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Any BF babies still up through the night?
Hello folks!
Just wondering how your BF babies are doing at night time?
I'm still exclusively feeding MasterG myself. Constantly!!!
I gripe, but it's not too bad
It's just that he's still feeding so much through the night. On a good night, I would only have to get up three or four times, but more often than not, it's pretty much every two hours.
He sleeps between feeds, but they are still plentiful. I'm getting used to the lack of sleep, but it is still hard work.
A couple of my friends with similar aged babies are giving formula for the night time feed, and it's helping them get through the night. I'm keen to keep going myself just now and hopefully, when I get solid food eating established, then it will get better, but I don't expect that to happen until about February or March as he'll be 6 months in January.
Anyway, just wondering if anyone else is still persevering through night feeds, or if you're all getting a good nights sleep?
xxx
Just wondering how your BF babies are doing at night time?
I'm still exclusively feeding MasterG myself. Constantly!!!
I gripe, but it's not too bad
It's just that he's still feeding so much through the night. On a good night, I would only have to get up three or four times, but more often than not, it's pretty much every two hours.He sleeps between feeds, but they are still plentiful. I'm getting used to the lack of sleep, but it is still hard work.
A couple of my friends with similar aged babies are giving formula for the night time feed, and it's helping them get through the night. I'm keen to keep going myself just now and hopefully, when I get solid food eating established, then it will get better, but I don't expect that to happen until about February or March as he'll be 6 months in January.
Anyway, just wondering if anyone else is still persevering through night feeds, or if you're all getting a good nights sleep?
xxx
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Replies
Finley is now exclusively formula fed. We moved him totally onto formula a few weeks ago. He was feeding similar to your little one, constantly through the night, sometimes stopping for about half an hour before wanting to latch on for another few hours... was hellish!
I couldn't, and didn't want to continue as I felt I wasn't enjoying him or my DD during the day due to feeling so shattered.
Finley is now only waking once a night and it is so much better (although I am still constantly tired, but realised that being a mummy of two under 3 is going to be tiring for a while!)
If you are happy to continue to breastfeed then keep at it, sure the feeding will settle more at 6 months when your baby is on solids too.
xxxxx
We stopped BF 2 weeks ago for similar reasons to roo, and DS has actually been waking up a lot more in the night than when he was BF. He just doesn't seem settled with formula as much as when he was BF. He is waking pretty much every hour from midnight for various reasons of being hungry, losing the dummy, being cold etc. It's really tiring but I keep telling myself that it won't be forever and in my mind he is still a baby (4 months) and once he eventually does sleep through it means that he's growing up etc and becoming more independent, so in the longrun this time is quite precious (I'm not sure I think this at the crack of dawn when I'm sleep deprived though!).
Each baby is different and my DS is a big baby so I think he just doesn't get full up for very long!
Matilda is clearly a greedy little lady
Im BF my 3 month old, and while he's a big boy and feeds hourly in the day, he's much easier on me at night. I find the hourly feeds in the day constant but i have nothing to complain about next to you, bless you! I don't want to sound like im boasting or rubbing it in, but my LO sleeps through. So theres no hard and fast rules with formula or breast milk (i never imagined he would sleep through till on solids). I do worry in the day he feeds a lot, i totally dont mind from my perspective but i worry he may get fractious and distressed through being hungry as time goes on as hes a big baby, but i feel now ive got to this stage the option of solid food is always there. I wouldnt want to give him solids at 3 months, ideally i want to get as far as possible, but ive decided if he gets very hungry after 4 months solids will be open to us. I totally understand you're worn out and shattered, i think if i was in your boat i would seriously consider a little bit of baby rice or potato at lunchtime. To me this would be miles better than giving formula after we've come this far.
I understand your resolve to wait till 6 months as the official advice states, however, if your LO continues to follow this pattern or even feed more frequently at night then you also need to think about your own health and sanity, your baby must be pretty tired too! Our parents were advised to wean us at 14 weeks and people did this for many years. The fears of early weaning and increased risk of food allergies have to be weighed up against the massive advantage your LO has had being BF and that the pair of you need to be happy and able to function!
Anyway, it sounds like you are coping amazingly but i think if you start to think about giving a formula feed, you may as well consider a bit of solid food instead. I think you're right, by 3/4 months things feeds dont get less frequent, if anything they probably increase in frequency (im waiting for this with my LO!) but sounds like you are very calm and will deal with everything that is thrown at you! x
most of the ladies are getting 6+ hours at BF group and one is getting 12 hours straight! so i think its more to do with the baby than what they are fed
My Phoebe was exclusively BF but her weight gain plateaued for 3 weeks so I introduced a formula feed at 10:30. At first I tried expressing for the dream feed but felt under too much pressure to be feeding every 3 hours and then expressing on top of that. Once I finally got my head around the fact that I wasn't replacing a BF but giving an extra feed I felt much better.
Phoebe sleeps through with a little grumble every now and then but doesn't wake up. She is now nearly four and half months and is back down to 4 hourly feeds but still with the dream feed.
Have you tried to increase the amount of time between feeds during the day. I did this with Phoebe. Obviously when she was a new born she was feeding every 1 half to two hours but then I pushed her back half an hour each time over a number of weeks until she can comfortably go 4 hours. (She could go longer but I never let her) This might hemp your little one going longer at night. It might be that he isn't actually hungry and using you as a comforter?
Initially I wanted to exclusively BF to 6 months but realistically I am preparing to wean off the boob and on to formula followed by solids in the next couple of weeks as I am due to go on a 6 week course at the beginning of February and want her to be established by then.
What ever you decide to do good luck and hope he sleeps through soon x
Over solids I do understand you wanting to wait till 6 months but there is alot to suggest that it doesn't do them a them any harm and there is alot of research that suggests it is good for them to gain more diverse flavours at a younger age. i started both my DD and my DS at 4 months on the nose and only going by my DD she adores her food and eats so so well, fingers crossed with my DS its the same... time will tell hes loving his rice, apple and pear, so far so good!
Like Alfie says you've got this far with formula maybe solids would be a better way to go?
You definitely aren't alone on the no sleep though, don't think BF or FF makes a big difference- think it's more the baby they are- my son has definitely shown me that! My daughter (now 3) was an amazing sleeper from 10 weeks and I kidded myself it was my good parenting- haha- my son has definitely proved that I had absolutely nothing to do with it!!! XXX