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Parenting

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Original poster

How do I stop my 6mo waking up every 2-3hr for bf?

23 replies

Mousetrap5671 · 17/08/2021 05:20

At 4mo he was only waking up twice a night, but now at 6mo we are at 2-3hr intervals and it's exhausting me.

I always try not picking him up first, patting and shushing. One in every 7 times or so this will work but ultimately he won't stop crying until he gets boob. No idea if this is hunger based or a need for comfort.

I dont know why the frequency has increased as he has got older. He's started solids so that should be at least filling him up a bit. He also has formula before bed.

How do you stop a babies night time boob addiction? I need sleep and he can't be hungry everytime.. or is this totally normal? In the daytime we are moving to formula gradually, he is on 3 bottles of formula now including one before bed which gives me at least one 3.5hr stretch.

Sorry for rambling post, exhausted mum on another night feed..

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HungryHippo11 · 17/08/2021 05:24

Let me know if you find a solution, mine is still the same at 17 months. We have had periods where she would sleep through the night and other times she is up every 2 hours.
My only advice is to just go with it and try not to stress out. With my eldest (she was the same) I was really stressed about her sleeping, would keep a record of what she ate and how much she slept, how long she fed for etc. It didn't make any difference, just drove me crazy. With number 2 I've just accepted this is how she is and eventually she will grow out of it.

If she has formula during the day, could your partner take over one (the first?) Night feed with a bottle to give you at least one chunk of 4+ hours in the night?

lucymagoo · 17/08/2021 05:35

Have you tried using a dummy? It could just be sucking for comfort if he's not hungry

Original poster

Mousetrap5671 · 17/08/2021 07:48

@HungryHippo11

Let me know if you find a solution, mine is still the same at 17 months. We have had periods where she would sleep through the night and other times she is up every 2 hours. My only advice is to just go with it and try not to stress out. With my eldest (she was the same) I was really stressed about her sleeping, would keep a record of what she ate and how much she slept, how long she fed for etc. It didn't make any difference, just drove me crazy. With number 2 I've just accepted this is how she is and eventually she will grow out of it.

If she has formula during the day, could your partner take over one (the first?) Night feed with a bottle to give you at least one chunk of 4+ hours in the night?

Oh god 17mos? Well done you for staying sane!

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Original poster

Mousetrap5671 · 17/08/2021 07:49

@lucymagoo

Have you tried using a dummy? It could just be sucking for comfort if he's not hungry

He fires out the dummy quite a lot now, I do try. I am wondering if it is worth pulling him off mid 'feed' to see if it tricks him and weans it off. Not sure if it'd worth it though as may just wake up again.

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Carleton · 17/08/2021 09:14

My first was still doing this at 18 months when I stopped breastfeeding as I'd had enough. He settled down then.

Pissinthepottyplease · 17/08/2021 09:30

I think it’s normal. My first was ff and she was the same.

Cosleeping, feeling laying down, naps with the baby and at weekends and going to bed with the baby at night was how I survived.

Purplesparkle34 · 17/08/2021 09:30

Following this as my almost 6 month old is doing exactly the same. I feel your pain, it is exhausting!

grey12 · 17/08/2021 10:09

With my 18 month old DD1 I had to remove her from the bedroom into the living room so she understood BF was not going to happen in the middle of the night. Also she could cry all she wanted without waking her sister or father. It took maybe a couple of weeks and she started sleeping the whole night

purplecrown · 17/08/2021 12:08

It's totally normal at 6 months old. Mine was still waking regularly night at 2 years old.
The only advice is to keep going, you're doing the right thing by responding to little one. I stopped counting number of wake ups because it was just a reminder of how sleep deprived I was.
It does end though, you'll get there.

BorderlineHappy · 17/08/2021 12:11

Maybe do a dream feed.
Feed before you go to bed while baby is drowsy.
You might get a few extra zzz.

notsogreenthumb · 17/08/2021 13:44

@HungryHippo11

Let me know if you find a solution, mine is still the same at 17 months. We have had periods where she would sleep through the night and other times she is up every 2 hours. My only advice is to just go with it and try not to stress out. With my eldest (she was the same) I was really stressed about her sleeping, would keep a record of what she ate and how much she slept, how long she fed for etc. It didn't make any difference, just drove me crazy. With number 2 I've just accepted this is how she is and eventually she will grow out of it.

