Night breastfeeds - when do they stop?

[mindtheagegap]

My DD is 15 weeks old and EBF which I love. She feeds 4 hourly day and night, but at night a feed can take an hour .. and then by the time I've got her to sleep (can be at least another hour of shush patting, but that's another story) I only get 2 hours sleep before the next feed. We were co-sleeping which was great initially but for the last few weeks she just 'grazed' on the boob, hence moving her to the cot. I was wondering when breastfed babies started to drop night feeds or to extend the time between them. I go back to work in March and at this rate I'll be a gibbering wreck.

Hi Mindtheagegap,

My DD is 6 months and she is still breastfeeding at night. She feeds at 11pm and then another feed at around 3 or 4am. We have started giving her some solid food and this has not change her feeding patterns at night either. My MIL told me that at the moment she would start eating solid she would sleep through (she bottle fed her 3 children). I think my DD started to extend her night feeds when she was around 4 months.

The truth is that each child is different, some stop feeding at night early and others don't so I guess you just have to hang there and see. I perfectly understand your need for a good night slee when going back to work. I am still waiting for a good night sleep myself . You may want to try to fix the problem of her taking her so long to go back to sleep after a feed before you go back to work, this sould give you more hours sleep until she decides to drop her night feeds.

Good luck

8 months and still going here. Sometimes twice a night too!

Oh but I don't do the shushing thing. He settles himself. It might involve some going to sleep crying but it doesn't last long. 5 mins or so...

dd2 kept up with night feeds until she was just over 9 months
slept right through for the first time on christmas eve (cool xmas present ) just in time for me to back to work in January

so it may take a while! Things started to get alot easier around 8 months when she began to sleep much better and settle herself down much more easily too.
thing is feeding gets so much faster when they are bigger-her night feeds only really lasted a few minutes by the end.
And your dd may drop the night feeds much sooner, you never know...

Hi all, sounds like I've got a little way to go yet. I actually don't mind feeding at night - its the time its taking to get her back to sleep after. She'll nod off on me but wake with wind if I don't burp her - and that wakes her up. I was getting into a non stop cycle of feeding - hence trying shush pat.. early days, but fingers crossed it'll work.

Sorry to add... 14 months and 2 feeds in the night (2am and 4am) here! Sorry, I'm sure this isn't helpful...

My five and a half month old used to get bad wind in the night too, but that settled down at around 4 months and I never wind him in the night now, he just falls asleep on the boob and I put him in his cot. I'm only up 20 minutes each time.

Have you tried not winding and seeing how it goes?

Also, why is each feed taking an hour? Is she actually eating all that time? Mine falls asleep but would keep sucking (but not feeding) for ages if I let him so I just stick my little finger in his mouth and break the latch. He either bobs back on or stays asleep and I put him in his cot.

About 18 months when I night weaned him. He still wakes in the night for cuddles though

Hi Giraffe - she takes about 20 mins each side on a good night but its often longer. If i unlatch her too soon she gets really uptight and wants to go back on, when she does fall asleep if i put her straight down she'll often wake herself in her light sleep phase and can't resettle - hence trying shush pat... doesn't settle well for daytime naps either - unless she's out in the pram. Guess she just needs to get a bit bigger.

My son is also fifteen weeks, and I am still getting up twice between midnight and 7am. Unfortunately, up until a couple of weeks ago, it was only once - no idea what changed. We've tried getting him to go back to sleep other ways, but it appears he is genuinely hungry. To be fair, so am I when he gets me up!

I have four and they all fed in the night until round about the 12 month mark. I had them in bed with me in the end and bearly woke to feed them.

My DS stopped at around 7 weeks - I found that I was doing the same as you, getting up, feeding (he falls asleep), wind, hiccups, settling him and it was never ending. So one night when he started stirring I was so knackered I didn't get him up, just stood over his cot and shh shh shushed him until he fell back to sleep. So I thought hmm he could not have been hungry just got into a habit. the next night i did the same thing and it took less time and the next night he didnt wake up just cooed in his sleep at the same time he would usually have woken. Apart from a growth spurt between 15-17 weeks he has slept through ever since.
So that may be worth a try in case it is a habit and not a hunger thing.

Thanks Heather - I actually gave up on shush pat last night (only night 3 of trying )as she just got so angry and i was on my knees. Hummed Glory Glory Hallelujah to her instead - don't ask why, its funny what comes into your head at 2am! - and she dropped off on my shoulder and went down into her cot and SLEPT!! and did the same at the next waking (after her feed) - so got 6 hours sleep last night. Am I making a rod for my back though? Actually don't care at this point - I got some sleep and so did she!

DS stopped at 6 months, dd2 stopped at 17 weeks, dd1 would have carried on for years and took some persuasion!! They're all different.

lol i always sing nelly the elephant which seems to have the same effect.
No i think if you can calm her and get her to sleep then go for it. Thats great news I'm glad you got some sleep.
Thinking about it I do remember picking my wee one up and doing some back patting/singing then putting him down again and him going off to sleep that way so whatever works.
I think though that he must have been watching me type this as last night and in backlash he woke at 2am and refused point blank to sleep in his own bed so ended up chucking hubby out and him in beside me until 8am. oops.