I really do not know how to start this post but I"m exhausted. I have a 13 months old daughter who is waking up every hour (at times more frequently) at night. I am not sure if she’s actually hungry or wether she just nurses for comfort. There are times when she would nurse for a good 15-20 minutes and then at others she’d just suck a few times and fall asleep. She doesn’t show a lot of interest in nursing during the day. she nurses about 3-4 times though. 1. on waking up in the morning, 2. before mid-day nap, 3. around 5 -6 pm (this one isn’t consistent) and before going to bed. At times I feel I don’t have enough for her now and I should put her on cow’s milk. I started giving her atleast one bottle everyday when she was 10 - 11 months old and she was ok with that but for the past few weeks she won’t even touch the bottle and may take a sip or two with a cup but won’t really drink properly.
also, she used to eat really well but doesn’t seem interested in solids lately. I thought it might be a phase but its been almost 2 months. For a while I thought it could be teething coz she was drooling and was being cranky, but she has stopped drooling and there are no other signs either (she’s still
toothless).
Do you think it’s time to wean altogethor and put her on cow’s milk or should I just cut out on the night time feedings. How did you go about it, if you weaned at night. Do I gradually decrease the number of feedings or do I go cold turkey?
Thanks in Advance!
I weaned my first one with 16 Months as like you too I was really exhausted.
So we went the cold turkey method.. she sleept with my husband and when she would wake up at night, he would give her a bottle, but gradually she stopped taking the bottle, I would now fill it up with plain water not milk as it would not be good for the teeth at night to take milk.
I know its not easy to wean just at night as they know that there is milk there, so we had to do it all as it was not enough to really fill her up.
During day, she was drinking cow milk in a bottle and enough soilds.
I think if you are really exhausted, then no need to go on nursing as I think she is big enough to have food and cow milk.
The problem with night time weaning is that in my opinion, that they know there is milk as they are getting it during day, so its in their memory that if they cry, mommy will come and nurse/comfort them.
Have you tried feeding her with cereal, food, milk bottle ... like really filling her up .. just befor going to bed, so that she is filled up and really wakes up around morning, at that time you have had enough sleep too.
She isn't a big eater Saadia. ike I said she used to eat quite well but seems to have lost interest lately. Plus, even on days when she sleeps on a full tummy she still wakes up every hour. Maybe it's just a habit, which needs to be broken?
My first one was like this. The first year she sleep with my arm beneth her. I read the link you quoted. Maybe u should try it as she is old enough for the method.
I know it will be hard as at first the baby might feel insecure and might be afraid ect..
Thank God my second one loves to sleep, so she only wakes up when she is really hungry, I know this as the way she drinks tells me that she is hungry and not looking for comfort.
Have you tried not nursing her when she wakes up at night and comfort in other ways? I was really afraid of trying it too but when i made up my mind and did it, it actually wasnt too bad, Alhamd. Rock her, hold her, walk around, offer water do wahtever but dont nurse her. Or let your husband handle her at night time for a couple of days.
We are not completely nightweaned either, i feed her around 5 or 6 but to me taht is much more manageable than feeding every 2-3 hours. I KNOW a 1 year old doesnt need to eat taht often at night.
Also i have found that my daughter eats better during the day when she doesnt snack all night. She is also not a big eater but she likes to feed from my plate when i am eating. Maybe try the same with your little one?
Thank you Ira. I'm definitely going to try that. But just when I made up my mind that its time for night weaning she caught a cold.
She has a cough n a runny nose today. Ill wait till she's better n then no more night nursing inshallah
aww poor baby! Hope she feels better soon.
But I agree with Saadia, cold turkey is the way to go.It might take a few days, but she'll get the idea soon. I think I got half my sanity back when I weaned my younger son at 13 months. Good luck!
i don't know. I don't think I"m totally ready to stop breastfeeding all together. If night time weaning doesn't work out, then I'll give it a couple more months before I stop.
Have you tried not nursing her when she wakes up at night and comfort in other ways? I was really afraid of trying it too but when i made up my mind and did it, it actually wasnt too bad, Alhamd. Rock her, hold her, walk around, offer water do wahtever but dont nurse her. Or let your husband handle her at night time for a couple of days.
We are not completely nightweaned either, i feed her around 5 or 6 but to me taht is much more manageable than feeding every 2-3 hours. I KNOW a 1 year old doesnt need to eat taht often at night.
Also i have found that my daughter eats better during the day when she doesnt snack all night. She is also not a big eater but she likes to feed from my plate when i am eating. Maybe try the same with your little one?
Hang in there, i know how exhausting it is!
Ira, how old was your daughter when you night weaned her? And how long did it take? I understand you still feed her once, somewhere in the early morning, but how many nights of crying did it take to get there? :) does she stay asleep till 5 - 6 am now.. or do you still have to comfort her when she wakes up??
Sahar, that is a reason too at times. I give her gripe water, which works at times. At others it doesn't.
any suggestions?
I wish I knew! I'm learning myself -- my daughter is almost 11 weeks (mashAllah).
You could mention the concern to your doctor. Have you tried those Mylicon drops?
Ira, how old was your daughter when you night weaned her? And how long did it take? I understand you still feed her once, somewhere in the early morning, but how many nights of crying did it take to get there? :) does she stay asleep till 5 - 6 am now.. or do you still have to comfort her when she wakes up??
Crystal, i just started not too long ago, like maybe a month ago. It honestly took like maybe a night or two at the most to get her used to not eating at night. That being said, sometimes she really is hungry in the middle of the night and will take a full nursing. But i suppose i should feed her more solids. Her ped said to not fill her tummy with milk if i think she didnt eat enough one day, that she will make up for it by eating enough the next day.
We had some good nights where she slept till 4 or 5 in the morning by herself but mostly i have to go in and soothe her in other ways. So it hasnt solved all our problems yet but i have hope yet. Lately she s teething and waking up every 90 mins so i am utterly exhausted too!