When to drop nighttime feedings?

TobieRose

At this point my almost-five-month-olds nurse every two hours all night long out of habit. (They don't even give me a longer stretch to begin with most nights ... the stinkers!) I am not guaranteed a full sleep cycle every night, and at this point chronic sleep deprivation is starting to take a toll (losing my temper with the toddler/DH, slow reaction time while driving, etc). So I am kind of desperate to get a little more sleep ... just four hours would be nice! 

We tried introducing them to formula so DH could handle a nighttime feeding but they hate the taste. (I really don't have the time, energy, or supply to pump in addition to nursing both of them.) Any advice to get them to sleep a bit longer and perhaps drop a feed? Or is it still too early for any sort of night weaning? 

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B&K706

Mine were on an every 2.5-3 hour schedule from the time they left the NICU.  Around 5 months, we started working on getting them to fall asleep on their own, in their own beds.  There were no miracles and they didn't start sleeping 10-12 hours, but they did lengthen their first stretch to 5ish hours (then back to the shorter times). I remember feeling so rested even though they still nursed for almost an hour at that point so I wasn't getting 5 hours of straight sleep.  At that age, I didn't want to night wean because they weren't on solids. At 11 months, they sleep longer stretches finally and I usually only have one early morning wake up.  

I know that wasn't very helpful, but hopefully you can find something to work for you guys!

jcwinsto

Sounds miserable!  I was just going to suggest a slightly modified version of what pp's have suggested.  If they nurse every 2 hours then when they wake up try using a paci or rocking to put them off for a bit.  Even if it only works for 15 minutes the first time it is a start.  You and your husband could switch off and it may get them used to not nursing for a little bit longer.  But if they are legitimately hungry and need the nourishment then I would feed them.