Has your ped told you this?

Lindsy - posted on 10/30/2011

Well I can't say that I was ever told that simply because all 3 of my kids were sleeping through the night by 2 1/2 months (yes a whole 6-8 hours of solid sleep!)
You really should try it and if you feel that it doesn't warrant the effort required then don't do it anymore.
I know not all children are able to sleep through the night but YOUR sleep should be just as important as their sleep.

Jessica - posted on 10/16/2010

Yes, I remember my pediatrician telling me at a certain age that my child *should* be able to sleep through the night. But neither of my nursing babies have slept an adult's full tine sleep without at least one nursing session in the middle. My second awakes less often than the first did, but she sleeps about 5 hours, then nurses and sleeps another 4. I don't figure one sleep interruption is too bad, especially knowing someday she will outgrow the need to nurse. I tried only once with my first to listen to the dr's suggestion that my child should be able to make it without nursing at night, and then I went back to nursing at night. But I tend to comfort nurse too. You've got to do what fits your parenting style and works best for your family.

Kelly - posted on 10/06/2010

my daughter is 8 months and still wakes diring the night wanting to nurse I think what you do is a personal choice I personally love and enjoy nursing my baby anytime she chooses also the longer they feed through the night can help keep periods from returning which i also enjoy.

Laura Zoey - posted on 10/04/2010

Dayna H if your 3 week old is sleeping through the night then that will CAUSE you to stop producing enough milk. so his sleeping habits are most likely the reason you had to use formula, at that age your body cant tolerate that many hours without stimulation, its not natural or normal for a 3 week old to sleep through the night. and if a mom lets it continue its no surprise the milk will slow production. Its a shame that you didnt know this, so you could avoid premature weaning, but you can pass the info around that sleeping through the night at such an early age is detrimental to your milk production!

RACHAEL - posted on 10/02/2010

BF babies naturally wake to feed at night. I would recommend Dr. Sear's book, The Breastfeeding Book, LLL's The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and Kathleen Huggin's The Nursing Mother's Companion. All three helped me through the ups and downs of BFing. Babies will go through different stages and growth spurts which will demand more or less milk at different times. A lot of times also, babies will awaken at night unable to put themselves back to sleep, and want the reassurance of mama (and the breast) to get them back to sleep. I think my daughter was ~9-12 mos when she stopped feeding at night (except for the occasional need for mama). I also co-sleep with my daughter, and usually tucked her into the bed with me when it came to night feedings...I never went back to sleep (fully), but was able to doze as she fed and was lulled back to sleep. Once she had her fill, and I needed to get some real deep sleep, I'd easily put her back in her crib. I suggest going with your instincts. There are other options for getting your daughter to sleep through the night, but most involve supplementing with formula and non-attachment parenting techniques--things I personally was not willing to do.

Karen - posted on 10/01/2010

Yes i've been told the same thing, by ped & a freind of the family. I was hesitant to try it at first but it actually works. It's been the best thing that we ever did.

When my daughter at about 6/7mhts she used to wake ever 2-3hrs at night time so i would feed her, but i found this was the reason why she was waking, she just wanted the comfort to get back to sleep. So we decided to 'try' this out. Don't get me wrong it is extrememly hard (on you& bub) to do if you choose to do this, but i can honestly say it was the best thing we ever did.

I got my husband to go into her room (so she couldn't smell my milk) when she woke and he would sit by her cot and comfort her (not picking her up), patting her reassuring her she was ok. it took quite a few hours the first night, the 2nd night was better and after that she was pretty good. About 2-3 days and she finally got the message she wasn't going to be fed.

She's now 11months old and sleeps thur the night, my little 'mummy' rule is no feeding before 3am, she generally sleeps into till 4 or 5 now so its fantastic.

Ashley - posted on 10/01/2010

My child weighs 17 pounds and hasn't gotten fed in the middle of the night for almost a month now. She is only 5 months old and weighs SEVENTEEN pounds. So obviously it is fine that she isn't eating and she doesn't wake up in the middle of the night now.

Kathy - posted on 10/01/2010

Ridiculous! At 6 months a breastfed baby is still likely to need to nurse at least once a night. Two-three times is probably more habit than need, but you should decide when to night wean based on how you and your daughter are doing (e.g. if you are both exhausted during the day, you may want to try to cut out one feeding over a weekend with help from her dad). If she is on track for size and weight, she should physically be able to go at least 3-4 hours, if not longer, without nursing. But if you're still ok with getting up at night, do what you are comfortable with. Just as an FYI - it is easier to night wean before a year/year and a half.

