all of my experiences on there.

Good luck hun and I hope you have some luck in getting LO to sleep through.

xxxxx

 

[english rose]

Hey hun, it's not very nice not getting much sleep is it? I am breastfeeding my second baby and he is still waking for night feeds. I have never tried to cut his night feeds becuase if he needs it then he needs it. I started weaning him about 3 or 4 weeks ago now and have established a good breakfast routine with him. My next focus is to get him to have a "meal" in the evening to see if this satisfies him a bit more so he sleeps through. I will still be giving him a breastfeed before bed to though.

Is your LO showing any signs that she is ready for weaning? I know they say wait until they are 6 months old but some babies need more sooner and you know your baby best so if you think she needs more, maybe try to start weaning???

I have been discussing things like this on my blog. It is at the bottom of this post if you want to take a look. I have been talking about all of my experiences on there.

Good luck hun and I hope you have some luck in getting LO to sleep through.

xxxxx

Well, she did try to eat my pudding yesterday! Ha ha! I was going to start moving her over onto formula for a couple of weeks and then start on solids. Was gonna start this process in a couple of weeks but may start sooner.

Going to get her weighed today and ask for advice re bottle or cup, so that may give me more of an idea (e.g. if she's a bit on the small side).

It's just a nightmare knowing what to do isn't it?! I usually just go with the flow but I don't want her to make real habit of this.

 

[ISH]

Vince is on and off, sometimes he might wake up once at night for a feed, sometimes 3 times! It's a mystery to me, he has a huge amount of food during the day and milk as well.

 

[michelles1985]

Just see what HV says then hun but like I say, you know best for your LO. I have tried Joshua on formula but he just won't have it. I really need to get him off breast though cos he keeps biting me now. lol. He has his first 2 teeth. Let me know how you get on with putting her on formula because I for one have not been successful with this with Joshua yet.

Maybe just try her with a little bit of baby rice twice a day? Just a spoon or two at first and see if she takes to it.

xxxxx

 

[pinkyprincess]

Weaning will NOT make your LO sleep though don't give them food in the hope you'll get sleep, wait until she's ready

 

[michelles1985]

All babies are different Pinky and actually some babies do sleep through better when they ae getting more nurishment from food other than just milk. It can help to fill them up better and satisfy them. All a baby might need extra is a bit of something more than milk. I weaned my first born from 5 months and 1 week old because he was what we call a "hungry baby" and some babies do need more sooner to satisfy them. Yes, wait until your baby is ready but some babies are ready sooner than others and mum knows best so it is not always right to wait until baby is 6 months old.

FYI, when I started weaning my first born, he slept through the night so it actually can help.

xxx

 

[pinkyprincess]

I didn't say wait until 6 months I said that weaning doesn't make a baby sleep through. 5th paragraph http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Babies-weaning/Pages/Introduction old.aspx

 

[michelles1985]

I'm only going by experience and what I know to be true from what I have gone through. I am not one for believing everything you read no matter what the source is and if it works for some people then I don't see why we should succumb to what we read. x

 

[english rose]

Thanks ladies. Well the HV says they don't recommend any 'sleep training' before 6 months. i.e. not to cut down on night feeds if baby seems to want them, as they may be having growth spurt / need the milk.

However, what I might do is not jump to feed her straight away - I think I'm doing this as I'm feeding 'on demand' and, also, it's often the quickest way to settle her back to sleep! I figure that if she's really hungry she won't drop back off and I could feed her then.

Do you ladies feed straight away in the night, or try to settle first?

 

[pinkyprincess]

Straight away. I've tried resettling, he screams just better for all of us to feed. His night feeds got a lot less until he had his 6 month growth spurt then cut teeth but we're getting there again!!

 

[jojo_2012]

If he goes down at 9 and wakes any time before midnight sometimes 1am I resettle if I can. If I can't I feed him.

Any times after that I feed him partly because I'm not awake enough to settle him any other way. We still wake up a lot in the night.

