i need advice plz: getting breastfed 8 m.o. baby to sleep thru the night w/o booby

Stephanie - posted on 04/13/2009

You could try what i do . I started noticing that when i worked at night and my hubby fed the baby a bottle he slept better at night so i pump milk to feed him at bed time that may help but we also feed him cereal at 6:30pm and bed at 9pm. If you have a pump try and pump and feed with a bottle to try to get him used to not eating from the boob. Good Luck!

Michelle - posted on 04/13/2009

Actually I think your doing a fine job so far. He doesnt sleep next to you, he has his own room, hes successfully BF.

Is his weight on target?

Why dont you try blending banana, or giving him mash potato (with your milk added) once a day for the next week. If his weight is on target and hes happy, alert and meetinghis milestones then I dont think you need to push the feeding solids to more than that.

All babies are different as my prem baby was on solids at 4 months (3 months corrected). But I know for my next baby, Im BF only until 5 months at least.

How long has he been in his own room? Could this be a contributing factor?

Check things like temp in room and, whether hes comortable enough in his crib. im sure you probably dong this already. Could it be he may be starting to teeth? Some babies dont cut teeth until theyre 1, so dont worry about this if hes not. Its probably because hes BF and his gums arnt getting the full pressure from eating solids. This isnt a problem.

Some babies need to learn to soothe themselves to sleep. You could try leaving him  to cry a little longer. 1st start with 10min and then when he wakes again dont go in for 15 min etc...

my daughter went through a stage of waking up in the night at arounf 9 months. She would scream until you went in. She would have cried all night if you let her, shes v.stubborn. She only quit this when we moved into our new house about  a week ago! Shes 14 months now. I think it could have been the karma in the room. Now her room is warm, and soothing. She also wouldnt sleep on her mattress, she had to have big cushions under her. Now shes fine.

Alison - posted on 04/13/2009

he sleeps in his crib...i sleep in our room right beside his room
he really isnt 'on' any solids yet...we have dabbled in rice cereal/ applesauce/ let him taste things we were eating that were not chunky...but he's just not that into cereal. and yes, he thinks booby milk is on tap & likes to nurse every few hours, but he is definitely drinking milk, not just pleasure suckling. last night he only woke once to eat which was good.however the night b4 he cried for an hour in his crib after i fed him(?) his diaper was clean & he was fed so i let him cry, only going in to console him every 10 min. or so...
i dont know any other way to get him to sleep uninterrupted :(

Michelle - posted on 04/12/2009

Does he sleep real close to you. He most likely can smell you and your milk which is making him wake up during the night. What solids is he on? And how many meals does he have throughout the day? 

Is he in a routine? I BF and my daughter was in a routine from about 3 months old. She was a feed on demand baby and would love to just get the comfort from my breasts. Can you tell whether he is just suckling on you sometimes and not swallowing?

I dont think you should leave a baby to 'cry it out', yet most people in America do do this. im in the UK btw.