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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Help please - Is there a way to get a 6mth bf baby to sleep thru the night?

8 replies

Holymoly321 · 21/05/2008 08:34

DS is 6mths and bf - although he has one bottle of formula at dream feed. Thing is, he is now waking up twice a night for feeds - currently around 2pm and then 4.30. I feel that I've done my bit re bfing now and really want some proper sleep. Anyone got their bf baby to go through the night? Been weaning for 2 weeks and he seems to have got worse not better at sleeping!

OP posts:
moopymoo · 21/05/2008 08:49

i never managed it. ds2 3.5 has just started sleeping through (4 nights ago!) sorry that is no help at all...but i do really believe that some babies are just more wakeful than others and it does sound lie he might be having a growth spurt and need those extra feeds. weaning doesnt really make much difference at 6 months as the vast majority of nourishment will still be from milk. nap when you can is my only advice.

Holymoly321 · 21/05/2008 08:51

Hi MM - bit diff to nap I'm afraid as I have a rowdy 2.5 yr old DS1!

OP posts:
Kitsilano · 21/05/2008 08:53

I recommend "Solve your Child's sleep problems" and also the Millpond Sleep Clinic book (can't remember what it's called but look on amazon).

Apparently a 6 month old baby is unlikely to need a feed in the night but is used to getting back to sleep that way and after a while his stomach will expect to be hungry at that time. You could try gradually cutting back the amount at each feed and stretching the time between feeds. Also make sure he really is awake before going to him. And maybe try to get your partner to setlle him rather than you as he will be less likely to expect milk.

Also make sure you aren't weaning him too fast - he still needs 20-30oz of milk a day so if you are filling him up with solids he may try to make up the milk at night.

Good luck - my dd is 6 months old this week and has just stopped feeding in the night - but now she's waking up because she rolls over and gets stuck!

twelveyeargap · 21/05/2008 08:59

Perhaps his milk consumption has gone down since he's being weaned and he's not getting all the calories he needs from milk during the day?

DD2 only slept through (at 25 weeks) after giving her bottles of milk at night so I could see how much she was drinking. It was only an ounce or two at most at each waking so I stopped going in and she stopped waking after a couple of nights.

Waking habit rather than waking for food. She actually only mooched around on each waking and then went back off to sleep after about 5 minutes. I didn't have to let her "cry it out" or anything. I just needed to leave her alone to go back to sleep. I stopped using the baby monitor so I didn't wake at every sound after that.

She still wakes in the night - she's 11 months now. Usually around 1 and 4 and she'll cry out sometimes. I just have a listen to make sure she settles again.

I'm not saying that's definitely going to work for you - just be aware that babies wake frequently in the night and it's not always because they're hungry. They do it anyway. When we're breastfeeding, I think it's instinct to jump up and feed them, partly because you can't really be sure how much food they're taking on.

I think the imagined correlation between formula feeding and night sleeping is probably more to do with parents of bottle fed babies being able to realise that their babies aren't actually hungry.

If you go to them when they don't actually need attention (ie, dirty nappy or hungry) then you actually reinforce the waking habit.

iwillNOTletthisbeatme · 21/05/2008 09:00

ill be reading this hoping for a miracle cure.im in the same boat

Kitsilano · 21/05/2008 09:01

And I sympathise with not being able to sleep in the day - I have a 3.1yr old DD1

If he is having a full dream feed at 10.30pm I really don't see how he should be hungry at 2am - I would try to push that feed a bit later hopefully then he could get through til mornign and you'd only be on 1 feed a night.

TanE · 22/05/2008 17:56

My 6mth old ds is bf and started solids about three weeks ago. Usually sleeps 7.30-1.30pm bf then till 6pm. Make sure it's not extra wind or maybe even consitaption from weaning that's cause uncomfortableness. I always try to put my ds down awake/drowsy but not fully asleep - when he wakes 1st I give him his dummy/stroke his face, next put the mobile on (music only) and if still unsettled feed as a last resort rather than 1st. Last night he slept 7.30-4.30am - lets hope it continues. Never did dream feeds with any of my 3ds' as found it woke them up! Keep up the god work and hopefully if he learns to go to sleep by himself it will be solved very quickly.

Miaou · 22/05/2008 18:13

Ds2 has just started sleeping through the night. He is 10 months old. He can now turn himself over and lie on his tummy, it's as simple as that (for him anyway!!)

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