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Original poster

Any tips on getting BF babies to sleep through the night?!

49 replies

Bumpandus · 05/02/2019 16:25

Hi my baby will be 8 month old on the 15th Feb (born 9 week early) and is BF here’s our schedule:

7.30 wake up BF one side (pump other side)
8.30 breakfast (porridge and fruit)
(Awake 2 hours) Nap 9.30-11.30
11.30 feed both sides
12.30 lunch (veg sometimes meat)
(Awake 3 hours) 2.30 nap - 3.30
3.30 feed both sides
Dinner @ 5 (veg sometimes with meat)
Bath @ 6
Feed both sides 6.30
(Awake 3.5hrs) Bed @ 7
Dreamfeed @ 10 (actually I’m starting this tonight I usually feed on demand through night)

For naps I just put her into the next to me crib with her favourite soft toy and she settles within 3-5 mins after babbling to herself or whining as long as I stick to the schedule above.

We don’t feed before naps anymore and she has reflux which I believe made her uncomfortable to sleep another reason why we started a routine rather than on demand.

We are following an eat, play, sleep routine before this I was feeding on demand but couldn’t get a routine with naps. Now breastfeeding on a schedule and it’s working much better for us. She still wakes a lot in the night and I have to feed her to sleep but I’m working on this! The day time is now great! Especially with having a 7 year old too.

The problem starts at night. She settles like with her naps but then can be awake every 1-2 hours and won’t settle without my nipple or a feed. Any tips?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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rubyroot · 05/02/2019 17:27

I weaned mine and at around the same time I weaned him to bottles he slept through the night 8/9 months. No idea if it was coincidence to not, but if you want to continue b feeding that may not be the answer. Some people may have different experiences and their bottle fed babies also didn't sleep through the night. but I think for my baby it broke the sleep association as he needed boob to get back to sleep.

This is purely anecdotal but all the mother I know who continued to b feed up to 2/3 continued to have difficult sleepers. I personally think bedtime at 7 seems early

buffysummers4 · 05/02/2019 17:56

I bf both of mine and ended up having to do controlled crying at bedtime for both of them at about 6 months because they had such a strong feed to sleep association. I still feel them if they woke up at night - my first started sleeping through shortly afterwards. My second continued waking for feeds so at just over 12 months I went cold turkey on night feeds and he slept through after that. I continued breastfeeding him at bedtime after he slept through the night so didn't totally stop breastfeeding, just didn't do it at night.

Original poster

Bumpandus · 05/02/2019 18:59

Thanks for your answer.

I don’t think she has a sleep association with boob because if you see the schedule she naps without boob and I feed her half hour before bed. Just in the night I can’t settle her until I feed her and I can’t burp her well in the night with her being so sleepy ...

Also she is shattered by 6pm so a later bedtime would not work. I fight to keep her awake til 7/7.30.

OP posts:

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

6-9 months old 7 year olds Babies & sleep Children's sleep

Original poster

Bumpandus · 05/02/2019 19:00

Thanks for your answer.

How did you go cold turkey through the night?

I think the feeds are causing her to stay awake because she doesn’t burp well.

OP posts:

buffysummers4 · 05/02/2019 19:06

I have always done 7pm bedtime for mine so it does work for some kids. When I did cold turkey I decided on a cutoff point eg 5am and when he woke before then I offered him a sippy cup of milk instead. He refused to drink any but at least by offering it I felt better as I'd checked he wasn't hungry. After a quick cuddle I walked out and went back in after 5 mins if necessary then every 10-15 minutes or so. Had a few nights with a fair bit of screaming but he slept much better afterwards so it was completely worth it. After a few nights I took in a sippy cup of water instead because he clearly wasn't interested in the milk cup. It probably would have worked better if husband could have gone in instead but I couldn't persuade him to do it.

rubyroot · 05/02/2019 19:12

Mine also napped without boob, I don't think this means they don't have a sleep association

Cosmoa · 05/02/2019 19:39

No advice but we have the exact same routine including the times! However my 8 month old has just woken again and I'm now feeding her AGAIN. She's in some sort of sleep regression. Woohoo.

Original poster

Bumpandus · 05/02/2019 20:32

@Cosmoa I feel you! So do you not feed to sleep just have issues through the night?

OP posts:

Original poster

Bumpandus · 05/02/2019 20:33

@rubyroot perhaps not but I don’t understand how it can be an association when I don’t feed her until she’s asleep I leave plenty of time before I put her to bed.

OP posts:

Original poster

Bumpandus · 05/02/2019 20:34

@buffysummers4 thanks thts probably a great idea but I think it would be harder work to pump the milk into a cup than to just feed her I wouldn’t want to offer just water incase she needs the milk. Ahh I’m too soft

OP posts:

3WildOnes · 05/02/2019 20:39

It sounds like she can self settle so that’s great! Does she take a bottle at all? If so I would offer a bottle of water when she wakes up but no boob.
I think if you want her to sleep through you just need to stop offering boob in the night. So if she wakes just stroke her until she falls back to sleep. It will be harder in the short term and you might feel more tired at first as she takes longer to settle but she should start sleeping through once she get used to no milk.

