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Original poster

How do I stop DD breast feeding at night

23 replies

ChristmasBOOZA · 07/12/2004 14:49

DD is nearly 7 months. She is currently on the following routine:
6.30 am breastfeed
7.45 am breakfast (ready brek and pureed prune/apricot)
10 am 7 oz formula (takes between 4 and 7 oz)
12.30 pm lunch (meat & veg followed by pureed fruit or yoghurt)
3 pm 7 oz formual (takes between 4 and 7 oz)
6 pm tea carbs and veg followed by pureed fruit (sometimes with babyrice)
7 pm bath, breastfeed, teeth, story, song, cot awake

She then wakes up between 1 and 3 times in the night for a breast feed. In fact quite often she will wake at 5, feed and then miss the 6.30 feed. She does not breast feed to sleep. For example we had a good night last night and she woke at 4.30 am and I fed her but then realised she had a dirty nappy (doesn't normally) so changed her and then put her back in bed obviously quite awake. She had a protest cry but was quiet by the time I had finished washing my hands. the previous night she woke 3 times the first being 11.20 pm.

Obviously she doesn't need feeding like this in the night. I don't think I can conceivably get more into her in the day. So basically it is just a habit to break but how to go about it. Should I offer water, pick her up and cuddle her, just pat her and reassure her?

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bundleofyulelogs · 07/12/2004 14:51

do you have a partner? i think breaking this kind of behaviour is best done without the provider (ie the boobs!) being present, so have always got dh to do this (not so nice) bit...involving cuddling, holding and then lying down in cot, stroking back (dd2 loves sleeping on her tummy). takes persistence but has worked for us. until the next time she has a cold/tummy bug...

Original poster

ChristmasBOOZA · 07/12/2004 14:54

Yes I do have a DH and have been hinting for a while that he might like to try with DD but he's not really that helpful at night.

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bundleofyulelogs · 07/12/2004 14:57

christmasbooza they never are. but plan it for a time when he's not got work the next day and volunteer to let him have a lie in (that's if you get enough sleep ) after he's done the deed. may take a few nights though.

bundleofyulelogs · 07/12/2004 15:00

(btw i'm still bf dd2 at night, so i don't always practise what i preach )

Original poster

ChristmasBOOZA · 07/12/2004 15:00

I know bundle DD is my number 2 so I've already been here with DH's reluctence once. Do you think it would be worth giving her water in a bottle or do you think I would be better just cuddling/reassuring?

Now have to decide whether to go for it at the weekend or wait until Christmas hols.

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TheHollyAndTheTwiglett · 07/12/2004 15:05

any way to do it without involving DH?

bundleofyulelogs · 07/12/2004 15:07

imo,it's less easy twig, because of the presence of the milk machine. not impossible though, surely.

TheHollyAndTheTwiglett · 07/12/2004 15:08

maybe I'll just do cc / cry it out instead

TheHollyAndTheTwiglett · 07/12/2004 15:08

maybe I'll just do cc / cry it out instead

TheHollyAndTheTwiglett · 07/12/2004 15:09

aha maybe I'll have to do it twice

sorry about that

Yorkiegirl · 07/12/2004 15:16

I need to get this sorted too, DD2 is 8mo now and still wakes in the night for a bf. Planning on doing it once I finish for CHristmas!

lulupop · 07/12/2004 17:52

bit late to this but just thought I'd add a bit as my DD is also 7 months and I've just dealt with the exact same thing 3 weeks ago.

Mine was in more or less the same feed pattern during the day, but was then waking at around 2am and 5am for BF and often missing breakfast milk and solids. I tired offering water in the night but she went beserk so I kept on feeding.

Then I just thought "I'm not doing this any more" (had a nightmare with DS sleeping as a baby so determined to crack it a bit earlier this time!). What I did was, I left DD to cry quite a bit, to see if it was just grumbling or real crying. Then when she seemed really bothered I offered her a 50% formula feed (i'e 3 scoops in 6oz water). She drained that and went back to sleep the first night.

The second night she was a bit more noisy when I put her back in her cot, but she still went off eventually, and since then she has slept through 7am-7pm. I'm so pleased! I thought it would take a lot longer than that.

She does often wake around 4 or 5am and cry a bit then babble for a long time, but she settles herself back to sleep on her own.