Ashley - posted on 10/01/2010

My baby is 5 months old and at our 4 month check up the doctor told me that she should be sleeping 8 hours a night and at 6 months she should be sleeping longer then that without mid-night feeding. This is normal and my baby cried the first few nights when I put her down for bed and woke up a few times and cried for about 5 minutes then stuck her thumb in her mouth and went back to sleep. YES listening to her cry is almost unbearable but when you finally do get to sleep through the night because she understands that it is sleepy time, it will be awesome!
Basically she is nursing for comfort in the middle of the night. I have found that pumping and giving my little girl a bottle with 6 to 8 ounces of breast milk really helps because if she eats it all, I know that she has a full tummy and can physically make it thru the night.

Tiffany - posted on 10/01/2010

Ridiculous. I'd find another doctor that was more in tune with natural child development.

Babies don't sleep for long periods of time. They just don't. There's plenty of great articles and information out there about nighttime parenting, night nursing, etc. Here's one favorite of mine: http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detsleepth...

Colleen - posted on 09/30/2010

my dear son is 21 months and still nurses once a night when he comes and crawls into bed with me. It's easier to whip out the boob and get back to sleep than getting up, putting him back to bed, and having to sit and rub his belly till he falls back asleep. I like my sleep too, and we're both happy this way!

Courtney - posted on 09/30/2010

With my oldest daughter, my pediatrician did tell me this at her 6 month appt., but only after he asked how long she was actually nursing and when I told him that she was nursing for about 2 minutes and falling back asleep he thought she probably didn't need it. We did the Ferber method to get her to go to sleep on her own when she was 4 months old so we did the same thing to get her out of the habit of nursing in the middle of the night and it worked. However, my 2 year old has always been a very slow gainer and at her 6 month check up was only in the 2nd percentile for weight and height. My doctor said she probably didn't "need" to eat in the middle of the night, but I couldn't bear to let her cry feeling like she probably truly was hungry because she was just so tiny. I continued to nurse her (probably a lot of comfort nursing if the truth be told, but I was fine with it) until she was about a year old. I like what most people are saying....your baby is not still going to want to nurse in the middle of the night FOREVER - you have to do what feels right for you and your baby. Those books and pediatrician guidelines are just that....guidelines - you have to do what works for you....that's going to be my motto with my little boy who is arriving in 6 short weeks.

Erin - posted on 09/30/2010

if you dont want to carry on with broken nights forever, best to curb them now. try cutting one feed at a time, and other tricks like feeding right before bed. and extending time between feeds during the day. i sleep trained my daughter at 10 months and it was so blissful everyone sleeping all night, my only regret is that i didnt do it sooner.

Selia - posted on 09/30/2010

My ped said to nurse on demand. Always.

Kayla - posted on 09/30/2010

I have two daughters my first one Piper was BFED for the first 4 weeks and I was able to get any sleep so I put her on a bottle. My youngest is now 2 1/2 months and I BFED her around 8:30 and shes in bed by 9. The first couple of nights she cried when we laid her down, now she just goes right to sleep. I feed her at about midnight and she sleeps until 7 am. This came natural to her. I will still feed her tho if she wakes in the middle of the night.

Angela - posted on 09/30/2010

I am sorry to hear that your ped told you this. I would go with your instincts and when your baby is ready to sleep through the night, then he or she will. If you are feeding your baby solid foods, maybe a feeding before bed with help. It may lower midnight feedings to once a night.

Diana - posted on 09/30/2010

yeah! I personally believe babies transition into this on their own. My daughter slept through the night (7 hours) at 2 months. Then now and then, specially when she was teething she would wake up in the middle. I kinda let her do her own thing, their own system knows best. she is almost 12 months and she is a great sleeper. I have not had to do a thing to control her sleeping habits... I attribute this to the fact that I have breast fed her all this time and just started her on solids when she turned 11 months old.

Hillary - posted on 09/30/2010

Sometimes it may not be that the baby is hungry. Some are just used to waking up at night and getting attention from Mommy! Babies have to be taught how to sleep. I would start by just going into the room when baby cries and reassuring her that you are there without taking her out of the crib. Do this a couple of times and make each time shorter. Do not turn on the lights or over stimulate the baby. This lets them know that night time is for sleeping.

Candi - posted on 09/30/2010

Listen to your instincts! My LO is 11 mo is still wakes up at night. We co-sleep and I'm available to her. I know it's tiring, exhausting, but I do doubt doctors. I feel that 6 mo is too young to sleep through the night with an empty tummy. If I wake up and feel hungry, I'm sure my LO does too. The only difference is that I ignore it and roll back to sleep. Babies cant just ignore their needs. My doctor told me the samething at 6 mo and 9 mo appt and as I said before I still breastfeed at night. She will wean off eventually. I have learned that mommy always knows best. You are the one who spends that precious time with your LO. Who else is going to know her better than you? Good Luck!! Just keep strong and remember to have mommy breaks. Oh yeah, nap with your baby during the day. It's awesome!

