6 month DS not interested in BFs during the day - reverse cycling?

[iwantitnow]

DS turned 6 month and definitely not a boob addict like his sister was. He has his milk and literally spits my nipple out and thats that. Since 5 months during the day most day feeds have been a few sucks and thats it. Started on solids, partly because he didn't seem that interesed in milk and was swiping the food out of our plates/hands which he loves and given my experience of DD who had mainly BM until she was 2 and would not eat its been a great relief. I am wondering if he is filling up on solids and not getting enough milk. I offer milk before solids but it doesn't seem to curb his appetite. He is feeding 1-3 times a night and has only slept through once (DD woke me up that night!).
His only decent feeds are at night, kellymom just says keep giving the night feeds. But I'm on my knees with tiredness looking after a toddler and a baby with very little help.

I can't go and feed DS in a nice quiet room and leave DD for long periods - do enough of that when I am putting him down for his naps. Any other suggestions?

DS 75th percentile so no concern about his weight - I would just like him to feed more during the day and less at night!

[Hulla]

Iwantitnow I feel your pain as dd (7.5 months) did this for a couple of days when she just found life too interesting to stop for milk! It felt like having a newborn again!

Do you offer him milk or wait for him to "ask"? If have to offer a lot now because dd just gets so distracted. Often she'll have a little bit and then want to go back to whatever she was doing but it seems to sort of remind her that she's hungry and she'll want more then (I hope that makes sense, I know its waffly but dd has just started to crawl so I only have a minute ).

1-3 times a night is about what dd does on a good night - do you co-sleep? Is it an option? I'm not sure it would help tip the balance back to daytime but it might help you get more sleep.

Sorry they're not great suggestions. I only have one dc, it must be hard when you have two.

Good luck!

[Aldegirl]

Iwantitnow hello same thing happening here! It's MADDENING isn't it, I have no idea what's going on either, ds (6 months) feeds 2-3 times in the night and totally refuses the boob until about 2pm, then just has a bedtime feed and then the night rigmarole starts up. Am going completely mental, am so tired, can't imagine what it must be like with another baby about the palce too...

One thing I've found in the past 3 daysis that he does feed in the day if I lie him on his back and hover over him, boob in his face, like a heifer. Then he thinks it's a game and does have some milk while looking around constantly. Wierd eh? Obv. not something I can do when out and about so still a bit tricky but you could try it?

But actually am thinking that the only thing to do (gulp) is to persuade ds that he doesn't need the night feeding so much. He's huge too like your baby but can't face the pain involved right now (long story about holidays and visitors boring) but will try in a month offering him water at the 3-5 am feed. hopefully he will then at least have a decent breakfast feed which he currently absolutely refuses. Hmm.

Sorry if waffly with typos but tiiiired brain.

[iwantitnow]

Well I'm glad I'm not alone. Got some decent feeds into him yesterday and hey presto - 3 night wakings between 12-5am
. He is a nightmare to settle for daytime nap the last two days which is very unusual. DD restarted at preschool so all routine (the little there was) is up the spout.

Think its really closer to 7 months that I will hope to get to no night wakings when they are taking more protein. I did gradual retreat.

Aldegirl if I have fed DS 5am afterwards I don't give a breakfast feed just solids then BF before the morning nap.

He is teething as 2 teeth emerging haven't checked for more today.

[Aldegirl]

Hah. Same here - the bf in the day plus the night wakings too. Have been up since 6. Ds is on 3 solids a day now so protein etc not making much difference here sorry to say

Am seriously thinking of switching to formula. I mean, it's a total struggle to bf every single time, and the night feeds are becoming more difficult too. Could he be selfweaning, I wonder? At 6 months? My mum says that I did this same thing to her but at 5 months... family of freaky babies!

Ramblings. Good luck to you today.

At least if I switched him to formula I could have a COFFEEEEE or 10 in the morning without worrying that my already superactive baby would get affected for his morning nap.

Bah humbug!

[iwantitnow]

Very very much doubt he is self weaning - at this age they can be put off feeds by teething it actually hurts them to BF. Very rare to self wean before 2, DD did at 23 months but I was 4 months pregnant.

Formula may make no difference - then you have bottles to wash/sterilise etc..

At 7 months i will do gradual retreat which is well described in the No Cry Sleep Solution book - worked for my DD but took a month.

Only a month to go then - then DH can have sleepness nights attending to DS!

[Aldegirl]

I know... it's just that sometimes (at 4am) formula seems the easy way out. I'll have a look for no sleep solution/gradual retreat things, thanks for that.

But if it's teething stopping ds from bf, then why does he take milk from a bottle no bother?

Oh I don't understand. Good to read your experience too though. Won't be long in the scheme of things I suppose until they can get their own breakfast and then we'll be missing them...