How to get through the night without a feed

[bunnyrabbit]

I get confused with the whole 'sleeping through' thing. DS is a good sleeper, goes down at 7/7.30 and generally sleeps till I wake him between 7.15 and 7.30am. I say sleeps, but does wake for food and then goes straight back to sleep.

My problem is that, at 10 weeks he managed from 11 to 7 without a feed on two occasions, but then got a sore throat and stopped eating. Hence when he woke in the night, rather than waiting for him to cry, I was keen to get as much formula into him as possible, so when he started making noises, rushed in with a bottle. He's much better now (he's 13 wks). Although he doesn't down his 6ozs in one like he used to, he will generally take most of it. However, he is waking up between 3 and 4 and happily taking whatever I give him. I usually restrict him to 4 oz (as he falls asleep straight after his feed and has reflux so is generally sick at night.).

I'm pretty sure he can do without this night feed now but am not sure how to encourage him to give it up. Not sure I want to give water because of the reflux.

Should I just leave him and not bother with the 10.30/11 feed? Tried this the other night and he made it through to 2am. not bad from 6.30. But still a night feed.

BR

[2babies]

Hi - DS is 9 weeks old. He generally has been breastfed every 2-3 hours - even through the night. Last night, he surprisingly did not wake up for 5 hours!! I fed him at 10pm and then woke up myself because I was engorged, leaking and in pain at around 3am. Because of my own discomfort, I woke DS up and fed him at 3am. I would absolutely love it if DS started sleeping through the night now, but am I perpetuating the middle-of-the-night feed by waking him up? Should I express instead? Any advice? Thanks, 2babies.

[ninja]

well mears, it might not be a solution but it sounds good to me. I don't mind doing it if it'll stop eventually. I'm getting quite used to it now and quite often manage to fall asleep while feeding! You never know - tonight could be the night!

[bundle]

thanks mears, guess what? she slept through last night ! (9 hrs)
she was up until 10.30ish with probable teething pain and so absolutely shattered by the time she drifted off. slept till 7.30, feel like a new woman

[mears]

I'm not the best one to ask I am afraid. DS3 woke until 8 months or so and I just fed him. I am afraid I couldn't be bothered being up at night for long. He just fed and went back to sleep. He certainly slept through not long after that age. Didn't do anything magical - he just stopped wakening. My sister had a problem with her babies and I took her dd2 overnight for a couple of nights when she was 9 months old. When she woke she got me and nothing else. No drink a all, just a cuddle and back to bed. I think if you are trying to stop a night feed, nothing else should be substituted otherwise they will wake looking for that too. As I said though, my babes just stopped wakening - don't know why.

[bundle]

ninja, I can't remember for the life of me how we solved this with dd1 (nappy brain!)

[ninja]

Bundle - me too with a 7 month old! Now I'm back at work I feel bad not allowing her to have as much as she wants in the night, but I would like more than 2 or 3 hours sleep ina row atsome point

[bundle]

mears, what do you reckon about an 8 month old? my dh has been getting up with her the past couple of nights, she's had a little formula (not keen) and after realising I wasn't 'on offer', she eventually got back to sleep. i've had a v bad bout of flu and was desperate for sleep but then thought this might be a good time to get dd2 to stop feeding during the night. she's at nursery 3 days a week and seems to catch up some nights on her feeding!

[mears]

Only if you want to be up for hours I think he is still to young to be expected to sleep all night. If he does it is a bonus but he probably is waking because he needs fed.

[bunnyrabbit]

So I fed him at 10.40pm and he took the whole 6oz and he woke at 3.40am DH moved him away from the bars of the cot (where he was head banging)and he continued to whinge and started crying at 4.05am. He took the 4oz I offered and went straight back to sleep. He still managed 6oz at 7.30am and I gave him another 7oz at 10.45.

So should I try comforting him tonight when he wakes between 3 and 4, instead of feeding??

