Dropping the night feeds - please help!

[krysalyss]

Hi guys,
My 5.5 month old DS still feeds twice through the night. Is it realistic for me to want to try and drop these feeds?
He has no weight issues being around 9.3 kgs (OMG!) and it really is killing me to get up twice.
How do I go about dropping a feed?

[Visitor7]

From 6 months I started dropping the feeds. Are you b/f or f/f? The reason I ask is if you're b/f, then you could try reducing the time you feed by, every 3-5 days. If you're f/f, then try reducing the amount you give him in the bottle, anywhere between 10-50ml every 3-5 days. And see how that goes. You could also try offering water instead of a feed at night. This could take up to 5 nights to work.
HTH.

[RhiChiChi]

My dd is ff and I tried to drop her nightfeed, but this stuffed up her sleeping patterns and feeding during the day. So, last night I gave in and gave her a feed at 2am and she slept through until 8am and is asleep again now.
If you are bf, have you tried a 'rollover' feed whereby you give ds a short feed before you go to bed? Sometimes this might make him sleep through a bit longer. One thing my gf tried was to feed her dd 3 hourly during the day and then she slept through the night.
You might have to try a couple of different things over a short period of time.

[krisp]

At 5.5 months old I think 2 o/n feeds is pretty normal. My DS was still getting one o/n feed up until about 2 months ago and he's now 18 months old! Yes I was desperatley tired but it was quicker to give him a bottle change his nappy and all be back in bed 20 mins later than to fight with him and have him crying and upset.

Ultimately you need to do whatever works for your little family. A full nights sleep will come eventually it might just take some time that's all. I have been patient with my son as I knew he would sleep through when he was ready and he did, it just took longer than I thought it would that's all.

Good luck with your decision, take care and try and rest when you can.

[becmc]

It is very common for babies to wake frequently during the night from around 4-5 months. This quite often coincides with developmental milestones such as rolling etc. I have found the quickest easiest way to get my ds back to sleep was a breastfeed. He may not have been hungry, but it worked most of the time, and it got us back to bed asap.
I don't think it is realistic to expect a baby to sleep through the night just because they are not hungry. They are still learning what is going on in the world and sometimes might just need a cuddle, or even a quick drink. I know myself I quite often get up for a drink during the night.
You could definately try the rollover feed, where you don't wake them up, you just pick them up and feed them and put them back to bed. Or try offering water. But I am pretty sure I have read that the average age most kids start sleeping through is around 2 years.

[Emma1979]

just wondering out of interest what time he goes to bed, and what time he has his two feeds, and what time he wakes....?
on a good night my dd goes to bed at 7pm afer a bottle, has a roll over feed at 10pm, then usually has a feed anywhere between 4am-8am, depending on when she wakes... she is 6 and a bit months and 8kgs... on a bad night it could be bed at 11pm, awake at 5am, like last night!! only just got her down for a sleep now at 1pm from being up since 5am.... killer.

[krysalyss]

During the day he gets fed every three hours (at least. sometimes he is hungrier before that). He goes to bed about 6 or 6:30. He has what I guess is a roll over feed at around 9:30 but he will actually wake up for it. Then he is waking up at about midnight and then 3. Then we are up at 5am. I know he will sleep through eventually but as I am working part time as well I wont cope very well if it isn't until 18 months. If I was able to sleep during the day it wouldn't be quite so bad but I have a lot of difficulty doing that. I was beginning to think that I have PND but suspect I am just so sleep deprived. He has already started solids but doesnt have much yet - just about one teaspoon three times a day.

[MantaRay]

Jack was sleeping through at that age, but Tom used to wake twice a night. Then he started waking only once a night and sometimes sleeping through, and now, at 12 months, he has just started sleeping through nearly every night (touch wood I haven't spoken too soon LOL!!). Personally I would wait a bit before trying to drop the night feeds. I would probably try to drop it down to one feed at around 9 months if he doesn't do it by himself and then you can think about night weaning once he's one. JMO but I think that if they are waking at that age and drinking well, then it means they need it. Once he is eating solids well it is very likely he'll cut down then drop the night feeds on his own when ready.

[Emma1979]

hmmmm at 5.5 months and weighing a whopping 9.3kg, i tend to think he is waking up for feeds during the night more out of habit rather than him actually NEEDING the feed, but try telling him that!! if he's waking for feeds at 9.30, 12, 3 and 5, i would sort of call that 3-4 feeds over night... but the thing is, its often easier to feed than it is to try to get them out of the habit, if u know what i mean..... are u prepared to be up in the night while you wean him from some night feeds? if i were you i would wait until he is say 6.5 months, that way hopefully he is through his 6 month growth spurt, then have a think about how you want to tackle it.... i would have thought by six months you could expect a few more hours out of him over night between feeds, waking three hourly is pretty hard going for you.... this is just my opinion of course...

i guess if it were me, i would try reducing his feeds first, shorter breast feeds or reducing the formula, then go from there...... it might mean there are a few nights where he is upset and you may be up rocking him etc trying to get him back to sleep..... i dunno what the answer is..... ive recently started giving my 6 month old a bottle over night when she had been going without for months, but it is just easier to give her a bottle in the hope that she then goes back to sleep *shrugs*

[Liz]

We had 3-4hrly feeds round the clock for many many months. And had 1-2 feeds over night up until the last few months.. so we're similar to krisp in that it's about 18months that he's sleeping through. Altho, he doesn't really sleep through, but he doesn't feed over night any more. Just climbs into our bed and is straight asleep again hehe.

I agree that if he's having a good drink, he probably needs it. The best breastfeeds are actually at night, and the night feeds keep your supply nice and healthy too.. something about hormones being better at night time.

We didn't try to fight it, because DS was having good feeds at night, and it was definitely the easiest and most peaceful way to get him back to sleep.

We had quite a few rough times around 7/8 months too.. he was learning to crawl, he teethed a STACK of teeth at once, and had many an unsettled night. It was tiring, but it did pass, and we got back to our usual rhythm of waking only a few times and settling quickly with a feed.

It is hard when the lack of sleep builds up. Can your DH or someone give a bottle of EBM through the night and let you sleep - just so you can catch up a bit?

Will send some sleepy vibes your way

[Boo Boo]

DD only started not needing a feed during the night at 11.5 months - I thought it was never going to happen....at about 9 months it dropped to one feed at about 3 am and she would take 200mls so she really seemed to need it and I didn't want to force the issue and then at 11.5 months, it happened I really thought she would be 5 years old and I would still be getting up.....

[krysalyss]

Just an update with this.
We implemented some changes into our routine and they are working really well. We have dropped one feed overnight and our other sleeping problems - having to be rocked to sleep, catnapping etc have also gone. The best thing is we did it without crying (me or him!).
He also has a new thing. He now loves sleeping on his side. It is soo cute with his little bum on the side. What is it about babies bums that are sooo cute?!?

[RhiChiChi]

Great work! That is fantastic, you just needed to trust and go with your instincts! Hope you are getting some good sleeps yourself.