HV said I should stop feeding him in the night

[roslily]

My ds is 6 months old- just. My HV said now I should stop feeding him in night. He's never been a great sleeper, but he's better now. Generally wakes up 2-4 times a night on a good night. He is FF and feeds at 11ish, sometime after 2am (depending on when he wakes).

He is never interested in morning bottle though, and sometimes won't feed again until 10-11am. For this reason HV says I should stop feeding him in night.

Does this sound right? Or is she talking twaddle?

My HV said the same to me with DD2 and tbh it worked - she was waking up and crying, taking the feed as comfort but not really needing it. As soon as she stopped getting the feed, she stopped waking up. But I would say it's for you to judge whether you think your DS is getting enough in the day.

fwiw i think it's totally up to you how and when you choose to feed your child, it' snot going to stunt his growth or anything either way. it's possible to persuade a 6-mth-old to feed less in the night if you want to (depends on their and your personality how much of a fuss they make about it and whether you can cope with potential fuss!). it doesn't do them any harm if they are getting enough at other times. if you don't mind waking up, i dont think that harms them either. i don't get why HVs are so pedantic about stuff like this tbh, there's no bloody objective medical standard to judge by, it's just fashion... but then most mums are desperate to persuade the little blighters to stop feeding at night tho so they get more sleep! so maybe she's thinking of your health

Only two things matter at this stage in a child's life: That they are getting enough nutrition and that the parents are getting enough sleep to cope.

When they are bigger and have to do things like nursery or school and need to have a night's sleep under their belt then it matters that they are not waking - ideally.

Not now though.

Nutritionally they do not need to feed at night so long as they feed enough during the day, so again it is possible and (to some) desirable not to entertain night feeds at this age.

Considering all the above - what do you want? Your baby will be fine whatever you choose - you just need to decide what you want to be doing.

The HV is neither right or wrong, she has a valid opinion but there isn't a rule book that says you must stop feeding at night.

Just on what you say I would tend to agree with HV and hippacrocwhatjumacallit!

it may take a few night to establish the new routine and they may not be great. Is DS on food yet? If so then if you do not already give him supper then it may help if he has a milky supper of weetabix or similar before he goes down to sleep.

Let us know how you go!

yes second littlepushka, having a bit of solids does seem to help with the sleeping. mine had a tiny bit of baby rice and was out like a light

If your DS is not taking his morning feed well then it does seem like he is telling you that he is ready to drop a feed. And it is up to you whether he drops the night feed, or the morning feed (as he does now)

If he drops the night feed then be ready for the early mornings but once established this quickly moves to 0630...0645...etc etc and you start to progress to a baby that sleeps through the night.

Thanks guys. Last night he didn't seem interested in night bottle, but still woke a few times. He did drain his morning one though! Right a few nights of this and hopefully he will sleep better. I am shattered, so if I could get him to sleep through it would be excellent! Not holding my breath though!

I stopped feeding my ds in the night when he was 9 months old (breastfed)

It took a couple of nights of my dp going in to settle him, and I am pleased to report he is now sleeping through the night 7-7

I was convinced he was not hungry in the night and was getting enough milk and solids through the day to stop the night feeding.

It worked for us, so really its up to you what you want to do