Is night nursing really that bad?

JJbird86

My  7 mo old daughter's Pedi asked me if she was sleeping through the night, and when I said no, that she wakes up at 3am every night and I nurse her back to sleep, the pedi chastised me and said "No more night nursing, she doesn't need it and she will continue waking up for it".  I'm a single mommy, and I currently share a room with my daughter, so letting her "cry it out" isn't really an available option.  Is night nursing going to ruin her, if it's just that one session?

SewSewBlessed

I night nursed DS until about 11 months, when he just started STTN on his own. I don't see the problem with it. 

CurbsideProphet

My vote is no. However my DD is 14 months and sometimes I nurse her back to sleep. DD will sometimes sleep for 10 or 11 hours. Other times she wakes up and DH is able to get her back to sleep. Other times, she wakes up and he can not get her back to sleep. so I nurse her. This typically puts her to sleep.

When we asked our pedi about this (maybe around 6 months) he had no problems with it. He said if it was not a problem for me, it was not a problem for her. If that was the quickest, easiest way to get her back to sleep, he said go for it. 

Kaeldrasmommy

My only problem with a single nighttime nursing session would be if she has teeth.

Emerald27

Night nursing is completely okay at that age. DS still nurses a few times during the night.

She may not need it for nutrition but probably wants mommy snuggles and the comfort of nursing. I say give her that feeding if it is okay with you. Do what works to keep you both happy and rested!

jb2rn

My pedi has never once asked how my son sleeps and I don't think I would ever look to him as a resourse for sleep, TBH.

My son has always nursed to sleep. He wakes twice a night currently and he will be one in less than two weeks.

As others have said, if you are ok with it, then fine. If you aren't, then you have to work to change it. I was fine with it for a long time but now it's wearing thin.

Hyaline

I can't think of any reason it's problematic from a health/baby well-being standpoint.  If you are happy with the situation, why change it?  She'll either stop on her own or you'll come to a point where you want to work on moving her away from nighttime feedings. 

Honestly, I would be really uncomfortable with a pedi who chastised me for what I can only see as a lifestyle decision, not a health one, without even asking if this was deliberate/your preference...this is just me, but if I wasn't 100% happy with him otherwise I would start to sniff around to look for a different doc. 

TiffanyBerry

What does ruin her mean?  Will she keep waking up once a night when she's 25 and living on her own and call you in the middle of the night asking you to come over an nurse her?  Will it make her a violent criminal or turn her brain to cheese or something?

Sorry, I'm being snarky, but really... if people stopped to think about it, some of the things people say about night nursing is really ridiculous.

For one, your pedi doesn't know exactly how your daughter eats (pattern-wise) throughout the day and how you produce milk.  Maybe she DOES need to eat.  (Do you like going from 6pm to 6am - or later - without eating or drinking?)  Maybe she just needs comfort, and if so, what the heck is wrong with that?  Why would it be a problem if she's waking up for it as long as she's otherwise well rested?

Your pedi may be assuming that everyone thinks the ideal is that their child sleep 12 hours straight from the earliest possible moment, and anything else is just horrible on the parent and hence must be fixed.  Well, not only is that not necessarily biologically normal, it may not be what's best for your family.  If night nursing gets you both better sleep, GREAT!

(FWIW, at 7mo, my daughter was up every 2-3 hours nursing.  That didn't stop until she was over a year.  Even at 2.5yrs, she *still* nurses once a night and often asks for it at least one or two other times in the middle of the night.  Every child is different.) 

Angela814

Personally I have no problems with night nursing an infant and would ignore all pedi advice to the contrary. As long as your DD seems well rested, and you are fine with continuing to nurse her at night, then it's really not a problem. I also don't think a 7 mo needs to sttn. 

Both my girls nursed at night until I finally had enough and night weaned them. DD1 was 26 months; DD2 was 25 months. DD1 didn't sttn consistently until 5 years. DD2 is 28 months and does not sttn. 

