Growth spurts

Tanya - posted on 12/11/2008

Rebecca, By the sounds of things you are taking a well rounded approach to parenting... a little from this philosophy, a little from that. Be encouraged that we did a very similar thing with our daughter and she is now a thriving 9 month old who sleeps well at night and is an absolute pleasure during the day! Have fun on the incredible journey called parenting!

Nicole - posted on 12/11/2008

Many that have used Babywise have also had problems with failure to thrive. You must be careful at this young age and respond to your child. They need to know you are there and they need nutrition, comfort and love. But, I know you know that! Until she's a little older, I highly recommend doing a more on-demand approach. I still do this w/my son who is almost 2 years old and he is SO smart, healthy, and very independent. I use the breast to comfort A LOT and he's been sleeping through the night most of the time on his own since about 18 mo. He has also started sleeping in his toddler race car bed that's at the end of our bed and is doing great, all on his own, despite my turning to the breast to comfort him when needed. He's secure and confident mommy and daddy are there when he needs us and we are!

Stephannie - posted on 12/10/2008

Definitely get up and feed her. At this age you should never deny food if they act hungry. If she is growing it takes more food to grow. She will eventually get back to routine, well mine did. When mine would wake up I would just lay her by me and nurse her, when she was done I would put her back to bed, but it allowed me to catch a little more sleep while she fed. Good luck hope things go good.

Misti - posted on 12/10/2008

If she's having a growth spurt, then I would DEFINATELY feed her in the middle of the night. Growth spurts only last a few days to a week or so...don't worry...you won't set a bad pattern. I bf'd my daughter a couple of times in the night until I started feeding her solids at 6 mo. She was sleepingan 8 hour chunk at the time. I'm sure some of the time she wasn't waking up because she was hungry but could have been gassy, teething, etc. It was easier for me to feed her and get her back to bed real quick. After 6 months, I knew she wasn't waking up hungry bc she was eating solids.

Plus, she only sucked for a few minutes before falling back asleep so I knew it wasn't hunger. When she started waking up then, I would give her teething tablets, mylocin, etc. but wouldn't feed her as I didn't want to get in the habit of her being put back to sleep by my boob. Anyway, she now sleeps 12 hours a night. The point being, I think at this point, you don't have to worry about her starting a bad pattern. I'm sure she's just hungry in which case you want to feed her. Your girl will be waking up in the middle of the night for various reasons over the next few years...do want feels right in order to comfort her. Good luck!

Rebecca - posted on 12/10/2008

Yeah, I don't know...that website seems a bit overly negative towards Babywise...I mean, no system is perfect so some criticism is fair but every Mama has to learn about her own baby and what the baby needs. For me, what we have taken away from Babywise that has helped is the philosophy of getting in a full feeding each time. That way if baby is still crying to be fed she truly is hungry...and as far as I'm concerned, I go ahead and feed her, even if it's just been an hour and a half instead of the Babywise norm of 2 /12 to 3 hours. But this way she is not snacking constantly and keeping me from accomplishing anything else. Maybe some babies need to be fed constantly...I just know that mine doesn't. I am quite passionate about breastfeeding in support of it but don't believe that breast solves every problem. What I like about Babywise is that it gives me confidence as a Mom that I can learn to read my baby's cues and provide what she needs at the moment. Sometimes that's food, sometimes it's a hug, sometimes it's playing, sometimes it's a diaper change, sometimes it's soothing. Anyway, Ezzo isn't God but he does have some good things to say...

Tiffany - posted on 12/10/2008

check out www.ezzo.info

Rebecca - posted on 12/10/2008

Thanks everyone for sharing your opinions. Tanya, I think my parenting philosophy is closest to yours. We use Babywise (although we fed more on demand when she was really little) and I try to respond to what is really bothering my daughter, as opposed to always using breast for comfort. I'm starting to recognize when she is truly hungry and when it is something else bothering her. I think you're probably right...try to comfort by other means at night and if that doesn't work, she probably is legitimately hungry and I should feed her. I've learned from bfing to be a lot more tuned in to my daughter and trust the baby's instincts...I suppose that puts me somewhere between Babywise and feed on demand, but it works for us. thanks...I'm open to hearing anyone else's experiences too.

Zee - posted on 12/09/2008

I never counted feedings. I fed my 4 year old on demand and do the same with my son. respond to your child's cues. It promotes bonding by teaching your child that you willingly respond to her needs. Your baby won't just want to nurse from hunger she may do it for comfort or she may want to snack. Go with your instincts. :-)

Tanya - posted on 12/09/2008

My little girl went through the same thing right around that age (and she was sleeping through the night too). Some days we did 8 feedings, some days we did 7; I just went by her cues. In our situation, her night sleep was never affected - she kept sleeping through. (She's now 9 months and sleeps a solid 12 hrs every night).

As for feeding her if she wakes in the middle of the night... you need to do what makes you most comfortable. If it were me, I would try other things first like re-swaddling or popping the soother back in (if she uses a soother). If none of these work, and she's still crying, then yes, I would certainly feed her.

I think we have to remember that every cry from an infant is not a hungry cry; there are other things that can be going on too. I think that as moms, we need to use our judgement - not just breastfeed at every whimper.

Nicole - posted on 12/09/2008

Until babies are at least 4-6 mo. old you should respond to all crying. I really believe as well for babies under 12 mo. that are breast fed, they should continue to be responded to whenever they cry, as breast milk digests VERY fast and they are likely hungry.

They are going to have major growth and developmental spurts through the 1yr. very often and even into the 2nd year.

My son is almost 2 and I still BF on demand. Although he does sleep what I consider through the night, 8 hours now and has been since about 18 mo.

Before that he nursed through the night, at least 2 times in the night. So since 6 mo we have been bed-sharing because I need to sleep and he needed to nurse. It was a life saver.

At your daughters young age you need to be BFing her I feel at least 8 times a day and responding to all her crying. Best wishes!