6 months wanting breastfeed every 2/3 hrs overnight...help me

[Blueswede]

He got to a point of only wanting dreamfeed around 10/11 then waking around 4 for another feed and I was so happy to be getting decent chunk of sleep...now he literally wakes every 2/3 hours PLUS I have to change his nappy 2-3 times overnight because he’s drinking so if I don’t, he ends up in soaking clothes no matter what nappy I use!
I’m 90% sure it’s linked to when I started weaning. I offer him many opportunities to breastfeed throughout the day to try and get him to drink his daily requirements in the day but it’s not like I can force him to feed!
Please help it’s like having a newborn all over again!

There is a sleep regression at 6 months, could it be that?

I’m interested in the replies, I’m in this same situation with my baby, she feeds often through the night at almost 6 months. I was just putting it down to her teething or having a growth spurt, but it seems never ending. She still sleeps next to us in her crib and I’ve found I was feeding her too much at one point and have started just giving her the dummy at times, and she’ll go back to sleep.

Hi

I am having the same issue, spoke to my health visitor today and she said because he is obviously so much more i interested in food rather than milk to just try and get him on three meals + snacks during the day with plenty of full fat dairy. You can always add milk to the babies food if you are worried and it will then eventually help with night wakings too x

Every 2-3 hours overnight is normal for some babies. Six months is a age you can sleep train them (but read up on that). And I’m sorry to dismiss what a health visitor said, bit for my children, wakings have never had anything to do with how much solids they’ve consumed during the day.

Ultimately a baby doesn’t actually need food until 1. Any food at 6 months is an additional snack to the milk because they cannot process it properly.

My DD did exactly this. It was a sleep regression. I moved her into her own room and that improved things a lot.

Hi

Just to clarify my HV was talking about the fact that my baby is barely interested in milk feeds during the day and that by him getting more food during in the day by moving him onto food quicker it may stop the night wakings as atm he isn't getting enough during the day as is distracted-so more of a welcome side effect rather than the reasoning behind it. Starting weaning has had the opposite effect as now all he wants is food not milk so I am under no illusion that food=sleep and the OP has the same issue so I am sure she is the same but wanted to relay what the HV said to me today as gives some hope which we all need at this time of night (morning 😂)xx

PS my baby is in his own room and that has made no difference to his sleeping it is exactly the same. All babies are different maybe food didn't work for yours but it will work for others in the same way my baby going in his own room has had no impact on sleep xx

Thanks everyone
Health visitor fame today and says he needs to eat more solids during the day...now I’m no expert (this is my first baby) but he’s not that interested in food. I offer him bf all day many times and offer three meals a day (good variety, e.g baby porridge, toast with peanut butter, fish with veg, pasta bolognese, fruit, veg, usually what I’m having for a meal, finger food and as mash and I also follow Wean in 15 (Joe Wicks’ weaning account on Instagram) for ideas. He’s just not that into his food. So while I’m no expert I just have to hope it’s something he’ll grow out of in th me next few months. My mum tells me I LOVED my solids from 4 months (purées to start) but still woke through night for feeds at DS age. We have him in a cot bed, but this hasn’t made a difference - he still wakes so inevitably ends up either in the cosleeper or in bed with me (I do follow safety guidelines). Just want more sleep especially suffering with an almighty cold right now x

Your health visitor is shit 🤷‍♀️ Ring the National Breastfeeding Helpline www.nationalbreastfeedinghelpline.org.uk/

Some baby’s like to sleep in their own room, some like to be close to their mum. My first was in with me for 2.5 years, my second wanted to be in her own room at 7 months! If he sleeps better with you I would do that.

Sounds normal to me. Ds was still waking fir a feed at 2.5 years 😫 He wasn't interested at all in solids until 8 months and was rubbish with proper food until much older. He much preferred a breastfeed and it's important to remember that a breastfeed is so much more than just milk. He's 5 now and would happily eat 3 weetabix for breakfast if I let him. He's just inhaled 2 with loads of milk and is demanding more food because he's still hungry. Some babies just wake up and some just aren't bothered about food until later. All 3 of mine were like this. It's hard work but doesn't last forever. I found with ds that just going with flow was the best way and far less stressful. I was single from the moment I found out I was pregnant and it was so much easier than dealing with an abusive husband who had an opinion on what I should be doing to get them to sleep through. I found that the breast was pretty much the answer to everything and wish I'd done it with the dds too instead of trying other methods. Good luck, it's hard, but will pass.

