Night weaning....How did you do it?

MrsEKC · April 2014

So my baby is 7 months and still not STTN. Is still getting up every 3 hrs. The doctor told me I should not be nursing him at all at night and that he should have been STTN months ago. He told me to try one of the many methods of night weaning and that there are many books. I don't have time to read books. I have 4 kids under 7 and I'm only getting 3-4 hrs sleep a night. Please help if you used a night weaning process that worked and how you did it. Thanks!

bmhopkins · April 2014

Is your LO getting enough naps during the day? If they don't sleep well during the day, then they won't at night. Is LO getting enough calories during the day? My LO is almost six months and if she wakes up anytime before six,which she rarely does, I try to pat her or stroke her hair to get back to sleep. Around 4ish months I started only giving her about 2 oz. when she woke up. She is formula fed. My ped said if I fed her a full bottle she might feel like she will always needs that feed. Slowly but surely she stopped waking for that feed. Now she sleeps from 730-600or so. Every LO is different but maybe you could try to soothe her before nursing. Just a thought. Hope this made sense!

PB102012 · April 2014

I have no advice, we never weaned.... if it has been more than 3 hours since the last time she ate, and she wakes up at night, we feed her. If she wakes up before that we will try to comfort her first, and if that doesn't work, we feed her.

Losing sleep isn't fun at all, I hope your LO starts giving you longer stretches very soon.

scruggsa · April 2014

I was lucky and my LO one had always at least given me a solid 5-6 hrs of sleep through the night..... Until 5 months. Now most nights he wakes every 2.5-3 hrs.

I tried to soothe but he definitely wants to eat. He will scream and once I pick him up he is trying to find the goods. My Dr suggested trying to see if he would drop the night feed. She also stated all babies are different and he may need to be fed.

PrimRoseMama · April 2014

Feed your baby.

BelhurstBride · April 2014

I feed my kids when they're hungry. I don't really care to hear my doctor's opinion on the matter.

charmcity82 · April 2014

My son is 7.5 months and he has gradually dropped night feedings so now we are down to just one, usually at 2:30/3:00am after going down for the night at 7:00pm. Now that he's getting more solid foods I'm hoping that he drops the night feeding, but I am not pushing him.

I have no idea how hard it is to function on so little sleep with so many little ones, but the only advice I can give is to hang in there, and trust that he will drop the feedings when he is ready.

Carmen101613 · April 2014

Personally, I welcome medical advice from someone w/ 8+ years of education more than an internet stranger. We fill LO tummy until he tells me he is full, then we play for a bit, then he is ready for a nap. When he wakes up again he is hungry. This allows him to get plenty of food during the day, so then we can teach him to sleep at night. When he wakes at night I give him a few min to settle himself. Babies have to learn how to connect their sleep cycles. If he isn't settling, I offer a paci. If that doesn't work, I feed him. LO is 6 mo old and has not woken up at night since he was 3 mo. I think that you can't just assume they are waking due to hunger, and I believe you have to gently teach them it's time to sleep. They deserve a good nights sleep too!

PrimRoseMama · April 2014

Carmen101613 said:
Personally, I welcome medical advice from someone w/ 8+ years of education more than an internet stranger. We fill LO tummy until he tells me he is full, then we play for a bit, then he is ready for a nap. When he wakes up again he is hungry. This allows him to get plenty of food during the day, so then we can teach him to sleep at night. When he wakes at night I give him a few min to settle himself. Babies have to learn how to connect their sleep cycles. If he isn't settling, I offer a paci. If that doesn't work, I feed him. LO is 6 mo old and has not woken up at night since he was 3 mo. I think that you can't just assume they are waking due to hunger, and I believe you have to gently teach them it's time to sleep. They deserve a good nights sleep too!

I disagree. Imagine if you woke hungry or just wanted some comfort. You can't do anything for yourself. So? Someone leaves you to mull it over a bit. Then tries to placate you with something else. Finally your stomach is still growling, & you want some cuddles.

Why not just feed them first? I am an adult & I hate to be kept waiting for my food even if I'm a bit peckish.

Ignoring their communication doesn't teach them "how to sleep". It teaches them that their cry for hunger is going to be ignored.

BelhurstBride · April 2014

Carmen101613 said:

Personally, I welcome medical advice from someone w/ 8+ years of education more than an internet stranger.

You do realize that pedis take little to no course work that concentrates only on infant sleep or breastfeeding, right?

Carmen101613 · April 2014

Yes, I agree that you should feed if LO is waking when baby is a newborn. however, I'm assuming that her LO is at least 6 mo. At that age, they should ybe capable of consuming all their calories during the day. If they are waking at night, and they aren't sick and ate well that day, they don't necessarily need food. They need to learn to connect their sleep cycles.

BelhurstBride · April 2014

It is a completely uneducated thing to say that all 6 month olds don't need to eat during the night- especially a BFed baby. BM digests within two hours and it is absolutely developmentally appropriate for a babe to need to wake to eat up through the second year of life.

Carmen101613 · April 2014

I'm sorry, where are your credentials if you are so educated on the subject? I was just leaving my 2 cents for the op who asked the question.

PrimRoseMama · May 2014

Carmen101613 said:
Yes, I agree that you should feed if LO is waking when baby is a newborn. however, I'm assuming that her LO is at least 6 mo. At that age, they should ybe capable of consuming all their calories during the day. If they are waking at night, and they aren't sick and ate well that day, they don't necessarily need food. They need to learn to connect their sleep cycles.

Wrong

MaybeKatie10 · May 2014

msspeedymarie said:

Carmen101613 said:

I'm sorry, where are your credentials if you are so educated on the subject? I was just leaving my 2 cents for the op who asked the question.

