Thinking of cutting night feeds in 5mo, too early / how to go about it?

[preggersagain2]

Hi, advice needed please! Have just been through really bad sleep patch with 5mo, long story but was waking hourly at one point and was mostly nursing back to sleep. Have now managed to cut feeds back to one b/f at 11ish and one usually around 3am, but worried if anything goes wrong is too easy to fall back to nursing all night again! DH is also keen for me to cut night feed, especially after success settling her with water earlier in the night. Because she shares a room with DS had pencilled in DH taking DS to ILs for weekend so I could 'cut' the feed without worrying about waking them. Now I'm getting cold feet...She is fed every four hours ish during day, (plus two small solid meals - but only as of this week)so can't get it out of my head that she might really be 'hungry' at 3am! I know some people advise slowly decreasing length of feed in b/f babies, but we are down from b/f on two sides to b/f on one only and I really can't cope with timing feeds at that time of night / risk upsetting her by taking her off before she is ready! How did anyone else go about this? Should I wait in the hope she will sleep through naturally? Also, are going on hols in two weeks, so am thinking she is bound to be unsettled sleeping in strange place - another reason to cut night feed out so I don't end up comfort feeding again??? HELP!

[bubblagirl]

my ds didnt stop night feeds until 8 mths he was still hungry around that time and still sometimes after he was yr on occasions i would make bottle for him

could be having growth spurt and in need of that feed

could you dream feed when you go to bed to see if that helps the waking situation i used to feed ds when i went to bed and he would sleep through if i didnt he would wake in night

still quite young really possibly could be hungry i know ds was he would guzzle his milk and settle straight abck off

[suiledonn]

My dd stopped night feeds at around 5 months. I hadn't planned it but one night when she woke I was really exhausted and put the soother in her mouth 'just for a minute' and then I fell back asleep. When I woke up nearly an hour later she was fast asleep. I was so worried she was going to starve that I wanted to wake her but dh said to wait and see. The next night I gave her the last feed quite late and she didn't wake at 3am at all, just woke a little earlier in the morning and that was the end of the night feed. She wasn't even on solids at that stage. Sometimes these things are easier than we expect.

[witchandchips]

Have you tried offering more feeds during the day? every four hours is not that much for a breast fed baby. This may make your ds go for longer at night.

[purplemonkeydishwasher]

too young. sorry.

wait a few months. especially since you are going away soon. it would just unsettle her more. and regardless of what anyone says if she wants it in the night it'll be because she needs it.

[preggersagain2]

Thanks everyone. She was so obviously comfort feeding last week that it felt like it had to be an 'all or nothing' approach. As it is we are back to where we were before the sleep problems cropped up, so I guess I should just trust she will drop the feed with time. With DS I was still nightfeeding well past the year mark and had real problems when I went back to work (he started waking 3-4 times a night),so I'm anxious to avoid the same scenario - BUT, you're right, 5m is still v early, and I'm not back at work for a few months yet. Witchandchips - thanks, yes we tried 'upping' the day feeds but she didn't feed nearly as well (easily distracted, taking far less)- and made no difference at night. Bubblagirl - thanks too, yes we are doing a dream feed about 11ish - if I can stay awake that long!