Sophia - posted on 09/29/2010

Go with your gut. Some children need to nurse more than others, my 1st nursed during the night until almost two yrs old, my second from birth has not cared much about nursing at night. My first pedi told me that I needed to wean my child completely by age 1, which goes againsy WHO & AAP recommendations. Needless, to say I found a new pedi.

T - posted on 09/29/2010

That is silly! You might want to find a new pediatrician because starving your child so they can so-called sleep through the night is crazy. At 6 mos....babies don't sleep through the night and still need regular feedings. Mine used to only sleep for 4 hours straight...tops. AND at 6 months, most babies have a growth spurt and need more feedings which is why this is a good time to introduce more solids. Seriously, don't do that or you will be miserable and so will your baby. Then, the next thing you know the pediatrician will be blaming you for your child's weight drop!

Sheena - posted on 09/29/2010

i was having the same problem with my son and asked around and found out that he was in a routine of waking up and feeding every 1 to 2 hours at night... he had been doing this since he was born until age 8 months. hes now 8 and a half months old and only waking 2 to 4 times a night... wat i did was i fed him around 8 - 8:30ish then when he was still a little awake i put him down in his crib and had him cry himself to sleep... the first night he cried for 40 mins then next 2 nights only 15 mins and now most nights r only 1 to 15 mins... he would still wake up every 2 ish hours the first week and wat i would do was feed him a little and put him back down while still a little awake and let him cry himself to sleep again.. and i would let him feed for shorter times each time he woke up.. i also turned off the baby monitor because i was waking up to all his little sounds like breathing.. eventually i got him down to only waking up once at night which was usually at 6 in the morning.. now hes waking up more and i think its because i dont see much of him because of my schooling so hes wanting to stay awake with me.. i felt really bad about letting him cry himself to sleep but i was starting to get really sick (nausea, migrans, stomach pains, dizzy, light headed) and i was told from my doctor its because i wasnt getting enough deep sleeps so i decided i had to get him to sleep longer or i was just going to get sicker and sicker... anyways thats my advice, hope it helps! :)

Esther - posted on 09/29/2010

i was told today that babies need to nurse when they are in pain. it helps soothe the pain.and around 6 months or sooner they wake up at night because of teeth. and aslo around 6 months they have a growth spurt where they will constantly eat lots all day.

Courtney - posted on 09/29/2010

You need to do what your heart tells you. Find the support of a good breastfeeding group :)
Some babies sleep through at early ages but others dont for months/years. Do what works for you. You will prob get less sleep with a crying/upset/hungry baby than by nursing for a few minutes.

Cynthia - posted on 09/29/2010

If your daughter is a healthy weight, and is thriving, I see no reason for you to have to feed so much in the night time hours. When do you honestly find any time to rest when you are waking every 2 to 3 hours? You can try to stretch feeding to 4 hour increments and it may help you to get more rest in between. All 3 of my children were not bf during the night after a week of their birthday. I set the tempo for their eating needs and they responded to the routine. They thrived and I was able to sleep throughout the night within their first months. There is no need to be a mommy zombie...sleep is essential for your health and that lil one deserves a well rested mommy. But trust in your own judgement and your Childs needs, you can't go wrong.

Danielle - posted on 09/29/2010

I have a six month old and my doctor didn't say anything like that to me. I nurse my son through the night and I think it's still pretty normal for the baby to wake at night for a couple of feedings. Maybe the doc meant if you are starting solid foods to feed her close to bedtime so she'll have a full belly and wake up less? I would ask the doc to clarify that and continue nursing when she's hungry. nothing worse than listening to a hungry baby cry.

Cassandra - posted on 09/29/2010

Do what you think is right. I've never been told not to nurse my son at night.

Michelle - posted on 09/29/2010

That advice would work for some, but certainly not all. If it's 'normal' for, say a 9month old, to sleep for 6 or 7 hours in a row then how come over half of them don't do it?
How you teach your child to sleep for longer is up to you - and I go to my doc for health advice. Not parenting advice. That's not their area of expertise.

Ioana - posted on 09/29/2010

I nurse him during the night if he wants to. He is exclusively BF, but I'm very lucky: until he was 1.5 months old he would wake up max 2 times per night to eat, until 3 months old he only got up once per night and now that he is 3.5 months old he started to sleep through the night. but if he decides he's hungry in the middle of the night I would surely and gladly :-) feed him. As a lot of the moms said every child is different and I think the best is to adapt to his needs.

