feeding at night?

[Percy]

Hi everyone
My Six month old is still waking two to three times a night for a feed. The baby health nurse was appalled at this and told me that i had to wean him off as he was more than capable of sleeping through the night.

I have tried to settle him back to sleep without the feed but he just becomes more upset, and when he gets fed seems genuinely hungry. He is breastfed and i was wondering if maybe he wasnt getting enough milk from me.

I would love for him to be sleeping a little longer and to stretch the nightime feeds out a bit, but am scared that he isnt getting enought to eat.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[flower]

Hey J's Mum..
I've only stopped feeding at night and O was 10 and a half months at the time.
I dont think your CHN should have been appalled...gentle encouragement might have been another option huh?
There's no rule book.
I'm sure the other girls will have some useful and helpful information and advice for you.
Keep us posted as what you chose.
O's mom.

[wattle]

I found that giving ds a bottle of formula before bed helped him get through the night. We started at around 6 months and I remember feeling very envious of families who's bubs would sleep through at that age. It took him a while to like the bottle (quite a while) but I found that gentle persistance was the key.

It's so hard to know what they want when they can't talk!! It took ds a while to get out of the habit of needing milk to fall asleep. We used cc, but never let him cry for too long. It always seems harder at 3am!!

I'm sure you'll get lots of different advice, but the formula worked well for us.

[draught]

Katie
Sorry for the delay - I finally got around to responding to your PM this morning! Hope it helps.

[Poppy'smum]

What kind of solid food does he get in the evening?? Is it enough??
If u want to exclusively breast feed then I would avoid formula, esp if u are unsure of your supply, because decreased sucking at the breast will eventually decrease your supply!
If u think bub is truely hungry, maybe try more solid food in the evening
Good luck!

[AM]

My 21 month old son still nurses at night, there is nothing wrong with it, as long as you are both happy with the situation.
Remember that breastmilk is very readily digested, so he could very well be hungry, or thirsty, or may just enjoy the comfort of a little nurse to help him settle again.
I really think 6 months is very early to be thinking of night weaning.
Do you co-sleep?
I have since day one, and it is just so easy to roll over and pop the boob in his mouth, and then both drift off to sleep again.

Here is a good article about night nursing

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/t031600.asp

[flower]

Ang I used to do that in the early days and I woke up with baby beside me: Thought OK..time to feed....then fell back to sleep and dreamt I was feeding him. He was asleep too.....but when he woke up again and woke me up, I felt SO ripped off as I thought I had just about finished and to think I had to start all over again!!! :eek:
O's mom.

[CrazySingleMama84]

Think you need a new CHN!

When I took DS for his 6 month check up at the Dr's office I asked the Dr if it was "Normal" for DS to still be waking at least twice a night, usually requiring a feed for at least one if not both wakings. Whilst he gave me suggestions to try re-settle DS he also said if I went to a playgroup I'd find 80% of the mums there would love to be getting up ONLY once or twice a night to their babies.

For me I find it easier to take my son into my room, give him a bottle and he goes right back to sleep again... beats twisting my knee again trying to nurse him back to sleep without one!

[Refresh]

The baby health nurse was appalled at this

I think you need a new nurse...or better yet, she needs some more education :rolleyes:

There is nothing wrong with a 6 MONTH old baby needing its mummy in the middle of the night!!!!!!!!! Whether its for food or comfort, its all valid! Grrrrr to the nurse.


Dont let her intimidate you or worry you...stick to following your instincts and following you bubbas lead. This wont last forever, the baby stage passes so quickly and it sounds like you are doing a great job!

[JAK05]

Wattle - how did you get your bub to finally take the bottle?? I am trying to do this at the moment with NO luck.... :(