Hi.
My son is 19 months old, I exclusively breastfed him for 6 months n later started giving him solids but he is not a good eater at all till now. He used to sleep for 3hrs at a stretch when he was 6 months but now, rather than stretching his sleep time, he wakes up every hour and needs a breast feed to sleep again. I have tried rocking him n giving him bottles but nothing works. He doesn’t even eat the solids to fully satisfy his tummy. I’m exhausted n frustrated. Any help would b worth a million.
Thanks.
Re: Toddler wakes up every hour.
he just wants a comfort feed at night, you need to detach yourself from him and try to get your husband or anyone else in the family to put him to sleep.It worked for me, my hubby put my son to sleep and if he stirred in the night i would ask him to settle him ...its heartbreaking and exhausting but it has to be done...
you should consider weaning him off the breast now as well, it will help break the cycle of the comfort feeds, it will be a tough week or so but pluck up the courage and do it, you will feel liberated and hopefully your son will start to eat properly too.
Re: Toddler wakes up every hour.
I am in the same boat as you, my one year old wakes up every hours. And she used to sleep for a good 5 hr and then another 4 hr stretch untill she was 4 months old. From then onwards its a downhill journey. I'v been comtemplating weaning her of bf, but I don't know. I am still unsure.
My first born was like that too. He was 19 months old and woke up every 2-3 hours for a feed. And he was a terrible eater. LIke your kid he never slept on a full tummy and I offered him the breast thinking he'll get something atleast. But by that age, breastmilk doesn't satisfy their hunger ofcourse. When he was 20 months I weaned him off breastmilk and put him on aa bottle. He started sleeping better. He would still wake up about 2 times a night but that was better than an hour. He's now 3 yrs old and still wakes up once during the early morning hours.
LOng story short, I agree with the PP. I think it's about time you weaned him off the breast.
Re: Toddler wakes up every hour.
I agree with the above replies. My daughter was also waking up really often to breastfeed. She still wakes up alot but its better than before where we would have her in our bed and she would cry if we so much as changed sides. It took a night or two but i had my husband console her whne she woke up at night and refused to feed her till 5 or 6 am. Alhamd it wasnt as bad as i thought since she really wanted to nurse for comfort. It was so bad that she was using me as a pacifier and cried everytime i tried detaching myself from her. I find it easier if she isnt the same bed as me too.
So when your baby wakes up, give them a sip of water to make sure he isnt thirsty and then comfort in other ways. Rock or sing to him, whatever works, other then being used as a pacifier.