Babies: 3 - 6 Months

Sleep Training vs.Stopping Night Feeding - which comes first?

My baby is 5 and 1/2 months old. I work full time and he goes to a home day care where he takes expressed breastmilk from a bottle.

Even though he is quite a large baby, he doesn't eat much during the day. The daycare provider tries to increase his intake but he is not interested. Basically he has figured out that if he doesn't eat much during the day, he can eat straight from the boob all night long!

Because of this, he wakes up like every two hours to feed, all night long. Moreover, he basically falls asleep on the boob. If I put him in his crib and he wakes up, he is furious.

Now that he is almost 6 months old, I need to wean him off of his night feedings AND I need to be able to put him into his crib and have him be able to fall asleep on his own. My goal for breastfeeding exclusively was 6 months. So I am happy to introduce formula into this equation.

How should I start with this? Try to get him to stop eating so much at night (how??) and then do sleep training, or vice versa, or do both together, or what? I feel overwhelemed.

Everyone who gives me advice on this is like "Just increase his intake of food during the day!" but I seriously cannot. The daycare lady has tried and it is just not happening. So, I am going to have to cut out the feeding at night somehow. Ideas, please? I am just not sure where to start.

Re: Sleep Training vs.Stopping Night Feeding - which comes first?

  • I don't have a whole lot of advice, but I do agree that in order to drop night feedings, he has to eat more during the day. DS dropped his night feeding on his own. He eats every 2.5 hours during the day. I know its hard to get them to eat more, but it can be a gradual process. I'm not an expert on sleep training as I don't plan to do it but I wouldn't do both at the same time, it will probably be too confusing for him. If he's not getting enough calories during the day, you can't stop feeding him at night, he's going to be hungry. I'm all for letting things happen when baby is ready, and I think the only way to encourage him to drop any feedings is by giving him more during the day. Sorry, hth a little!
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  • Could you try to nurse him basically nonstop from when you get home until he goes to bed?  Then maybe a dream feed when you go to bed.  You cannot cut out feedings at night until he starts eating more during the day.  Has the DCP tried taking him to a quiet room to eat?  They get so distracted at this age.
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  • I seem to say this all of the time, but check out Ferber's book.  He has a lot of insight on both.

    I agree, though, you've got to get him eating more during the day before you can completely cut out night feedings.  I do think that some of it is need and some is habit! 

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  • I actually did the Sleep Training first, which naturally cut down on DDs night feedings.

    I recommend the bookHealthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby.

    How much is he eating during the day?

    My LO nurses at 7, 4oz bottles at 10:30, 1:30 and 4:30 and I nurse at 6:30.  She wakes up once during the night to eat (although has slept 7-7 4 times now). 

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