Water at night instead of milk?

[ToonLass]

Does this actually work?

My 6mo and bf. She still gets up 2/3 times a night for a feed. She feeds every 3 hours during the day and has recently started solids which she is taking to well. Her weight gain is great and has never moved off the curve she is following.

I'm getting a bit tired of the night time feeds, everyone else I know seems to have a baby that sleeps through the night and I hate the pity in their face when I tell them mine is still up a few times.

Surely she doesn't NEED fed during the night? Is it just habit?

I have been advised to try giving her water out a bottle instead of feeding her myself, but I think this will just upset her and I can't see it actually working?

She won't take a dummy but can sometimes be soothed back to sleep by sucking my pinky. If she wakes 2/3 hours after a feed though I'm almost certain to have to feed her again to settle her.

Has anyone else tried it and had success?

Thanks

At 6 months old I wouldn't be so certain night feeds are not needed. At 12 months yes, they really aren't needed but a large proportion of 6 month olds will still be having night feeds.

She is still transitioning from exclusive milk feeds to solids so it is perfectly reasonable and normal that she may still need milk in the night.

Some babies don't need night feeds at 6 months and this is fine and normal. Other babies do have a calorific need for milk feeds in the night at 6 months and this is also fine and normal.

I have four children.

• DC1 (BF) was fully night weaned aged 2 1/2 years.
• DC2 (BF) was fully night weaned aged 6 months
• DC3 (FF) was fully night weaned aged 8 weeks
• DC4 (FF) is currently 7 months old and still has one night feed most nights, only occasionally going 12 hours without a feed.

Helping your daughter settle back to sleep without a milk feed is a good idea. I would be unhappy with 2-3 hourly wake ups and would want to do something about that. But what I don't agree with is that you can say with any certainty that your DD doesn't need a night feed.

Ds was 10 months before I swapped milk for water during the night, but he was ff and took a dummy so wasn't as reliant on me for comfort.

Dd is 6 months, ebf and a dummy refuser. She certainly doesn't sleep through and she needs the night feeds beyond a doubt.

Also both of mine woke/still wake 2-3 hourly at 6 months.

DD is 16 months and wakes in the night several times for a bottle. I have no idea if it's habit or if she needs it, no one has shown me any actual evidence of this idea that babies don't "need" food in the middle of the night.

We would rather like it if she slept more, so we watered her milk down over a week or so until she was only having water. She still wakes about every 2-3 hours each night (no change there), but now as she has water instead of milk she also needs her nappy changing twice a night. So it really didn't work for us. She's well hydrated though!

I am just worried that she can't get to sleep without being fed, so instead of waking up because she's hungry, she's waking up as most babies do but expecting a feed to get back to sleep.

Of course, if she needs it then I don't mind at all, but she feeds sometimes as often during the night as she does during the day. Sometimes even more!

I'm not expecting her to 'sleep through' anytime soon...but a solid 4 hour sleep would be heavenly.

I think they slowly learn to self-settle, you don't need to force it. DD can self settle but not if she's hungry. Which I think is fair enough, I can't get to sleep if I'm hungry either.

Anyway I don't think being fed to sleep when they're little is a problem. It's comforting for babies to suckle and them feeling safe and content because of the suckling is important I think.

You're right, it's all consuming right now but in a few years I'll look back and wonder what all the fuss is about. I hope.

Or I might have one or two more waking up for night feeds too!

I'm just really struggling in the mornings, she's getting up at 5.30/6 after being up 2-3 times and I'm seriously lacking any energy first thing.

Stronger coffee is maybe the answer.

Stronger coffee is definitely helpful! I had to forgo my morning coffee a couple of weeks ago for a blood test and I nearly fell asleep on the train on the way to work

I didn't feed overnight from 3 months ( overnight being 11pm-7am). But I have always fed every 1-2 hours during the day. Can you try feeding baby every 2 hrs instead of 3 hrs during the day? Dreamfeed at 11pm, then nothing until morning.

Also no feeding to sleep

I didn't feed any of my 4 at night past around 6-7 months. Two of them stopped waking up themselves before then. With the other two I was confident they were just comfort sucking so just stopped feeding and would cuddle them or get DH to if they woke at night.

I did however find that once night feeding stopped they soon stopped wanting to breastfeed during the day too. Even though I persevered for a couple of months stopping night feeds seemed to reduce my day time supply.

I would leave it a couple of months and then try once your baby is eating 3 meals a day. I night weaned my DS at 9 months. One night of crying whilst we cuddled him and offered water and he has slept through ever since.

Cuddling (during the night instead of feeding) just makes her angry haha, I'll see how she goes over the next few weeks and then maybe do a trial of just feeding once during the night (and accept the crying), then if that's successful cut down again.

She fed very 1-2 hours during the day up until a month or so ago, I feel like a free woman now not having to worry about going out and about and having to find somewhere to feed her ever hour or thereabouts! I have tried to squeeze in an extra feed at some points during the day but she's just not interested.

Ah - feeding to sleep. It just happens!! Only at her last feed of the day, and during the night of course. Ages ago I tried a few times to wake her slightly before putting her down but BOY did I regret that! Took her ages to settle again.

It's so hard knowing what/what not to do.

Do not listen to all your friends when they say that their DC sleep through the night. DD was an excellent sleeper from 12 weeks. (12-5.30) and then at seven months was a shit bag. She's 3.5 now and still a shit bag sleep wise. (Obviously wonderful in all other ways)

If give milk at 6 months. As PP said, they may NEED it.

I'd work on the dummy. It may well end up being your saviour. It may take some perseverance though.

After you've finished a breastfeed to sleep, nipple out and dummy in just as she's falling to sleep. Keep going with this. In time you'll be able to just give her the dummy at first murmur and she'll get that comfort suck back to sleep without needing a feed.

It is hard knowing what to do, I know what you mean. That's exactly why I decided to go with what feels right for DD and I, since there is so much variation in the advice. You know your own baby best, after all.

the gentle sleep book by Sarah ockwell smith has sleep ideas and helped me to accept that actually my newborn won't sleep lots...

That's funny weasel...I just got that from the Library!

7.5 mo and still feeding 2/3 times a night. They need it at this age. Teething, learning new skills, nutrition and comfort. I'll be happy to ?night wean at 12m. Oh and don't feel bad feeding to sleep, my 3yo always fed to sleep and is FAB at sleeping now.

brilliant! hope it helps, I read it all in one go - might have something to do with being awake all night!