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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Original poster

12 week old now waking 2x a night again after settled period.... time to hit the baby rice?

55 replies

shrinkingsagpuss · 08/11/2007 08:44

She was doing so well, waking once, and settling back to bed. Now she's up twice a night, and unsettled, she's looking for more food during day too..... seems a bit early to me, though her brother was on the rice at 14 weeks.

OP posts:
massivebigpantsface · 08/11/2007 08:54

give her more milk if you think she is looking for more. rice is less filling than calorie-rich milk and i doubt it will make any difference. who guidelines state that babies should not be weaned before 26 wks!
it is more likely that she is unsettled due to teething or growth spurt and perfectly normal for a 12wk old to be waking in the night for a milk feed.

Habbibu · 08/11/2007 08:55

Sounds much more like a growth spurt to me, and more milk should get her through it. You'll find as many people tell you that solid food stuffs up sleep as tell you it helps. 12 weeks is too little for any kind of solids, I'd say, and I'd ride out this growth spurt, and the next(!) with milk.

LilRedWG · 08/11/2007 08:55

Agree with massivebigpantsface.

Lulumama · 08/11/2007 09:00

no, no , no , way to early for solids

this is a classic growth spurt.. at 12 weeks, their tummies are still really small, so when they are hungrier, you are back to more feeds, more often, she will settle back down.... an extra milk feed or two is far more satisfying, easy to digest, filling and nutritious than some wallpaper paste baby rice

if you hang fire until 6 months you can do babyled weaning, no purees!

massivebigpantsface · 08/11/2007 09:01

oh yes lulu! yummy sweet milk!

CantSleepWontSleep · 08/11/2007 09:04

NO. More milk is all you need to give.

Original poster
shrinkingsagpuss · 08/11/2007 09:10

I'm not convinced by the BLW thing - but each to their own. It's just so frustrating waking twice agai, and then after the 2nd feed she only settles for about an hour before she decides its time to get up! I've tried offering her the 2nd breast but she simply isn't interested same during the day -either that or I end up wearing it!

She has got a nasty cold at the moment, so I wonder if she's instinctively trying little and often?

OP posts:
morningpaper · 08/11/2007 09:15

If she has a cold she will be unhappy at night and also need more fluids

She's bound to be waking a lot if she is ill

CantSleepWontSleep · 08/11/2007 09:16

You should wait until 6 months regardless of whether you want to do blw though.

She might be waking simply because she is snuffly - really all bets are off when they are ill!

And better for you to have get up a couple of times a night for a few weeks than for your dd to [potentially] suffer a lifetime of digestive illness.

Lulumama · 08/11/2007 09:27

agree with MP

even the best and most settled babies can get very grouchy and unsettled when they have cold

nowwearefour · 08/11/2007 21:29

i wholeheartedly second that weaning stuffs up sleep- esp if you do it too early their little systems wont know how to cope with it. it is a pain but prob wont last long. she is prob just boosting your supply to the next level. roll with it for now. though i understand what a pain it is to be up in the night again -esp with another one around the place. am experiencing it myself. bummer!but it will pass like all phases do....

Original poster
shrinkingsagpuss · 08/11/2007 22:10

I stuffed her full of milk today - she never takes the 2nd breast - but did today and I suprised myself b having enough milk for her . She did manage a quick phlegmy puke, but has settled well... propped up, plenty of vicks and baby olbas oil!

OP posts:
cheritongirl · 10/11/2007 13:33

apart from anything else, a little bit of baby rice is nowhere near as nutritious as breastmilk so really won't help. Afraid to say that my angel slept 12 hours til 9 months but now is often up a lot in the night with teething etc.. so don't assume that food will solve that one, sorry!

bumbly · 10/11/2007 17:25

my lo also out the blue has now gone from two feeds in night (never been lucky enough) to 4 last night

we are shattered and my hubby is now ill

so i understand you totally and my mom keeps saying give more sustenance...

i am not too sure all these guidelines can work for every baby but i understand waiting ..however 6 months may be fine for some babies and maybe not for my lo

so i am in same quandry as you

i can't feed my lo more milk - he wont take it - either isnt having more feeds or simply i cant force feed him more per feed

so what do i do?