BR

[Demented]

cords, I haven't read this whole thread but just picked up on your anxiety about feeding in public places. I agree with Mears that once you are doing it it's easier than you thought it would be, I doubt many people would even notice what you are doing. When I was feeding DS2 (still fed him publicly on occasion at 14 months) I would go into a cafe and choose the most private table or at least one that allowed me to put my back to the rest of the people in the cafe. Similarly in the park just being careful about where I sat. After a few feeds it becomes less of a big deal. Also if few mothers b/feed publicly in your area it would be an encouragement to other mothers to see you out and about feeding. All the best!

[mears]

Cords - I know someone who felt awkward feeding in public places then did it all the time - Jasper. You do not need special places to feed. I fed wherever I went. You also do not need to ask for permission, that just draws attention to yourself. The beauty of breastfeeding is that you can do it anywhere, anytime. You can also stop and start feeds at will if you need to move around or chase a toddler
Give it a go - you'll soon find it is easier than you think.

[cords]

I must admit that I do the same and get up to either soothe and pat DD back to sleep at fist whimper or to feed if needed just in case she escalates into full wakefulness .... OK , will do that tonight and really wait for her to cry ...

Mears , you have four kids ???!!!! I am now confused as to whether I am doing the right thing . I am also tryingt to feed one feed from bottle to allow me to get out with her ...It is difficult where I live to BF in public places , but I want to be able to take her with me on longer trips. I must admit, last night was back to the wake at 2am for feed only .... I was adviced in another thread that maybe she was cold, so last night I got her to sleep in grobagg .. prehaps that was the reason for her constant waking before

[adell]

I think they do have a growth spurt at about 3 months, have a look on the September babies thread as they are about the same age as yours. I've totally given up on this sleeping through business for the moment. I've decided it's all down to luck and I used my share with DD, I do hope I'm wrong though !

[bunnyrabbit]

Cords,
He is waking at 3/4 if I give the 10.30 feed, but I know Mears is right. I worry about leaving it till he gets too upset, but I should just turn the monitor down a bit and wait for him to cry properly. There have been times when I've gone in and he's been crying in his sleep and would probably have gone longer if I'd left him.

The fact that your DD wakes at that time whatever you feed her does point to it being habit rather than hunger.

I'll try and be stronger tonight and not get up at the first whinge and we'll see what happens.

Do they have a growth spurt at about this age?

BR

[mears]

Cords - just because you can see how much she takes out of a bottle does not mean that she is getting enough IYKWIM. Babies take a different feed from the breast than out of a bottle, even though it is expressed milk. One breastfeed is not the same as the next and he baby dictates what they want. I think you could run into trouble by giving EBM in a bottle to try and control night feeds. You are more likely to gve a lesser feed than by feeding from the breast directly.

As far as night feeds were concerned, I let all mine ask for feeds. At around 3 months they went to bed about 8pm ish and I fed them whenever they woke. DS1 slept all night from 9 weeks (totally breastfed). Ds 2 was about 14 weeks, DS 3 was 8 months and dd flucuated a lot!

BR - I would just feed him at bedtime then see what happens. Wait until he is truly awake yelling for a feed. You find that although they sound as though they are wakening in the night, they often drop back off to sleep if left alone.

[cords]

Hi BR ... DD used to be the same ... down at 6:30 and made it to 2-4 am without the 10-11 feed. How much does yr DS weigh ? My DD is 13 wks too and weighs just under 6 kg ... SSupposedly they are (according to GF !!!!) able to sleep 7-7 without feeds by now ... hah ! chance will be a fine thing. I do think though that this is where sleep training comes in as when DD wakes, it is just that she associates waking at night with feedtime and does not know how to comfort herself back to sleep. How many feeds does yr DS have a day ? I am wondering if prehaps I have not given her enough food during the day (still BF'ing so no idea how much she was getting). This is why I am starting to give expressed milk in botttle for one of daytime feeds and also the 6-7pm feed so that I know how much she takes.

If you do the 10-11 feed, what time does he wake ? I gave it up as DD woke at same time anyways regardless.