 

[TORino]

I don't automatically feed. We have a 3 strike rule. I can usually get her back off with a dummy when she first wakes so I go by how long she's sleeps. If I get 20 mins sleeping and resettle then another 20 mins and her waking I'll feed her. She does it maybe once every 10 days where I have to feed her. And if I feed she gets 5 mins only.

Xx

 

[mum2b410]

Hi hun! We had exact same thing from around the 12 week growth spurt, then into 4 month sleep regression and on to around 5-5.5 months! We went from twice a night bf up to 4 times again and it was v tiring! Think u read my post in another thread about how I weaned to formula and solids so I won't repeat but Ethan did drop back to twice a night naturally, then once a night around 6months then stopped all together soon after 7 months! He was always bf at night too and the only time he has had a feed in the night since was when he was ill and hadn't eaten much that day! I would say try to ride it out if u can. I wasn't convinced weaning to solids would help LO go thru the night but there did seem to b a link for us! Fx for more sleep for u soon xx

 

[english rose]

Hi hun! We had exact same thing from around the 12 week growth spurt, then into 4 month sleep regression and on to around 5-5.5 months! We went from twice a night bf up to 4 times again and it was v tiring! Think u read my post in another thread about how I weaned to formula and solids so I won't repeat but Ethan did drop back to twice a night naturally, then once a night around 6months then stopped all together soon after 7 months! He was always bf at night too and the only time he has had a feed in the night since was when he was ill and hadn't eaten much that day! I would say try to ride it out if u can. I wasn't convinced weaning to solids would help LO go thru the night but there did seem to b a link for us! Fx for more sleep for u soon xx

Hello! Yes, I remember your post, and I'm glad you reminded me of it as the HV had put me off a bit. When I asked her about whether I should try formula in bottles or in a cup she said I'd be lucky if I could get her to take formula at all, and that if I did it would only be in little bits and that she'd most likely just spit it out! I'm sure this is the reaction of some, but I certainly know quite a few babies who have made the transition. The HV said that by the time LO is 7 months old (when I need to go back to work) that she'll be eating enough to be on 2 bfs a day (morning and night) and so I shouldn't need to put her onto formula. But seeing that I'm not 'meant' to start weaning until 6 months, this puts a lot of pressure on building her up quickly in one month! My LO is also quite the snacker! So I can't really see her being on just 2 milk feeds. A friend of mine said that they probably say this as they'd rather I continue breastfeeding but hey, I think I'll stick to the original plan! So thanks for reminding me! It's also nice to hear that you breastfed at night and that he still cut them down naturally - I was a bit worried that if I only bf at night, that she'd wake more as she liked it ifykwim, so that's more good news! So, as ever, it's 'go with the flow' and see what happens! Ha ha! Can't remember if you mentioned in your other post - did you use bottles or cups?

 

[mum2b410]

Pah! Some hv just get on my nerves! I have to say mine have been good but they all give such conflicting advice!

We used bottles. Ethan had ebm on and off from about 4 or 5 weeks but it wasnt a regular thing coz I couldnt pump v easily! So he would take a bottle no problem. At 5.5 months when we tried formula I was so nervous he wouldnt take it, but he did without issue! He wouldnt take the recommended amount to start off with- nothing like it, but hv said to ignore what it said on the tin and that he would just have what he needed. He used to have a bottle in 2 sittings (with a 10-15minute break inbetween) but even then he didnt have what the tin recommended! But as time went on he got used to it and took it all in one go and started taking more. At 7 months he was having 4 bottles a day as well as 3 solid meals (we do blw) and think they were about 6-7oz. You would be able to do morning and night bf if u can fit it in around work, but Im not sure LO wont want any milk in the day! They r all different tho and anything is possible! Like u say, go with the flow and c what happens. I guess your HV is just trying to advocate extended bf, which is fine, but if u want to try formula that is your choice and I wouldnt say it is a definite that LO wont take it- Ethan is an example of the exact opposite!! lol xx

 

[lizzie1978]

hi, my lo is bf on demand and is now 23 weeks and still has phases of being unsettled at night and then phases of sleeping from midnight to 7am. She has got a dummy but doesnt use it all the time, in fact 9/10 times she takes it out of her mouth herself. I started weaning her after speaking to hv on Monday and this seems to have; touch wood, improved her feeding as she was feeding every 1-2 hrs in the day which the hv said was normal if she sleeps through normally. She has just 1-2 tbsps of puree at lunchtime till hits 26 weeks then i'll increase this. hv said 1-2 tsp but it wasnt enough for her, she knew what she wanted!!

