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!

I’m always shocked how many health visitors seem to be so ill informed and give out such shit advice.

@hmmimnotsure thanks for that link - that’s more or less what I’ve done, I started with one “meal” a day, then moved onto breakfast and lunch and I now offer him something around 4pm too. He mainly plays with his food but it’s still enough to interfere with his breastfeeds, I try to offer bf often throughout day to allow him to catch up on calories and I also try to time it so he wakes from a nap, has a bf and then I’ll offer solids a while later
Do you think I should scale back and cut out the third meal? Looking at the nutritionist who works with Joe Wicks she advises three meals between 7-9 months of age! I’m in no rush for solids really as breastfeeding is just so easy (now) and convenient

kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/solids-how/

I would ignore your HVs advice. I found 6 months and weaning a really hard time for sleep. All the new solid food causes some tummy trouble- constipation, wind etc so they have a difficult time sleeping. I do as you do and have taken a very low pressure approach to weaning where I offer food and let him play with it, squish it and maybe taste it. My job is to offer and his job is to listen to his body and eat if he wants to. Breastfeeding is still the main source of nutrition anyway at this age. Offering solids now is just starting the process of being comfortable with food so that as they reach age 12 months+ they can make the transition to food being the main source of nutrition.

@notaskingforafriend thank you!! So handy. Wtaf was my health visitor trying to do?!? She literally started talking about other mums who replace breastmilk with more solids and water! Going to ignore her and scale it right back!!

@FleasAndKeef I’m not due to see her for three months now thank goodness so I’ll revert to one or two opportunities only to experiment with solids in the day and see how it goes!! I know they’re extremely helpful to many mums but I would be quite happy not seeing health visitors!!

Phew! I've actually had really great experiences with our health visitors, but I hear some really worrying stories of other people's experiences... Have fun with your food experiments 😁

Perfectly normal. Have you had a read of the Kellymom website? Some great info on there about breastfeeding and what to expect during different ages and stages. There's also advice on night weaning (iirc it even specifies introducing solids as a reason for more night wake ups as they are harder to digest and recommends avoiding solids in the evening if your baby is struggling - I did this with dc1).

I'd go with one meal at 6 months, two at 7 and three by 8 or 9 depending on how the solids are going. Evening meal would be the last one to add although it's tempting to 'fill them up' before bed it often back fires. Milk feeds as usual and try to resettle without feeding at night if possible but easier said than done!

My DS is almost 7 months and wakes every 1-2hrs for breast. I know most of the time it’s for comfort.

My HV has tried telling me to give him 4 meals a day to fill him up. She didn’t understand that he’s waking for comfort not hunger!

I need to somehow get him sleeping in longer stints before I go back to work as it will break me!