Alliebooberz

Why take it away? Why is your pediatrician concerned? I hate busybody pediatricians. My son is over 8 months old and no where close to sttn.

boogerbearoriginal

Simply put, your pedi is wrong. It is biologically normal for a 7m infant to need nursing overnight.

There is nothing wrong with LO nursing 1x a night, and at 7m I would've been delighted with LO only waking up once! At that age LO was still nursing every 2-3hrs, sometimes 4hrs, at night.  FWIW my pedi has never asked me about LO's sleep. I guess he figures if LO seems developmentally fine and I'm not complaining it must be ok.

Night nursing will not ruin your daughter. 

ETA - I wanted to note that my LO went from nursing every few hours to only 1x a night without any encouragement from me. So they can/do stop night nursing without being forced. When LO is older, if you want to night wean before she does you can but if you/LO are happy there is no need to stop especially at only 7m she likely needs the nutrition as much as the comfort.

superned

I think your pedi is wrong too.

Are you away from your DD during the day?  My DD still nursed at night at that age because she was reverse cycling due to being on bottles at child care during the day.  Maybe she didn't "need" the nutrition of that nursing session, but she definitely needed to be close to me and my supply needed her as well after pumping all day.

FWIW, our night nursing never became a habit that needed breaking.  It simply stopped when it wasn't something that DD needed anymore, just like any other developmental stage.

pepomntpat

Nope. DD was waking once per night until about 2 or 3 months ago when she stopped going back to sleep after (hello, up for the day at 3:30 or 4 AM? Um, no!). Then it was time to night wean. As long as she was getting enough sleep and I was too, then it was fine.

sucredee

Kaeldrasmommy:

My only problem with a single nighttime nursing session would be if she has teeth.

 https://kellymom.com/health/baby-health/tooth-decay/

 My DD is 2.5 and until recently was still waking up once a night to nurse. In the past 3-4 weeks there are nights she won't wake up at all and others where she still wants to nurse. I have no problems with it. It gets her back to sleep quickly.  She is in a room attached to ours (she's about 6-8 ft from my bed) so it is easy.  She is on the small side (about 25 lb) for weight so I have never minded nursing her at night. 

You need to do what feels right to you. Your LO is still little. Mine at that age was still waking up 2-3 x a night at that age. If you are OK with nursing her at night go for it. If not you can night wean but I wouldn't do it just because the pedi told you to.  

poison489

It is only a problem, if you are not okay with it.  My son would wake several times a night to nurse until about a month after he turned two.  He is now doing it again since the new baby arrived. Hoping that he gets over that soon.

outnumbered

One feeding a night is great.  My oldest child, who was my best sleeper, continued to take one feeding per night until she was nine months old.  One night she slept until morning without waking and never went back to waking.  My other two were not settled sleepers.  They woke and fed multiple times per night until they were one.  I was exhausted so I used some gentle sleep training to encourage night weaning.   I have not ruined any of them (yet)  

dosafyre

Hyaline:

Honestly, I would be really uncomfortable with a pedi who chastised me for what I can only see as a lifestyle decision, not a health one, without even asking if this was deliberate/your preference...this is just me, but if I wasn't 100% happy with him otherwise I would start to sniff around to look for a different doc. 

This. We night nursed until 16m...if it works for you guys its fine

march2008

Happy2BPreg:

I night nursed DS until about 11 months, when he just started STTN on his own. I don't see the problem with it. 

Same here. I'd also like to add that my daughter's pediatric dentist also mentioned that night-nursing is okay as long as the baby unlatches after s/he is finished eating ....not at all the same as sleeping with a bottle in their mouth. 

MomtoH

My 9 month old is still nursing 2-4 times a night.  When the pedi asks, I just say she sleeps well and sometimes gets up to eat.  He tells me to put her down drowsy blah blah blah, but obviously I do what I want.