Breastfeeding

sleep question

hi ladies!  I have a 3 month old son who I put to bed at 7:30pm. He will usually sleep for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours, then after that wakes up every hour and a half to 2 hours throughout the night to nurse. He is EBF (nursing at night and before I leave for work in the morning, bottles with the babysitter during the day).  I am concerned that I am not giving him a good chance to develop good sleeping habits and that when I finish nursing (goal is one year), he will be used to waking up during the night.  He also sleeps either in his bassinet in our room or we co-sleep if he is fussy.  I also have a 2 year old son who got a bottle of formula before bedtime starting at 6 weeks and he started STTN in his crib in his own room then. 

I hope this isn't a dumb question!  DH thinks we should start giving him formula at night to help him fill up.  Appreciate any thoughts. thanks!

Re: sleep question

  • That's very similar to what my LO did until she was 10 months old. I did nothing to change it and just nursed her when she was hungry and she gradually nursed less at night on her own. At 18 months she still drinks water at night because she's thirsty. I was having such a hard time keeping up with her milk wise when I was pumping that I didn't want to impact my supply by giving her formula. It really did suck to wake up every 1-2 hours for that long but now that I'm past it I'm glad I spent that time with her since I was working full time away from her.
  • That sounds completely normal and I wouldn't even worry about habits at 3 months. My girls nursed OFTEN through the night until a year, and even then didn't STTN until 16 months.

    When I think about formula to fill them up I consider how I feel after a huge meal and then having to go to bed. I would wish for an "unfull" belly so that I could feel comfortable and rest instead of digesting. So thinking about that puts the bottle of formula in perspective and makes it not the choice for me.
    Image and video hosting by TinyPic




    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker



    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • Loading the player...
  • Thanks so much for all of the replies! It is reassuring to hear from y'all! I am going to just keep at it then - at least I do get a lot of snuggle time in at night! :)
  • Was your LO previously sleeping better before? My daughter was only waking up 1-2x But started this same schedule around 3.5 months. I think it correlates with wonder weeks and leap 4, and that many kids grow out of it and go back to better sleep in a few weeks when the leap is over. I think it's less about being hungry and more about needing extra security and being close to mom. Hang in there!
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"