So I'd recommend maybe offering some watery formula as a stop-gap and see how it goes.
Good luck!

Original poster

ChristmasBOOZA · 07/12/2004 20:33

Sounds like its worth a try lulupop. Part of the reason I've been so reluctant though is the effort of messing about warming formula in the middle of the night. But I suppose I could handle it for an odd night or two. Think the fact that I can put her back down fully awake is a plus but we shall see.

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GeorginaAdventCalendar · 07/12/2004 22:31

Bozza - it's a myth that you need to warm formula!

I always thought "kids, you going to be awkward enough to want formula, you can bloody well have it straight from the fridge". Ds1 never ever complained - never knew any different, and I think (for him) it underlined that it was different to breastmilk. Ds2 I'm a little kinder with - he has it at room temperature (have the cool boiled water out in a sealed bottle then just at the powder when you're ready to go).

GeorginaAdventCalendar · 07/12/2004 22:34

Incidentally, the ONLY reason that I'm being kinder to ds2 (not out of the goodness of my heart) is one time I went on the plane with a ready-mixed box of formula and he wouldn't accept it - plane staff can heat a bottle for you but can't chill it ... so this time I've resolved to make ds2 used to room temperature formula...

lulupop · 08/12/2004 08:38

treu, you don't have to warm formula, and my ds didn't mind it cold either. But if i give it to dd cold, she takes it into her mouth and then dribbles it our the side!

To get the bottle quickly in the night I just nip down to the kitchen and put it in the microwave. Before going to bed, set the microwave to the right time (to avoid bleary-eyed mistakes!).

When she was feeding more often at night, we used to take the bottle with thermos full of hot water and a jog to heat the bottle in up to her bedroom, but this took longer than just going down to microwave tbh

Original poster

ChristmasBOOZA · 08/12/2004 14:52

I have tried DD with cold (fridge) temperature and she generally refuses it or only takes a little bit (maybe this is a plus at night?) and is even a bit sniffy about room temp (ie out of a carton) formula. Actually I think I might try her with water first off and see how we go on with that. Still haven't set a date. I'm going out tomorrow night (driving but it will be late) so won't try it before then.

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TracyK · 08/12/2004 14:54

if you use cold water for the formula does it dissolve ok? or do you mean make it hot and then just leave it to cool overnight?
I've always given ds room temp or cold from the fridge (in the summer) - but his bed time bottle I heat a little. But if he wakes in the night - he just gets the left overs from bed time.

lulupop · 08/12/2004 20:21

formula dissolves equally well in cold or hot water. just give it a good old shake/

nicnee · 08/12/2004 20:29

I invested in a great device for nighttime feeds, a Lindham day and night warmer. There is a coolbox that keeps the bottles cool so they don't go off, then a warmer also that takes about 5 mins to warm (depends on amount of milk in bottle). You don't have to go downstairs, and I found it a godsend even just to take the chill off if DS would not wait 5 mins. He will take cold milk, but gives him wind.

Original poster

ChristmasBOOZA · 08/12/2004 21:51

Tracy weren't you worried about giving milk that had been stood longer than an hour? Also think the Lindam feeder a good idea if bottle feeding from a young age but don't want to invest in one when DD is 7 months.

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lulupop · 09/12/2004 09:13

CB, I know it says everwhere that you shouldn't give milk that's been hanging around for longer than an hour, but I have to say, since my DD started having formula at 5 months, I haven't been that bothered. I often give her the leftover milk from bedtime if she wakes at night, and equally, if I offer a 7oz bottle during the day and she only has 3oz, I'll give her the rest a bit later on.

I would probably be more strict if she was in any way delicate, or had been premature, but the way I see it, she's a sturdy little thing, needs to build her immune system anyway, and for goodness sake, we don't start chucking milk away just because it's been out of the fridge for an hour or so, do we?

Original poster

ChristmasBOOZA · 09/12/2004 09:57

Maybe you're right lulupop and I have gone soft. When DS was this age I used to take a bottle to bed (at maybe 10 pm) in one of those small cool bags with an ice pack and then just give it to him when he woke up at sometime between 5 and 7 by which time it was room temperature.

DD was bang on time and I wouldn't say she was particularly delicate - she's had a couple of tummy upsets recently but thats down to starting nursery.

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