6 month non stop breast feeding at night!!??
ByMy baby wakes up constantly (5-6 times) and breast feeds on me at night….I would have taken measures to stop him now…but my ped recommends to continue feeding him whenever he is hungry….he is very low percentile on weight and height….I am cosleeping with him….I know there r times when he is just using me as a pacifier…I don’t know what to do…I am thinking of transfering him to crib…and see then maybe he wil wake up only when he is hungry and not smell me and wake up every half an hr….
Anybody else on my same boat? I think it will make me feel good to know I am the not the only sleep deprived mom (sorry I am not being mean) somebody to sympathise with me…..lol
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6 Comments
April 28th, 2010 at 11:35 am
He probably does use the breast to help settle back to sleep during the night, but he may be going through a growth spurt as well.
I agree with the pediatrician & applaud you for doing what is best for your baby, even though you may feel like you could go mad from not enough sleep =)
My son co-slept with me most of the time until I weaned him.
I found it easier to fall asleep knowing I didn’t have to get up to get him every time he woke up, so I can easily sympathize with you there.
April 28th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
1. move him to a crib
2. pump the breast milk and feed him by bottle on alternate feedings (if he is old enough add some cereal to the milk)
3. Speak with your ped @ your concerns and if you aren’t comfortable with the answers consider another ped. Many peds feel one way and the way they “feel” is not best for everyone. Their recommendations should be based on yours and your baby’s needs.
Know that you are not being mean. But you do need to establish a set routine that the child can grow up with. Sleeping in your bed is not good ( save that for later when he has bad dreams etc..) Sleeping in his own bed will teach independence whereas co-sleeping can be dangerous and create co-dependency on your presence ( I learned this the hard way… my youngest was 7 before I got her to sleep alone!!!)
April 28th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
feed him is he needs to gain weight-my son was the same way for a while- he probably is oign thorugh a growth spurt as well- my son was only in the 5 %. his last appt at 12 months he weighed 19 pounds 10 ounces. i still nurse him when he needs
do you have a large bed? i usually ahve to let my son sleep in jsut a diaper because in the bed with all of us it gets pretty hot and he wakes frequently because of it if he has clothes on
EDIT_ DO NOT add cereal to teh bottle this can cause poor wieght gain if he doesnt take as much milk
April 28th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
I would suggest to give him breast milk mixed with cereal right before bed and see if that helps. Breast feed like normal during the day and pump a little when your son is finished. He probably uses you for comfort. I’m sure you guessed that already. I understand that you should feed him every time he’s hunger but try and fill him up with something. Also try baby food mixed with rice. Hope that helps.
April 28th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
No cereal in the bottle please, LOL! A teaspoon of cereal–on a spoon or in a bottle–will NOT fill up a baby for the night. And, because cereal is harder for them to digest, they can get upset tummies. Rice cereal is not even considered a good first food anymore.
Make sure he is nursing enough during the day. He’s probably excited by doing new things like sitting up, and he just might not be asking to nurse enough. Try offering every two hours during the day, especially in the evening. It’s not so much to fill his tummy up, but to fill up his need to be close to you.
Also try a pacifier.
Elizabeth Panthley’s “No Cry Sleep Solution” is an awesome book, one tip is to stop the night nursing yourself by removing your nipple once you notice he’s almost asleep. And try making it harder for him to nurse on his own by wearing a shirt.
April 28th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Oh, you are soooo not alone!
Wow, you found yourself a great pediatrician who is breastfeeding friendly!
I have nursed and co-slept with three boys, and all of them used me as a midnight buffet.
It’s prefectly normal so just hang in there…..she won’t be doing it forever.
Just a side note…..I weaned my first child at 16 months, because I didn’t know anything at all about breastfeeding when he was born. He was still nursing once or twice a night, and I thought the only solution was to wean him.
Bad idea….he didn’t sleep through the night, and now I had to find other ways to comfort him when he woke up.
My second child, I night-weaned at two years old because I was pregnant. Same thing. He was very attached to the breast, and night-weaning him and moving him to a crib was a HIGE mistake that I will never make again. He cried alot at night, and I felt immense guilt over the choice I had made.
My third child has *just* moved into a co-sleeping arrangement with his four year old brother. I am expecting baby #4 next month, so need her to sleep in the bed with me. This transistion was much much gentler. Last month, when he was two and a bit, I gently cut out his night nursing, but continued to co-sleep so I could comfort him. It was a little bit rough, but I felt better about being beside him the whole time.
Now, it has just been 2 weeks since his move to the bed with his brother. The first week, when he woke up in the night and called me, I went in and laid down beside him until he went back to sleep. I had to do this about 4 or 5 times.
However, just last night, he only woke up once, and I went in and covered him with the blanket and he went back to sleep. So I’m hoping that in the next few weeks, he’ll be sleeping through the night (or at least not need me to lay with him).
Good luck!