@puds11 totally agree. I believe in the saying ‘food under 1 is just for fun’ (unless of course baby actually takes an interest in wolfing meals down) and she was talking to me about portion sizes to which I said he eats as much as he wants then I stop when he’s clearly has enough! He’s 75th centile for weight and 91st-98th for length so obviously I’m doing a lot right!
@BercowsFlyingFlamingo thank you I’m quite fortunate DH isn’t bothered by night wakings and just accepts it, baby in bed and all! (He often gets me to put DS between us in his sleepyhead so he feels secure)

Glad to hear it @Blueswede. Weaning can be very stressful for some people and health visitors making it sound like a baby is reliant on food is very unhelpful!

My DD is nearly 8 months and really isn’t very interested in food at all!

We went through something similar. Mine was far too distracted to bf in the day...I started feeding him in a biting room with no toys or noise. This definitely helped with getting more milk in to him. Unfortunately we are at 10 months now and its only now that I've seen a good improvement in night waking for milk.

@puds11 @stopchewingeverything the best piece of advice so far I found on a mumsnet thread which said to just offer bits of what I’m eating and leave baby to it, let baby play with the food and no pressure just crack on eating myself and see what they do. Made my life simpler! I know they have good intentions and can be helpful where needed but privately I refer to them as the health police... I bet they’ve got me marked down as a non-conformist already because I have made decisions that go against the norm no I’m not an anti vaxxer but other decisions I’ve made have been informed and I’ve made up my own mind against official expectations of new mums so I take everything she says with a massive pinch of salt! I get more help here on mumsnet and by following accounts on Instagram but I’d never admit that to the health visitors 😂😂

@blueswede unfortunately I have found that if you go against ‘conventional’ advice health care practitioners and early childhood ‘experts’ can be a bit funny with you going forward. Like the advice they give you is more basic than they would give to other people as they think you don’t really care what they say. It’s a shame but I’ve experienced it too.

@puds11 silly isn’t it - when I’ve done more reading and research than her average mum from what she’s told me (told me she has to deal with a lot of mums who think cola and Chinese takeaway are acceptable weaning foods for their babies not even joking.

One of the first things ds tried was one of my chips and curry He was eyeing it up so I let him have a taste. He had a good suck of it and made lots of interesting faces. He still loves chips and curry but there's no chippy near us now. I'm a dreadful mother.

@BercowsFlyingFlamingo you are not these mums don’t give their babies any fruit or veg and actually pour cola into their babies bottles and the mums themselves don’t eat fruit or veg or know how to cook something like pasta...

My little boy breastfed every 2/3 hours overnight (sometimes more!) until he was nine months old. Weaning made no difference (and he loved his solids from the start) Your babies behaviour is totally normal

Sorry, its completely normal. Obviously as he's bf you can't gauge the amount he's taking in the day, processing solids will take more time to digest but be less calorific so he'll take less milk in the day and he'll be getting his calories in the night. Some babies just feed more, some babies need the comfort of the breast, some babies are just shit sleepers. You also have to add in the joys of teething at this age.

Carry on as you are, and if he's your only then try to nap or relax when he naps.

I'm no guru, my dc (13 months) has been up 4 times since he was put to bed, but he's cutting his upper first molars and needs the comfort of the breast in between sleep cycles.

@TheBabyAteMyBrain his naps are seldom longer than 30-45 mins I know he’ll get bigger and things will change it’s just hard going
This is what I suspected too that weaning has something to do with it, as since introducing solids he’s definitely less interested in daytime milk but having full feeds overnight (and needing nappy changes as he wees more overnights too!) so that’s why I was at healer visitor saying he needs MORE solids in the day! Reassuring to know it’s normal and not something which needs ‘fixing’

Health not healer 😂

Start slowly with solids or they start waking up at night.

If you fill their tummies with food, it's harder for them to digest and fills them up for longer but does have the calorie content, so they skip milk feeds, then wake at night because they're hungry.

The introducing solids guidelines are quite clear, not idea why some HV's snuggle to follow them!

https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/what-to-feed-your-baby/around-6-months/

Sorry should say doesn't have the calories!