3WildOnes · 05/02/2019 20:42

I’ve just seen you don’t want to stop offering milk. In that case I don’t think there is much you can do. She has got into the habit of waking regularly for milk.
Is she in the next to me crib at night too?

HarrietM87 · 05/02/2019 20:45

I don’t think you need to give up bf - looks like you have a great routine and well done on the naps! My baby was waking every 2 hrs through the night at that age too. I decided to only feed every 3 hrs at night, and then 4, and then 5. If he woke before those times my DH would settle him. It worked really quickly - seems he just wanted the comfort not the milk, but once he stopped getting the milk r also stopped waking.

queenofkale · 05/02/2019 20:46

If she won't settle at night without a feed or your nipple then she does have a feed/sleep association. Even if it's just for those situations.

If I were you I would night wean. Offer water instead. That will definitely get her to sleep for much longer stretches if not completely through.

Original poster

Bumpandus · 05/02/2019 21:58

@3WildOnes yeah she sleeps in my room so in the next to me crib. Tonight she went to sleep at 7 and woke up about 8.30 I picked her up and held her for 30 seconds put her back down and she slept again. She’s just stirring now (10pm) so I’m going to feed her as this is when I would usually dream feed her anyways.
I don’t want to stop the milk because she is only 13lbs she was premature.. but I will offer water in the night when she gets a bit older. Thanks

OP posts:

Original poster

Bumpandus · 05/02/2019 22:00

@HarrietM87 I plan to feed until she stops so that’s out of the question stopping BF.
I think I will do alternative feeds for now so first wake pick her up second wake feed and try to slowly wean her off feeds that way at least until she’s bigger she’s only 13lbs I wouldn’t want to mess her weight up just for sleep!

OP posts:

Original poster

Bumpandus · 05/02/2019 22:01

Thank you @queenofkale I will definitely use this approach when she is a little older/bigger. I worry she is maybe feeding in the night to make up for the day she is only wee!

OP posts:

IsItBiggerThanTheBoxItsIn · 05/02/2019 22:23

My DD did this until we moved the cot out at 10 months. Now on a good night (no teething or cold etc) I get one 3- 4 hour stretch of sleep and feed 1-2 hrly before 11 and usually 2-3 hrly after 'the big 3-4 hour sleep'. We co-sleep from first wake after I go to bed until I or DH put her back in the cot....which we often forget. I've tried most things but no crying it out methods. My 'routine' is very flexible but things that help are a short bedtime routine, white noise, dim light, telling myself 'this is a short time in our lives' over and over and over again. I suspect many of DDs feeds are for comfort but I'm not ready to do anything drastic so we keep hoping she will get it eventually. I wish you luck and will be following for any tips I haven't tried yet!

Yellowcar2 · 05/02/2019 22:34

My DD is a similar age. She was sleeping through the night but at around 4 months started waking up quite regularly and would only go back down if I fed her. 2 weeks ago I decided no more night time feeds. BF on demand as normal during the day and had last feed at around 7.30. When she woke up I just gave her a cuddle till she went to sleep. After a few days when I think she realised she wasn't going to be fed she started to sleep through. Not every night. If she does wake a little belly rub normally sends her off. She us still in cot next to me.
Good luck.

Cosmoa · 05/02/2019 23:48

@Bumpandus after my post I realised you said you don't feed to sleep for naps! I'd love to try that but I don't see it happening 😩 however my OH can get her back to sleep if she wakes at like 10pm by just rocking her. Also she has started to dig her teeth in when Im feeding her which kills so I have to unlatch her and bounce her to sleep for naps quite often recently.

We're moving house before her first birthday so I'm planning on moving her into her own room then and seeing how we get on with some changes!

NinaMarieP · 06/02/2019 07:49

My son dropped his regular night feed at about 7 months and after that only fed in the night after 4am if I couldn't get him back to sleep and he was really unsettled.

He slept through for the first time when he was 15 months (he was BF morning and bedtime until 14m, though not every night as I work some evenings) and now at 18 months he sleeps though maybe 3 or 4 nights a week.

I honestly don't put too much stock in 'he/she wakes for milk' because for a hell of a long time after he regularly got fed at night he still woke. Make that still wakes, but at least now it's usually just once and he goes back to sleep within a few minutes of being resettled.

QueenofmyPrinces · 06/02/2019 07:52

I sleep trained mine at 9 months for this reason.

The four factors of this were:

Putting baby in his own room (massively important!!)

Breaking the feed to sleep pattern.

Night weaning - cold turkey!

Controlled crying.

buffysummers4 · 06/02/2019 11:02

Bumpandus - I didn't express, just offered formula or cow's milk (can't actually remember - it was around 12 months). He didn't actually drink more than a mouthful anyway so it didn't really matter what I offered!

Original poster

Bumpandus · 06/02/2019 12:56

The other issue I have is that my boobs are always full through night so I’m worried I will get engorged too. Any tips on this? Arghhh bf is easy but weaning from the boob is not!

OP posts:

Aquilla · 06/02/2019 13:21

Interesting that you weren't advised to formula feed from the beginning with her being that tiny. 13 pounds is still very small - she would have put on much more weight and probably be sleeping through the night if you had!
But I suppose they call that 'progress'. Good luck, OP.

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