If she has formula during the day, could your partner take over one (the first?) Night feed with a bottle to give you at least one chunk of 4+ hours in the night?

Agreed. 21 months here and still waking 3/4 times a night. There's so much going on in the first two years so I can see why some babies struggle more than others. He wakes due to hunger so breastfeeds. I'm planning to wean him in a month or two and have a feeling it'll force him to eat better and sleep through. He wakes a lot for comfort from teething pains.

Original poster

Mousetrap5671 · 17/08/2021 13:44

@Carleton

My first was still doing this at 18 months when I stopped breastfeeding as I'd had enough. He settled down then.

Did you just give formula at night instead?

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BertieBotts · 17/08/2021 13:55

It sounds quite normal IME. Their sleep isn't linear particularly in the first 12-18 months. It tends to be chaotic at first then get better until about 4 months then get worse. There's another dip at 9 months ish and then a really frustrating bit at about 12-15 months where you think surely it MUST get better by now and it doesn't

But IME any gains in sleep after about 18 months tend to stick.

I have found it helpful with DC2 to do the minimum required, so first I'll wait a minute or two to see if it's ramping up or winding down - sometimes he just has a bit of wind or a dream that then moves on to a non-scary bit. If he needs me then I go in but just stroke/talk soothingly. When he was younger that rarely worked but it often does now he is older. If that didn't work then I would pick up and finally if still not settling then I would feed.

I tend to think if they keep asking then they probably need it, whether it's hunger or comfort/co-regulation it doesn't really make a lot of difference IMO, it's still a need at that age. So I choose the approach of maximising everyone's sleep which for me tends to mean co-sleeping and/or feeding back to sleep and then I catch up on sleep during the day.

Harrysmummy246 · 17/08/2021 14:46

@Mousetrap5671 Tried formula briefly- after 4mo, DS not interested in anything except boob overnight.
I bedshared and boobed til nightweaning about 21 mo. Then sleep improved.
But that is totally normal..... And at 6mo, the amount your baby is eating is unlikely to fill them (and may be causing a bit of discomfort as digestion adjusts).

But boob isn't just food either.

Original poster

Mousetrap5671 · 17/08/2021 15:12

Some of these messages are filling me with dread. I'm back at work in a couple of months... how am I going to juggle the night wake ups and full time work, I'm already permanently exhausted.

OP posts:

RevolvingPivot · 17/08/2021 15:15

Isn't this what happens?

LunaLula83 · 17/08/2021 15:20

It's hell. No one enjoys kids under 4. Sending hugs

Ozziewoz · 17/08/2021 15:26

Maybe make his last feed of the evening breast as opposed to bottle. Then dream feed after that. I wouldnt talk to him, or pick him up, other than, 'sleep time, youre ok' and then shove a bottle in. That way, the breast is the comfort and the food is the night time filler. You could also try contacting a sleep clinic.

mutin0816 · 17/08/2021 19:26

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Carleton · 17/08/2021 20:51

No I didn't give any formula, just completely stopped and had my husband settle him,took about 3 nights on the trot before he forgot about it. I just started taking him to bed and reading a few stories instead and then cuddling him till he fell asleep. When he would wake in the night he would go back down after a sip of water or just to see if anybody was there

Carleton · 17/08/2021 20:55

It was much easier than I thought as he must of been ready really, it was me that was scared to stop. I'm not planning on feeding my daughter as long as I do think they use you as a dummy in the night if you can't get them to take an actual dummy which mine wont

Paris2019 · 18/08/2021 10:14

My 8.5 DS has been the same since he was 6 months... between 4 and 6 months we'd got down to 1/2 wake-ups and long stretches of sleep. At 6 months he suddenly started waking every 2 hours and only boob will get him back to sleep. We've been co-sleeping to ease the pain but even so, I'm exhausted!! Literally in the last 3 nights he has improved and done 4 hour stretches... I'm praying it continues. I go back to work in 3 months and I figure my choices are 1) commit to co-sleeping for the long term or 2) some sort of sleep training. Not sure which route we're gonna go down! Hope it improves for you soon!

2021expecting · 18/08/2021 20:14

My 6 month old is exactly the same, was sleeping great stretches for months there and now feeding upto 5 times a night. I'm bedsharing which makes it slightly easier.

Could it be teething starting and they're looking for comfort? That's what I'm hoping anyways and it'll settle down

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