is 13 months too young for night weaning?

[vnmum]

my DS is 13 months and continues to wake 3 - 4 times a night for feeds. i am exhausted and TTC no2 and ideally would like to be getting as much sleep as possible when pregnant as last time i was shattered for most of it. HV said DS shouldnt need milk at night for any nutritional value and that he is feeding out of habit. I know that babies his age use BF as an emotional tool as well and when ive read other posts on here it seems alot of others DC are only night weaning at 18months plus. so am i doing it too early? i dont want to cause a problem for him nutritionally or emotionally by doing this if its too early.

i still feed on demand during day although HV said he should have no more than 2 feeds a day as that is why he doesnt eat much solids

any help much appreciated as im stressing

i've just night weaned my almost 6 mth old. My hv told me she didn't need night feeds a few weeks ago but i waited until i felt we were both ready to give up the 3am slot! Have started on solids - felt she was hungry as waking ervery 2 hours again a couple of weeks ago - which has helped me to feel more comfortable that she is getting the calories. And she still has a 10.30pm bf but will give that up as soon as she's fully weaned and getting 3 meals a day. Has been relatively easy but i know not all babies give it up that easily.

so basically it's not too early if you think it's right and if your hv says so too then go for it...good luck!

I stopped feeding DS2 at night at around this stage. It was a bit tricky to start with but if he woke up, I just sent DH in to settle him and cuddle him back to sleep - otherwise he would have fed off and on all night if I let him!

It's up to you when you stop or how long you carry on for - what works best for you and him

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he used to feed to sleep but he started feeding then getting active recently so we have stopped the feeding to sleep and he has bath, feed, story then dh puts him to bed. hi is still cuddled to sleep though as if he is left to fall asleep on his own in his cot he just stands up and screams and we have both agreed that controlled crying is not for us. we are going to work on things gradually one thing at a time and hope it works

another question regards my night weaning.

DS bedtime routine is bath, feed, story then bed. he is now going to sleep within minutes of being put to bed although he is still cuddled to sleep. i top him up between 10 and 11 as i think 12 hours is abit long to go without anything at his age. he goes to bed 7 to 7.30 and he is now sleeping through till 5.15 when he wakes and is quite difficult to get back down but eventually he does and wakes again about 6.30 when i give him his morning feed. he then goes back to sleep till about 8.30.

how can i stop his 5am waking and should i carry on with the 11pm feed or is he old enough to go all night without anything?

i have also reduced him to one nap aday after lunch which he sleeps for about 2 hours.

any advice much appreciated

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I would try to stop the 11pm feed; if he is hungry he might wake a little earlier than 5 am but you will be down to just one feed a night.

Does he wake at 11pm or do you wake him?

My first baby was a hungry baby, she fed every 2.5 hours day and night for months, I think there is too many rules on what they can and cant have at a set age, everybody's different and every situation is different. My H.V told me I should be pressing my 6month olds feet firmly against a flat surface as much as possible to encourage her to walk!! If I didn't know better I could be doing it!

I found giving her more solids during the day and about 2h before bed helped her sleep through, also I continued to give the same amount of milk (3 9oz bottles)a day, the last feed I would give at about 11pm - she would usually sleep until 6.00am!

Have you tried giving your DS milk for hungrier babies? It works miricles it lays that bit heavier in their tummy.

DS is still breastfed and allergic to cows milk so formula is out of the question im afraid.

i usually have to wake him for the 11pm feed although some nights he will wake first. i dont mind doing the 11pm feed as i prefer that to feeding during the night but its just this 5am thing i want to get cracked.

DH has gone to bed early with DS tonight so if DS doesnt wake i might skip the 11pm feed just to see what he does

You might find he will still wake, but later - 2 or 3 am, then sleep til morning. I think you should see what happens!

He might sleep like a log and have you in a panic when he doesn't wake up! I remember when DS1 first slept through and I had to tiptoe in at 4:30 am to check he was ok!

Does he sleep in his own room btw?

no hes not in his own room, thats the next step. i have co slept with him since 6 weeks so we are trying it in stages. as im still breast feeding im in the lounge on the sofa bed and dh is cosleeping with ds in our room. then when he starts sleeping through we are going to start with naps in his cot in his room, then hopefully progress to nights in his own room. we may have to have him in his cot in our room at nights at first but we will ee how he goes. i prefer the gradual approach as we tried the quick approach and ds was up screaming with us for 2 hours every night. hence we got shattered and gave up. now the gradual approach seems to be working better this time

You seem to be following your instincts, which is usually the best way to go!

Hi vnmum. I don't think he's too early for night weaning at all. We did this with my dd when she was around 8 months (although she went through a sick then teething spell shortly afterwards when we went back to feeding during the night). We used controlled crying, but I see that you would prefer to use another technique.

I wanted to post because I notice that you say you are still bf on demand and that your ds won't take much in the way of solids. I have exactly the same problem with my dd, who is now 11 months. I have no idea how I will manage to cut down the bf, as she screams and cries if I don't feed her when she asks. I refused to give her any this afternoon but she still didn't eat any more tea! She is also milk intolerant, so another similarity. I would love to follow your progress, and maybe we can support each other through the changes.

We have an appointment at the 'behaviour clinic' in a couple of weeks to talk things through and see if they can come up with any suggestions to help.

hi canstarve, i spoke to a BF counsellor friend of mine and she said that to limit feeds to 2 aday like the hv said is not advisable at his age and that people have exclusively BF till 12 months with no detrimental effect on their DC. maybe you could offer DD solids first then milk or maybe we should just relax and let them set the pace. ive read on various websites that some DC dont eat alot of solids till 2 years and that that is fine.

DS also goes off his food and sometimes milk when teething although he often wants to nurse more. i am going to start reading my nursing toddler book so i will pass on any info i think might be useful.

what i have found has improved his solid intake lately is to sit down at every meal and eat with him and also he is getting very independant and wanting to feed himself so i just let him get on with it and he eats some of mine too

Hi again vnmum. Yes I agree with the sitting down and eating with her. We always have the same thing at the same time. We're doing blw too, so she always feeds herself - hasn't let me near her with a spoon for months!

I have managed to cut out a milk feed or two over the last couple of days. It's been hard keeping her distracted, but we've been quite busy at least, so easier than I will find it in the week when it's just the two of us!

She has eaten a little more than she had been doing, so hoping we can build on that.

I also think she is teething at the moment, as we've had a couple of disturbed nights and a difficult nap today, and her cheek has gone red this afternoon. Hopefully the tooth will cut overnight and she'll feel like even more tomorrow!