I am also concerned though about the nursing to settle as when she gets really grouchy and overtired she seems to want a feed then dozes off within minutes but hoping that as i gradually replace breast with formula it will break the habit. My hv wasnt awkward over the transition from breast to formula. She however appeared to want me to keep morning and evening feeds exclusively breast (if my milk production continues).

 

[english rose]

hi, my lo is bf on demand and is now 23 weeks and still has phases of being unsettled at night and then phases of sleeping from midnight to 7am. She has got a dummy but doesnt use it all the time, in fact 9/10 times she takes it out of her mouth herself. I started weaning her after speaking to hv on Monday and this seems to have; touch wood, improved her feeding as she was feeding every 1-2 hrs in the day which the hv said was normal if she sleeps through normally. She has just 1-2 tbsps of puree at lunchtime till hits 26 weeks then i'll increase this. hv said 1-2 tsp but it wasnt enough for her, she knew what she wanted!!

I am also concerned though about the nursing to settle as when she gets really grouchy and overtired she seems to want a feed then dozes off within minutes but hoping that as i gradually replace breast with formula it will break the habit. My hv wasnt awkward over the transition from breast to formula. She however appeared to want me to keep morning and evening feeds exclusively breast (if my milk production continues).

Hi Lizzie - so our LOs are the same age?! It's interesting that your hv advised you to wean - our hv's are so set on waiting until 6 months, but I'm starting to question this a bit after reading that the 6 months thing came from global advice by the WHO, who provide advice to those in developing countries also, where it might well be the best thing to wait until 6 months due to the risk of infection from weaning with poor hygiene standards. Having said that the Dept of Health in the UK also suggest 6 months, but recommend that each infant is considered as an individual case. My LO is always staring at my food and even trying to grab it, but then she does the same thing with my phone and the remote controls so I don't know if it's 'food' she wants! Ha ha! Anyway, my hubby and I are thinking of trying her with formula next week, and then maybe start weaning onto solids a couple of weeks after that.

My LO has always fed to sleep, but in the last week or so we're starting to break that habit. I had been trying to get her to self settle in the day, but we REALLY weren't winning with that one, so we've decided to give that a rest for now and concentrate on bedtimes. MY LO has a good feed in the evening and now stays awake. In the past I would have kept waiting for her to look really tired and then kept trying to fed her to see if she would doze off. Now, once she's had a good feed I put her in her crib and wait with her while she settles to sleep. I'd say it works about 60% of the time. Sometimes I'm still having to resort to feeding her, but at least I know she CAN go to sleep without the boob now! She's also staying awake after her feeds in the night for some reason, so I'm letting her self-settle then too (she seems to be better at this in the middle of the night).

I don't know about you, but it seems like there are so many changes approaching that it's hard to know what to do....breast to formula, weaning to solids, moving LO into her own room, getting her to settle without the boob, bottle or cup....????? Ha ha! Well. I#m sure we'll get there!

 

[lizzie1978]

I am also finding that lo sleeps better and is more settled now that i have replaced 2 bf with formula feeds. Maybe she needed more than my milk at this stage? The amount of feeds she wanted prior to this was ridiculous, she was permanently attached to me. As much as i love the closeness of breast feeding i need to sort myself out a bit and she seems far happier now i am gradually bringing in formula feeds. im sticking to bottle initially as too many changes but my avent first cup has a removeable valve plus handles that fit the avent bottles so i might at some point try that