night time nursing

sgymomma · April 2011

Hello ladies,

I was wondering how old your baby was when he/she stopped nursing during the night and/or how old is your baby now if he/she still nurses in the middle of the night?

My little one is 4m old and still eats once or twice in the middle of the night. I didn't have any concern until I heard some mommies talking.

Thanks!

kirac · April 2011

My baby still nurses once in the middle of the night. She feeds at 7pm and goes down right after. She usually wakes up about 3:30 - 4:30. She's up by 6:30am so I will probably try to eliminate that feeding soon. She was smaller before so I didn't push.

superned · April 2011

I think it's perfectly normal that your LO is still nursing at night at that age. DD had a few nights of STTN between 3 and 5 months, but it definitely wasn't a regular thing. There's also the 4-month-old wakeful period to be aware of, which, again, is perfectly normal.

DD didn't have a consistent pattern of STTN until she was reliably eating solids for dinner - at probably 6.5 - 7 months. Her typical pattern is sleeping 8pm to 6am.

jmmiller28 · April 2011

Lena is almost 5 months and still gets up 2-3 times a night. I put her down at 7 after I let her cluster feed for approx. 1 hour (off and on). She wakes up anywhere from 10:30 - 11:45 PM, again at 1:30/2ish AM, and again at 6 AM. She usually gets up for the day around 7:15 AM. I could probably start condensing some of these feedings (the 6 AM one for sure because I feed her again before I leave for work around 7:30) but right now it works for us and I need the alone time after 6 AM to get ready for the day. She's on the light side so I'm not pushing for her to be STTN just yet, as much as I'd love it. It's hard sometimes but I've learned that accept that some babies just won't STTN for awhile. I've tried to increase her milk intake during the day but she refuses anymore. She's just a snacker and I can't change it.

cchill01 · April 2011

My daughter is almost 16 months and still wakes up almost every night to eat. I know some believe strongly in sleep training, but I have a different perspective.

- Night time nursing is probably the only reason I'm still nursing. We intentionally reverse cycled, since I'm away from her for 11 hours a day. It has really helped maintain my supply.

- Her nighttime feeding is half asleep and she goes right back down.

- She sleeps for 12-13 hours, and I think that's a long time to go without eating.

- She gets stuffy and congested at night. I wake up and drink water at night, but she can't do that. So, if she wants a drink, that's fine with me.

- It is our special time and I'm not in a hurry to give that up.

My advice is to do what feels right for you and your LO.

jmmiller28 · April 2011

I couldn't have said that any better myself! I feel the same on many accounts. Yes, sometimes I'm really tired and annoyed and I'd like to get it down to just one feeding a night. But there's something really relaxing and special about holding her and nursing her and the whole house is quiet and it feels like it's just the two of us up in the world right now. She goes right back down, even when I have to do a quick diaper change at the 1 AM feeding. She's always asleep through it all and I'm in and out of that nursing chair in 20 minutes. Some nights when I'm really tired, I use one of those airplane neck pillows, prop pillows around her on my lap, and sleep with her in my arms and nursing. This goes well when she's on a growth spurt and up a lot. When I finally wake up, she's popped off and asleep in my arms so I just put her down and stumble back to bed. I often don't even remember when I got up the next morning. Sleeping on their own will happen when it happens. I gave up trying to train a long time ago and decided Lena just doesn't fit into a neat little description of what a baby "should be doing" at this age.

Alexandra*sMom · April 2011

DD1 - STTN at 4.5 mo.

DD2 - STTN at 20 mo when she got a twin bed. (She did STTN 3-4 nights a week from 14-20 mo.)

DD3 - In the process of weaning now at 11.5 mo and she has STTN 2 of the last 4 nights.

sgymomma · April 2011

Thanks ladies for the great insight!

night time nursing

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