Extended BF... STTN question

hollandmama · July 2014

Hello,

My LO is 12mo, we're BF and I don't plan to stop anytime soon. He is not STTN, some times he even wakes up every hour and wants to BF before going back to sleep. Many times my milk doesn't come down before he falls asleep again.

I cannot handle sleep deprivation any longer, I am getting depressed. My MIL says that DS won't STTN until we stop BF (she BF for 3 years both my H and SIL and they didn't STTN until they stop BF). I refuse to believe this, I refuse to believe that I have to wean my child in order for him to STTN.

Please please, tell me your LO is still BF and he started STTN at some point, and tell me what you did? I am desperate at this point, but not so desperate to wean.

TIA

Melody330 · July 2014

Congrats on making it to a year! DS is EBF and we just I introduced solids this week. He's just over 6 months.

My LO sleeps about 9 hrs and wakes for a MOTN feeding around 4/5 am. After that he's back asleep for about two/three hrs.

Lately I've been decreasing the time I let him comfort nurse by a few minutes. We are down to 5 minute feeding, an now no comfort nursing. He goes back in his crib regardless of if he's asleep of not. A few times he wakes all the way up and rolls around for a half hr. No crying - just laughing and playing with his feet!

He hasn't woken up yet tonight. I'm up because of course I'm leaking. :-<

You said you don't want to wean, but could you have someone else go in and try to get LO back to sleep before you go on for a nursing session?

hollandmama · July 2014

@Melody330 I forgot to mention that my LO STTN before he was 6mo... then he started waking up repeatedly when I started working.

DH tries to go in and put him to sleep but he continues to cry until he sees me and nurses.

Salemkitty13 · July 2014

Hi. My DS is 11 months. He has a lot of allergies so even though he gets solids he still nurses a lot. He was waking every 45 minutes to 2 hours at night. He was refusing bottles at DCP and wanted to eat all night. I work for a school so when summer came I first worked on his daytime eating schedule. I read the no cry sleep solution and it worked for us. He started sleeping 8 to 8 with a 12 o'clock and 5 o'clock wake up. He did that for a couple of weeks, then just 5 o'clock wake up and now STTN

Good Luck to you. I hope you get some rest soon.

hollandmama · July 2014

jfresh said:

How does he eat during the day? Does he go to sleep on his own or does he nurse to sleep when he initially goes down? We sleep trained right around 11-12 months because DS was waking up multiple times like that. We would try to have my H go in and comfort him when he woke up because when he saw me it was over. If he wouldn't be comforted/go back to sleep I would try to go in and comfort him while he was still in the crib, but sometimes had to snuggle and rock with him but not nurse. It was a rough 2-3 nights but he did well afterwards. I read the book SleepEasy and there is a lot of good information there. We still nurse usually twice a day now and I haven't regularly BFed MOTN since 11 months. So it's definitely possible!

Thanks!

hollandmama · July 2014

@jfresh sorry, I didn't answer your question... (sleep deprivation consequence :P)

He eats well during the day, most days he BF 4 times and has 3 meals and 2 snacks. He falls asleep while nursing between 9 and 11 pm... I haven't been able to push his bedtime any earlier and that is also a big issue now.

BabyBrooks5516 · July 2014

My DD has never had formula and she is 11 months old. She slept through the night around 8 weeks and has only woken up to nurse during milestones and when she is sick. Very rare. Make sure you're giving him enough to eat during the day and have your partner go in at night to help LO go back to sleep instead of you.

vvvvvfee · July 2014

i'd recommend checking out the jay gordon night weaning method.

my DS was a big night nurser as well. eventually he did start STTN consistently with no sleep training. i can't remember exactly when, but it definitely got better around 1 year and probably by 15 months he was STTN most nights (unless he was sick or teething). we just went for the path of least resistance- i'd give DS to DH (we bedshare) as the first line of defense, but if he didn't settle quickly for him, i'd let DS nurse. if nothing else, you can certainly limit the length of time you let your LO nurse.

every hour does sound brutal- but i do think it is a phase that will pass soon. is there anything else going on with your LO? teething? sickness? change in routine?

Myaflowers · July 2014

My DD went through a very rough patch with sleep right around 1 year. She was learning to walk and cutting molars and canines all at once. I thought I wouldn't make it, but after that rough patch, things have been so much better (I probably just jinxed myself). I don't have any specific advice but just wanted to offer encouragement. I didn't do anything to fix the sleep issues...it just got better. If you haven't already, you might try Motrin before bed in case it's teeth. That helped us some. Good luck!

sschwege · July 2014

That's ridiculous! Both of my babies were EBF, DD weaned at 20 months, DS is still nursing twice a day at 19 months. DD started sleeping through the night consistently when she was 5 months old, DS consistently at 7w (yes, I know we were extremely lucky, it's nothing we did, we just hit the baby sleep jackpot). My cousin-in-law is FFing and was just telling me it's a good night if her son only wakes up once, typically it's 3 times a night and he's 11 months. It's more about the baby, less about what you are feeding it, in my experience.

hollandmama · July 2014

sschwege said:

That's ridiculous! Both of my babies were EBF, DD weaned at 20 months, DS is still nursing twice a day at 19 months. DD started sleeping through the night consistently when she was 5 months old, DS consistently at 7w (yes, I know we were extremely lucky, it's nothing we did, we just hit the baby sleep jackpot). My cousin-in-law is FFing and was just telling me it's a good night if her son only wakes up once, typically it's 3 times a night and he's 11 months. It's more about the baby, less about what you are feeding it, in my experience.

yay!!! congrats on your good sleepers

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