AitchTwoOh · 10/11/2007 23:14

dream feed?

conkertree · 19/11/2007 13:49

well i am going to go out on a limb here - i am sure i will be shouted down but never mind. i started ds on a little bit of solids - wee bit of baby rice, banana etc at 13 weeks. He was 15 1/2 lbs and was waking every hour or hour and a half at night.

was nervous about doing it because of all the advice, but even hv had said she doesnt know of that many people who make it to 6 months. She did say to try and make it to 16 weeks, but i took the advice of my dad who is a GP and tried him with some solids. Incidentally, after the first tentative attempt, ds grabbed the spoon out of my hand as it approached his mouth and stuffed it in for himself.

the main difference in him (cause although his sleep improved a wee bit, he's still up a couple of times) is that he went from being grumbly all day and night, to smiling pretty constantly when he's in the mood for playing, and so much less grumbly at other times.

bluejelly · 19/11/2007 13:51

It's the cold that is making your baby wake up, no need for solids. Broken nights are better than multiple allergies like my dd had-- when advice was to wean at 4 months...

seeker · 19/11/2007 13:57

I really don't want to upset anyone - but I just DON"T understand why people ignore the advice about weaning! ALL the advice says 6 months! A hungry 12 week old baby needs more milk.

ANd, on a related issue, why do people not expect babies to wake in the night? Babaies have woken in the night ever since there have been babies. Babies wake and cry. Thay's what they do. Parents go weak at the knees and goggle eyed with exhaustion - that's what they do. BUT it doesn't last long - before you know where you are they'll be teenagers and you won't be able to wake them up!

ILikeToMoveItMoveIt · 19/11/2007 14:00

here, here Seeker. The voice of common sense!

ruddynorah · 19/11/2007 14:01

seeker- precisely. often coupled with 'on the advice of my HV' as if to relinquish all resposibility for their decision.

conkertree- how old is your dad? i hope he isn't making the same suggestion to other patients, contravening every guideline there is. does he not up date himself? or was he just offering advice as your dad? who happens to be a GP.

VanillaPumpkin · 19/11/2007 14:40

I waited till 26 weeks to wean and dd2 still slept no better, so seriously don't wean because you think it will help your dd sleep. Urban myth. Can you not have your dd in bed with you for a bit to get over this growth spurt (classic timing for one btw)? Good luck.

conkertree · 19/11/2007 15:06

i agree you shouldnt wean just to get your baby to sleep through the night - which is why i was talking about the fact that he started smiling again after a week or so of being very grumbly as being the main reason that i am happy with my decision.

there has been a rise in allergies in recent years, but that doesnt mean its related to weaning age. Every baby is different. You cant just say a blanket 6 months for all babies. My friends baby is 6 months old, and is smaller than my baby at 14 weeks. Her baby was quite able to wait till 6 months and is only now showing any interest in food. Mine showed the need and the interest much earlier.

And also, other advice says that babies should be on 3 meals a day at 6 months becuase their iron stores from birth have gone, but if you are only meant to start weaning at 6 months, thats a pretty big jump to go from nothing to 3 meals a day.

by the way, my dads age has nothing to do with anything. He is perfectly well up to date with all the latest on weaning babies, and just because the current fashion is 6 months, doesnt mean it always will be.

Go with your instincts. You will probably be right - advice is just that - advice. Have the courage to make your own decisions for your own babies.

ChubbyScotsBurd · 19/11/2007 15:19

OK, here's where I'm going to get beaten with a stick for being a N-word , but I wholeheartedly agree with seeker. Weaning babies simply to try and get them to sleep longer is selfish. Little babies that wake a lot might be hungry, or they might be uncomfortable, thirsty, hot, cold, sore, or just need a cuddle. To put them at risk of future problems by shovelling food into their little tummies in the vain hope of getting a tiny bit more sleep is madness. It's a few months of earth-shattering exhaustion but it's normal for babies to need attention 24 hours a day. And as for 6 months being the age at which it is 'fashionable' to wean - well, sorry if I'm just being a trend-following sheep by holding out for 6 months but I'll take the temporary disruption gladly, thanks.

Rant over

CSB (up 3-5 times most nights with big hungry co-sleeping 17 week old, and expecting nothing to change when he chews on his first bit of broccoli in a couple of months time)

NAB3littlemonkeys · 19/11/2007 15:44

IMHO too young for rice. You would still need to give the same milk anyway as rice is as well as, not instead of milk. Keep up with the milk and feed her what she wants.

stripeymama · 19/11/2007 15:49

Up twice in the night at twelve weeks?

You don't know how lucky you are! That is really good IME, dd had at least three night feeds til she was about four months.

Feeding at night is just one of those pesky things about having a baby. They need it.