night breast feed

[hermykne]

this is really a postscript to my thread of 3 wks ago
ds is not hungry in the night, i now know that . i have been espressing at night for in the night feeds and he refused the bottle the last 2 nights so i conclude he is not hungry as after a bit of raoring he went back to sleep til 5am this morn and 6am yesterday,
so should i postpone feeding at5am to get him to go closer to 6.30/7pm by letting him cry it out?

hes 6mths and 2wks.

[TracyK]

It depends on how hungrily he feeds at 5 or 6. Does he seem v. hungry or not? Maybe teething, cold, lonely? If it's after 5am I usually bring ds through to our bed for milk, more sleep, play - whatever really. He had a stage of waking at 5 ish for about a month - now it's usually between 6 and 7am. SOmetimes he goes back to sleep at 6am till 8am.
You could try letting him cry it out if you want - I've never tried it really I know lots of mums on here will advise yes.

[morningpaper]

At that hour, I would just feed him in your bed and doze with him for a bit. Personally I would keep things as calm as possible because the WORST thing to do is to end up with a routine where he wakes at 5.30 EVERY day. Make it a chill-out time and with a bit of luck you'll have a couple of hours in bed - even if they are more dozing than proper sleep.

[janx]

What time does he wake up? my dd of 5 months sometimes comes into a light sleep and wakes up and cannot settle herself back down - but mostly she sleeps until 6.30am. Also when teething she woke up - I can't leave her to cry - sometimes a cuddle or a quick feed in bed does the trick. It probably is habit if he isn't hungry or could something else wake him - noise outside?

[hermykne]

at 5 i feed him in my bed, he is still sleepy, and if i dont fall asleep i put him back in his cot and he wakes at 6.30. its al quiet and it wouldnt be cold, (put the heat on in the night - mad!) i definietly want to avoid that 5am wakening morning paper!!

[janx]

Is he getting too much sleep during the day? could you try cutting back on naps? Mine is a little minx for not sleeping much at all during the day, but I guess the pay off is she sleeps well at night. I can sympathise with the early morning - 5am is just too early!

[hermykne]

janx, no he doesnt sleep alot in the day,40 mins at 9 and 1/1 1/2 hrs at noon or so, he really doesnt sleep the "quota" in the day, so he should conk out at night for 12 hrs but doesnt, i really think its habit ..so i gotta break it.

[fresco]

hi everyone

sorry to butt in.i also night feed dd 1 year old,which i am now trying to stop but not easy as dd wont have it

hi Morningpapar, how are you keeping? nice to see your name again

can i join in please?

[hermykne]

welcome fresco, is she exculsive breast fed or does she take a cup or bottle now?

[fresco]

she takes solids as well.her routine is,when she gets up(usually between 6-7.30) i give toast and she will want a drink from breast,then after her naps i give her finger food until lunch when she has solids.same at diner time she has solids and lots of drinks of water in the between. however, she would gladly go to sleep on the breast, thats also why i take her for a walk in the pram to avoid boobs.but at night she will only be soothed and go to sleep with boob.actually its a comfort now, and b/f usually lasts 5 or 10mn.until last month it was spaced out to 4 hours in the between so was 4 feeds a day and 2 at night.but we moved out and i think she was confused plus recently a cold so she kind of b/fed around the clock kind of thing.but its the soother to go to sleep i want to replace and dont know how to do that.

[fresco]

the bottle, i tried and she wont take it.she will take cup of juice. i also tried vanilla flavored milk but in vain.far less formula milk

[fresco]

i think its the same with dd,she got the habit of dozing off with a drink.habit hard to break without them crying their eyes out

[fresco]

i take it that when they require the boobs for to go bak to sleep its a comfort instead of a drink or a snack isnt it?

[chipmonkey]

usually at one year its comfort, not hunger. Letting them cry it out is "correct" but VERY hard to do in practice!