Toddler feeding frenzy!! Help!

[Kalikaroo]

Hi! DS is 14 months old, BF and we have a family bed. In the last 2 weeks he has suddenly gone from feeding a couple of times in the night to being on and off the boob every half an hour ALL BlOOMIN' NIGHT! Aaaarrrgghh!

I work FT, but have continued to BF and he gets 2 feeds a day. He eats well during the day too and gets plenty of dairy.

Anybody got any ideas about what's going on? Is it just a phase (I'm knackered!!). I have tried night-weaning recently and I managed to get his feeds to reduce a lot, but he seems to have regressed and has turned back into a newborn!.

Is there some kind of growth spurt or something that I'm unaware of going on at this age, or is my son just needing the comfort?

Thanks.

Hello,
my son is 25 months and we are still cosleeping and breastfeeding. He normally wakes about midnight, has a few sucks and goes back to sleep, then has a proper feed about 6am. But he has had a couple of episodes of mad night feeding exactly as you describe. I've never pinned down a cause, but I've suspected it was more about comfort than food. It might have been teething pain, or possibly earache - he had a spell of recurrent otitis media in the winter. My GP said that ear pain can occur at night only, as it gets worse when they lie down - drainage or something.
He always went back to his normal feeding pattern without me actually doing anything.
You have my sympathy - it was knackering when it happenened. (I work F/T as well). I did consider stopping the bf altogether at some points, but the protests over that would have been even more knackering.

Thanks didoreth - it's good to know that others have had the same experience and that it will (hopefully!) pass. I might take DS to the doctor's for a check up just to rule out anything like ear-ache.

It does seem to be more about comfort that food because sometimes he just has a quick suck and then rolls over and falls asleep again.

He's also started whinging every time he wakes up and sometimes just falls back asleep after a minute or so or needs the boob. Maybe he is in some sort of discomfort?

I've also considered stopping BF, but we both usually enjoy it and it helps us to reconnect after I've been at work all day.

I know what you mean about the reconnecting. I hadn't planned to feed this long, but its so sweet when I get home and he's really excited to see me, and then is even more excited when I undo my bra, and we have a lovely cuddly feed.

Have you tried calpol? If he is suckling to relieve pain that might help.