discouraging reverse cycling

LittleDucky

My DS started daycare about a month ago and he has been reverse cycling since.  He will only take 2 ounces or so from the daycare ladies and makes up for it by nursing at least once, sometimes twice at night.  Anyone have any ideas for how I can get him to take more milk during the day and less at night?  We have not done any sleep training with him and he was a great sleeper for a while, but a couple of months ago he started nursing less during the day and more at night (even before daycare - he is just too busy during the day to want to nurse!).  DH and I don't love the idea of sleep training in general, but if we could encourage him to take more milk during that day that might help him sleep a little longer at night.

I also worry about him getting dehydrated.  He'll take a little water from a sippy cup, but he really isn't very good at drinking from a cup at all.  You have to hold it for him and even them he mostly wants to chew on the spout rather than drink it. I can sometimes get him to drink a little more out of an open cup, but not reliably and they won't give him an open cup at daycare.  He has had constipation issues for ages so he really needs fluids.  This is why I am hesitant to force him to give up any nighttime nursing sessions.

 Anyone have any tips for me?  It also doesn't help that he has an ear infection AND thrush and is working on a new tooth right now, but these issues were going on for several weeks before the ear infection/thrust/tooth stuff started.  Anyone have ideas for getting him to take more milk during the day, either from me or from daycare ladies or both?  Thanks, mamas!

pepomntpat

There is a nine month sleep regression that can last from 8-11ish months. You may just be going through that and it will resolve on its own. DD is now waking sometimes 3 times a night and she nurses all day long. It's just a thing they go through.

As for getting more milk in during the day so you know it is just sleep and not hunger I'd suggest nursing more often. Maybe when DS wakes and then again before you leave for daycare and again at daycare as you drop him off. Then nurse at daycare when you pick him up and then at home and then before bed.  Cluster nurse him as much as you can. I know DD is a busy bee, so we nurse very frequently for 2-3 minutes at a time. Some babies really  just prefer Mom to the bottle.

Good luck!

LittleDucky

pepomntpat:

There is a nine month sleep regression that can last from 8-11ish months. You may just be going through that and it will resolve on its own. DD is now waking sometimes 3 times a night and she nurses all day long. It's just a thing they go through.

As for getting more milk in during the day so you know it is just sleep and not hunger I'd suggest nursing more often. Maybe when DS wakes and then again before you leave for daycare and again at daycare as you drop him off. Then nurse at daycare when you pick him up and then at home and then before bed.  Cluster nurse him as much as you can. I know DD is a busy bee, so we nurse very frequently for 2-3 minutes at a time. Some babies really  just prefer Mom to the bottle.

Good luck!

Unfortunately he's pretty disinterested in nursing during the day, too.  He usually tries to crawl away if I try to get him to nurse.

I know there could be other reasons he is waking at night, but at least if I knew he was getting more milk during the day I would be more okay with working on getting him to go back to sleep without nursing at night.  But the way things are now, I immediately nurse him when he wakes at night because I want to get as much breastmilk into him as I can.