does anyone else have a dc over 1 who still feeds in the night?

[olivo]

I guess i'm looking for some reassurance here. my dd is nearly 14 months and generally still wakes for a feed in the night -any time between 2.30 and 5.30. if she wakes at these times, she will feed then go back to sleep till 6.30/7 am. if its later, she'll be up for the day.

I know its probably habit but i have tried to get her through later with out milk; she'll settle back down for half an hour or so but then wake and the whole settling thing begins again. have done night upon night trying without the milk but nothing happens.

does anyone else have dcs who have milk in the night? or did - when did they grow out of it?

me me me !!!!!
hard isnt it, i like tike think that i am chilled about it , altho knackered, if she is hungry shes hungry, so i will feed her, it is a reltively new thing i am hoping it is yet another phase, and she will grow out of it sooonn

so tired , i cant spell (sorry)

my dd (11 months) still wakes in the night for a habitual bottle. tbh, i could go down the controlled crying route but i dont really fancy it. feeding her a bottle takes 10 mins and then she goes back to sleep, i always think it could be so much worse!

ds (now 4) was the same and probably just grew out of the habit around 20 months.

me too. 22 months. sigh

my ds2 (23mths) wakes on average 3-4 times still for milk. dh goes and tries and settles him but you hear him asking 'milk, milk please mummy!!'

I keep telling myself that every child is different and as long as we're happy it sorts itself out eventually..xxxxxxxx

The thing I would worry about most about feeding in the night at this age is that it's not very good for the teeth - and that goes for all milk, and of course juices.

oh phew, i feel better to know i'm in good company!
belgo, i DO qworry about the milk on her teeth (she only has 6!), i'm just so tired that every night, i tell myself one more night wont hurt.
i've tried putting her to bed later ( she goes at about 6.20 at the moment) but it makes no difference to her waking time. if she doesnt get milk, i'm looking at a very broken night, any time from 2.30
i jyust cant function at work on such little sleep.

yes , I have to say the teeth thing worries me too,I was thinking of keeping her hungry!

Olivo - I was in the same position as you until dd2 was about 18 months.

Then finally i'd had enough and was concerned about her teeth.

It took two or three nights of dh looking after her, then she slept through

there is hope!

Olivio,
at this age theya re doign so much, my lo has started to walk, is worn out earlier than usual, so goes to bed earlier, ergo wakes up earlier and is hungry. i know it will sort itself out with time, as will your lo also

belgo, i thought about trying that but dd just screams when dh goes to her in the night, unless its with milk

i think i'll try and sort it after half teem - we're away so her sleeping pattern will be a bit bottoms up anyway - might as well go cold turkey when we come home.
hotbot, how old is your dd?

Yes, still feeding DS (18 m) once or twice a night most nights. He spontaneously started sleeping through at 11 months and then stopped again at 14 months when he started nursery, so I am hoping that he will just give up again... sigh...

He is BF and I read somewhere that breastmilk isn't too bad for the teeth...?

I am rubbish about taking the path of least resistance, plus he is teething and sad and it seems so mean to leave him sobbing when it's not that much bother to me to get up. I've got to get tough soon though... I want another one eventually and there is no way I am doing night feeds with two.

Olivio, dd is mearly 13 months old

i agree that there is so much going on for them . my dd has recently started walking too and comes home from nursery shattered as she only has about 30 mins sleep there- she's too nosey to go to sleep!
maybe she'll grow out of it soon
[hopeful emoticon]

mearly???
belgo i have reread my post,, sorry if i appeared rude and flippant its sooo not usually me

similar age then hotbot - my dd started this shorlty before her first birthday and as it was school holidays and i got a lie in, i encouraged it

yes i think they all have their ways,when she woke up before it was just a quick hold of hand to turn her round in bed and straight back off to sleep, she used to go to bed at 7 / 7.30 now its 6.30 hence the 4.30 wake up call, seh used to wake up a 6.00 am ish which was fine for us.

i'll be interested to hear how it goes for you - keep me posted! and if you learn any good tricks, let me know!

hotbot - no need to apoligize

Breast milk is NOT thought to be bad for the teeth. It's not like formula in this respect. I was still feeding at night at this point and still would be if we hadn't got harsh. Except that every time we go away it goes bottoms up again. ONly thing that worked for us is sending dp in night after night with sippy of milk. Took 3-5 nights I think. But if you can bear to carry on, do. At least you get more of a lie in this way - I bet she would wake up earlier without it, ours does.

Not anymore but dd still woke for milk in the night untill she was 2.

After that I found she just needed a pat and a gentle 'its night time , go back to sleep' and that was ok.

She now ....sleeps through from 7ish till 5 ish!!!! Most nights anyway.
It happened very gradually and of her own accord. If she woke I fed her and if she didn't yippee!!!

Remember that every child is different, and if it works for you then it's fine.

However, if you'd prefer for her to sleep through, then it should be perfectly possible to achieve. You can either wait for her to do it herself (but be prepared to wait a long time!) or you can actively try to encourage sleeping through.

If you're bottle feeding, then try watering down the milk a little more every 3 days - that way you should get to the point where she's just having water - and therefore won't actually be feeling hungry. Once she's not feeling hungry, you stand a better chance of getting her to sleep. I'd also recommend giving her the milk/water in as little light as possible - and not talking very much, other than a shush or a "have your milk" - ie making it not very interesting to wake up. If you reward her with "quality time with mummy" then she will do it more..

hope that helps.

thanks for your advice. dd has been getting abit later this week - nearer to 5 and then going back to sleep after a bottle. she odes have a heavy cold so i think she's doing quite well!
i really am going to ry after our holiday next week - maybe if i start as soon as we get back, she'll have forgotten she used to like milk in the night

Me. It doesn't bother me most of the time, since we cosleep, so I'm just waiting till he grows out of it. He's starting to now (23 months), there have been a few nights when he hasn't woken at all until morning (at least, assuming you define 'morning' as '6am').