Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

16month old. Feeding hourly at night

7 replies

Cwatpops · 27/01/2021 15:37

My daughter has been breastfed since birth and it’s been great. I’ve really loved almost all of it. We’ve also bed shared since birth, which both me and my husband have loved.
Just before Christmas DD was going down in her cot for 4-5 hours then coming into bed with us for the last few hours of the night, this was perfect.
She eats well, and when I’m at work ( 2 12 hour shifts a week as a midwife) she drinks cows milk in a cup. She also happily drinks cups of water too.
A week before Xmas she had a cold (coincidental or not I’m not sure) but since that point she will only go down in her cot for an hour at the most. I can feed her and put her back down and she will last another hour and so on and so on. But when I bring her into bed with us she will also only last 40mins-1 hr before stirring to feed again. She’s fidgeting an awful lot so it’s not the sort of feed you can sleep through.
I understand that night wakings are biologically normal and I’m happy to feed her in the night but I can cope with every 40mins. It’s not fair on my older boys who are getting the crappy tired version of their mum and I can’t exactly call in sick to work JUST because I’m knackered.
In an effort to help this I’ve day weaned her and this has been easy enough, but to be honest I didn’t need to do that I just hoped it would have some knock-on effect at night.... I was wrong.
For info, she wakes for the day between 0730-0800, she has a 1.5-2hr nap usually around 12ish and goes to bed at 8pm.
We have had the same bedtime routine since birth, bath, books, nurse to sleep.
I literally can’t carry on but am torn between loving feeding her and feeling like my only option is to wean.
Any thoughts would be amazing!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
NameChange30 · 27/01/2021 15:41

"In an effort to help this I’ve day weaned her and this has been easy enough, but to be honest I didn’t need to do that I just hoped it would have some knock-on effect at night.... I was wrong."

What a bizarre decision. If you want her to stop breastfeeding at night, you stop breastfeeding her at night, not during the day! Night weaning works well when you can offer breastfeeds during the day.

That would have been might advice, night wean. Do shifts with your partner and enlist help from others if you can (if not during night then help with the kids in the day so you can catch up on some sleep).

NameChange30 · 27/01/2021 15:43

PS I night weaned DC1 at 10 months and continued breastfeeding from morning wake to bedtime until after his second birthday. During night weaning / sleep training, DH and I didn't get much sleep at all, utterly exhausting, but it worked and was worth it.

OnSilverStars · 27/01/2021 15:44

Once I stopped breastfeeding completely my son slept through the night. Maybe it's time to call it quits for your sanity and health?

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Ohalrightthen · 27/01/2021 15:46

Yeah, if the knly time she's getting breastmilk is at night, she'll keep waking for milk at night.

I night weaned DD at 10m but kept breastfeeding in the day. Took one night!

Cwatpops · 27/01/2021 16:35

I think probably the day thing was just desperation. It is a bizarre plan I know but I’m desperate and I’m tears so please don’t criticise a crappy decision.

OP posts:
Mamapep · 28/01/2021 13:15

I could have written this. I day weaned my dc because I had to return to work, but there was a phase of them waking this frequently through the night, around the same age as your dd or a month younger.

I offer cows milk and water before bed And they eat well, but they've never ever slept completely through.
They wake usually 1-2 times now at 2 years old.. it's definitely more of a comfort thing than a feeding thing though. They have breastmilk in the daytime once a day before naptime (lockdown annihilated my day weaning efforts).

Sorry this is isn't really advice, just wanted to let you know I've been there and it will settle down naturally a bit, whether you night wean or not.

Mamapep · 28/01/2021 13:20

In the meantime.. Reintroducing the offer of a late afternoon feed could help?

New posts on this thread. Refresh page