should a 9 mnth old still be BF @ night?

LisaLisa1980 · January 2014

can a 9 month go 12 hrs w/o a feeding at night? if not, how many times would you say is "acceptable" before it's just a sleep aid?

LisaLisa1980 · January 2014

somerandomchick said:
A 9 month old is still eating BM as their primary food. I might try to encourage cluster-feeding in the evening to front-load calories during the day instead of at night. How many times total are they eating during the day?

I BF him every 1.5 - 2 hrs during the day plus he eats mashed food 2-3x a day (and lots of it)

cinderin · January 2014

I guess if LO is waking, there is a reason. Why do you think LO is waking?

My BFF's LO is 9 months and wakes 3 times per night. Ebf and eats solids (lots) about 2 - 3 times a day. Around 50th percentile for weight.

I think there is a wakeful period around 9 months.

LisaLisa1980 · January 2014

cinderin said:
I guess if LO is waking, there is a reason. Why do you think LO is waking?

My BFF's LO is 9 months and wakes 3 times per night. Ebf and eats solids (lots) about 2 - 3 times a day. Around 50th percentile for weight.

I think there is a wakeful period around 9 months.

My DS is in the 97th for weight. The last time he STTN he was 2 months old. He wakes up every 2-3 hrs. We have a video monitor and it seems that he just moves around a lot in his sleep and it wakes him up?? He doesn't know how to go back to sleep on his own. My H & I take turns putting him back down but DS will only go down with me if I nurse him back to sleep. He goes to bed around 7, wakes up around 6:30am, so he probably wakes up 3-4 times a night

camedowncrushing · January 2014

I didn't night wean DD1 until 13 months. Every baby is different!

LisaLisa1980 · January 2014

andreab7412 said:
That sounds normal for a 9 month old. I would cut back on the solids. They are very lo in calories and should only be for fun before one. If lo is eating " lots of it " it is taking up room for bm. Nurse lo before solids so they get the nutrients from bm first before filling up on purees.

I stopped solids for 2 wks to sort out an allergy issue & he didn't sleep any better or worse. I do BF him first before giving him solids, he still eats a lot of it (chicken, chick peas, sweet potato, pear, apple, Banana)... All from scratch

ella.mabel · January 2014

DD started sleeping through the night at 15 months. When it was happening, those 15 months seemed to take forever and i thought she'd never sleep through the night. Looking back, those 15 months were just a blip in time.

Maybe he is hungry, maybe he is cold, or maybe he's just lonely? I find my DS will sleep a little better if i have a humidifier on, a sound machine and a space heater. I think the warmth and the background noise helps him. I also pump and have DH give a bottle just to make sure his belly is nice and full.

Good luck!

SidraJedi · January 2014

You *can* night wean at this point if you want to. For me it is too much stress. I would rather feed her all night. We bedshare though. If she was in a nursery I would consider night weaning. Also AF has not returned and night weaning might bring it on. I think that most people night wean closer to a year. Maybe just talk to your pedi about it?

Soon2BMrsN · January 2014

Both of mine usually still woke to nurse 1x a night at that age.

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MomtoH · January 2014

We still nurse 2-5 times at night and she will be 2 in less than a month. She is on the smaller side 25% for weight and 10% for height, so I don't want to cut her back too much since we are down to nursing 2-3 times during the day.

ToAoShesha · January 2014

My DS is in the 97th for weight. The last time he STTN he was 2 months old. He wakes up every 2-3 hrs. We have a video monitor and it seems that he just moves around a lot in his sleep and it wakes him up?? He doesn't know how to go back to sleep on his own. My H & I take turns putting him back down but DS will only go down with me if I nurse him back to sleep. He goes to bed around 7, wakes up around 6:30am, so he probably wakes up 3-4 times a night

This sounds like me exactly

and 3 wakings is on a good night. I am no help as I am lost myself but you are not alone. Hugs. I am working on rocking her to sleep vs nursing but sometimes I am just tired and want to be quick.

babywisher · January 2014

Dd was waking to nurse twice a night until about 2 weeks ago. She is 11 months. Now she wakes once a night.

surpriseaddition · January 2014

My LO is 8.5 months and does STTN, but we put her down around 8:30-9:00 and she wakes around 6am. I feed oatmeal made with 3 oz BM at dinner around 6pm and then cluster feed her until she's out. I then go right to bed, even though it's early, so I can get the sleep. We use a ceiling fan and sound machine. Each baby is different, though. Maybe try a later bedtime, and maybe your LO will sleep a little longer. 12 hours seems unrealistic to me...but 9 hours placed at a good time for you to sleep could be possible.

jllmb79 · January 2014

DD#1 changed her night time feeding habits when I did progressive waiting sleep training at 10 months. She went from waking all night long for the all you can eat buffet to just waking once. By 12 months she started sleeping through the night on her own.

DD#2 also changed her night time feeding habits when I did progressive waiting sleep training at 10 months. She was eating at the all you can eat buffet all night long then she was waking once. After 1 week she was not waking anymore to eat.These last frew nights she has been waking twice. I think my supply is starting to tank due to pregnancy, so I'm ok with feeding her twice at night. She eats and when she is done she pops off and I put her back in her crib to fall asleep.

KrisM86 · January 2014

Every baby is different, but in my experience it is perfectly normal for a 9 month old to be up a few times at night to nurse. DS is just about 9 months old, goes to bed at 7pm and usually wakes twice to nurse before waking around 7am. My DD nursed 1-2 times at night until she was about 10 1/2 months old. I night weaned her then because she was barely latching on before falling back asleep every time she woke. Once it became clear that she had no interest in actually nursing when she woke, I felt fine about weaning, but not until we'd been at that point consistently for a few weeks.

this decaf life · January 2014

I decided at 9 months that DD needed to stop waking up and it took a couple weeks but she stopped. Except right around when a tooth breaks she pretty much goes to sleep at 6pm, wakes around 530 to nurse and back to sleep until 7am.