Where are your credentials, then?

I didn't see her dispensing medical advice, so why would she need them?

I think the amount of Mama's here who are so arrogant to think they can dispense medical advice towards a child THEY HAVE NEVER EVEN SEEN or examined is incredibly irresponsible. I'm sorry, but pushing a child out of your vagina doesn't make you a medical expert.

I also wonder why so many mama's even bother taking their children to a dr in the first place? They obviously have such disdain for the profession, so why bother? If you're so darn smart, do it without your Dr's help.

Carmen101613 · May 2014

I agree with MaybeKatie10. I was answering a question the op had. Just because my views are not the same as your views does not make them wrong. She wanted to know about night weaning. "Feed your baby" is not the response she was looking for. And no one here is a proponent for withholding food if that is what baby needs. So therefore The only way you can tell me an answer is wrong is if you have an MD behind your name. They are medically trained, you are not.

Kelly&Patrick · May 2014

I have the same thing. I have tried to not feed her but she is not about that at all! It is a complete melt down if i do not feed her

BelhurstBride · May 2014

MaybeKatie10 said:

I think the amount of Mama's here who are so arrogant to think they can dispense medical advice towards a child THEY HAVE NEVER EVEN SEEN or examined is incredibly irresponsible. I'm sorry, but pushing a child out of your vagina doesn't make you a medical expert.

Then why are you here? If the advice here is so useless?

Pediatricians go to medical school and specialize in medical related issues in children. They do not take years of coursework in child development. If they even study BFing it usually isn't much more than an afternoon long continuing ed type course.

STTN and needing to eat throughout the night is not a medical issue. It's a child development issue.

High temp? Sure. Call your dr. Kid not STTN? You can call, but your doctor is giving your their opinion on the matter.

Carmen101613 · May 2014

Belhurstbride told me I was uneducated and I asked what her credentials were to call me that. I have a doctorate, I'm highly educated, thank you very much. Can't someone here leave a freaking post with their advice to the op without getting jumped on? I'm starting to think I'm too educated to waste my time on TB.

Carmen101613 · May 2014

Good grief, read my original post. I am not saying the child has sleep problems, rather normal sleep patterns. If a 7 mo eats well that day, and is not sick and wakes up at night, did it ever cross your mind that they may not waking because of hunger? If you are trying to acheive night weaning, like the op is, wouldnt you try to settle the baby a different way? Of course if the baby doesnt settle by these means, then feed them.

According to her DOCTOR, he should be capable of consuming his calories during the day because the doctor recommended night weaning in the first place.

I've also read a lot of books including Bringing up Bebe which is about an American journalist bringing up a baby in France. She credited a lot of reliable sources in the book. French babies usually STTN much earlier than American babies because French moms dont always assume a night waking is due to hunger.

PrimRoseMama · May 2014

Carmen101613 said:
Good grief, read my original post. I am not saying the child has sleep problems, rather normal sleep patterns. If a 7 mo eats well that day, and is not sick and wakes up at night, did it ever cross your mind that they may not waking because of hunger? If you are trying to acheive night weaning, like the op is, wouldnt you try to settle the baby a different way? Of course if the baby doesnt settle by these means, then feed them.
According to her DOCTOR, he should be capable of consuming his calories during the day because the doctor recommended night weaning in the first place.
I've also read a lot of books including Bringing up Bebe which is about an American journalist bringing up a baby in France. She credited a lot of reliable sources in the book. French babies usually STTN much earlier than American babies because French moms dont always assume a night waking is due to hunger.

OMG you are full of it. Babies are babies. It's BS to ascribe STTN to cultural differences. It's physiological.

jennajoybeck · May 2014

Good grief!! I came into this thread because my 8 month DD won't shake her 4am feed. I'm so so disappointed to see that this thread quickly turned into middle school drama. You don't have to agree with everyone's response (especially if you're not the OP!) but what good are you doing by fighting on here? By continuously bickering, you're no better than the people you're criticizing.

That's my two cents. I'm not checking back into this drama, so no need to respond to this. I'm going to continue to look for tips for my DD.

Have a great and safe weekend everyone!!

yeah. · June 2014

You can't force it. My kids needed to eat at night until they were almost a year, then they both dropped it on their own. Sucks, but it's part of the deal. Can your husband help with a night feeding or two?

88sharonlee · June 2014

At my LO six month appointment the doctor said I should do sleep training and drop the nighttime feedings because she was using them to fall back asleep, a habit I need to help her break.
While I am/was nervous about it I know that she is growing well and getting plenty to eat during the day, so at 20 lbs and 6 months old I agreed that she doesn't need to eat at night and we are giving it a try.
So far it's been three days and I have learned that my li will fuss for a few minutes but WILL then fall asleep on her own.
If she wakes up in the middle if the night - which she is still doing- I first let her stir for a minute or two (feels longer) then I go check on her to make sure she is still ok and might even rub her belly so she knows I'm responding to her, but then I leave and so far she has fallen back asleep on her own shortly after.
My husband is better at this and needs to help me from rushing in, but my idea is that I give her a quick chance to fall back asleep, I can go let her know she's not being ignored, and if she were to continue to cry loudly for a while I would pick her up and feed her, but so far three nights it's never come to that so I'm hoping it gets better each night.
Good luck

Blanchette365 · June 2014

Babies mostly have these habits that they woke up early,the main reason behind this is they are hungry.Give proper feed to your kid.Mother feed is good for babies.Go for that.

Night weaning....How did you do it?

Re: Night weaning....How did you do it?

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