Diana - posted on 09/29/2010

I think that's ridiculous. I mean, if you're having a hard time with waking up to feed her, you could try a little cereal with breastmilk before bedtime and see if that fills her up more. If you don't mind getting up with her, then who cares? She's your baby and you get to decide.

Erin - posted on 09/29/2010

"There are three questions you should *not* ask your doctor: 'Where should my baby sleep?' 'How long should my baby breastfeed?' and 'Should I let my baby cry?' Doctors do not study the answers to these questions in medical school... Doctors are trained in the diagnosis and treatment of illness, not parenting styles."

Dr Sears & Martha Sears, RN


Your Dr. has no business giving his/her personal opinion about when or how you should wean, even just for nighttime. Your baby will wean when she's ready!

Mary A - posted on 09/29/2010

Have a bottle breast milk in the fridge to use at the late night hours that way you can satisfy your baby and she or he can sleep all night and you will get your much needed sleep

Heather - posted on 09/29/2010

Tell your ped. to shove it, lol. You can nurse her anytime that you want to. If it doesn't bother you to get up with her and nurse her in the middle of the night, then do it. I nursed my baby girl a few times in the middle of the night till she was around 8 months old or so. Now she's 14 months old and sometimes she still wakes up to nurse in the middle of the night, or to just be cuddled and held for a few minutes, then I put her back down and she goes to sleep. This is YOUR choice, not your pediatricians. Not all of them know about breastfeeding or what is right for YOU and your baby girl.

Emma - posted on 09/28/2010

My ped asked if my daughter was sleeping through the night at 12 months, and I thought I was going to get a lecture when I said "no". But she said, "If it doesn't bother you , , then don't worry about it." It's up to the mom. "At some point you'll want to get more sleep, so then do something about it." And for clarification on other comments I read, pediatricians are trained not only to treat illnesses, but to make sure kids are healthy, and growing properly, and that includes parenting advice.

Dayna - posted on 09/28/2010

All children are different. My little boy was sleeping though the night at 6 weeks while I breastfed him. Eventually I ran out of milk and had to ween him off and it seems like he is sleeping less. He is now seven months old and has been introduced to solids so he is getting mor nutrients to help his feel fuller at night. Just because a child is breast fed does not mean that he/she will not sleep through the night.

Chellie - posted on 09/28/2010

Go with your gut for sure. My son is almost 15 months, and I still nurse him in the night. Don't I wish he'd sleep through the night? Yeah, I'm a full time student and I work part time too...I need to sleep but it's more important to me that my son is happy and healthy. I've read a lot of things that say babies who are separated from their mothers during the day often want to nurse more at night because they still want the comfort and bonding of "booby time" with mom. I'm not going to deprive my baby of that, even it means waking up every few hours to provide it. Maybe I'm nuts, but oh well. At one of my son's well visits the pediatrician actually tried to tell me that after a year breastfeeding is really just a "comfort thing" because it doesn't really provide nutrition for toddlers. BS. I've often thought of finding a new Dr who is more pro-breastfeeding but instead I just take everything she says with a grain of salt and do what comes naturally.

Stephanie - posted on 09/28/2010

My son is 9 months and I feed him at 2:30 am every morning. He wakes up at the same time. I enjoy our nightly feeding. My friend stopped feeding to make her son sleep through the night but that made him self wein from the breast faster. I plan to continue my nightly feeding as long as he wants it. It's not that important to sleep through the night, remember sleeping 6 hours is considered through the night.

Beth - posted on 09/28/2010

remember that doctors are humans too with their own beliefs and biases. My daughter was BF until just recently 1x a night. She just turned 1 year. My doctor always told me that if it didn't bother me and I wanted to night feed her than do it. Does she NEED it, in the nutritional sense, probably not, but is it hurting her...NO. I found my daughter was just a bit more needy in terms of comfort and attention than another baby may be. There's nothing wrong with that. And now she has naturally stopped waking up for a feeding, she just started going longer on her own. And when she does wake up, most of the time I can get her back down without feeding her. So do what you feel is best for you and your daughter. If you want to BF at night, do it, when you want to stop, then stop.
Good luck

Rachael - posted on 09/28/2010

I'd like to add that it really does make a difference how old your pedi is and the kind of person they are. Most older doctors are more apt to tell you to go with your instincts and feed them when they need/want it, and younger doctors tend to be "book" people. Neither are wrong, but if your doctor is one of those "book" people, and you're not, then I wouldn't worry about following everything they say as long as it doesn't affect your child's health.

Rachael - posted on 09/28/2010

Nope, pedi told me to feed him when he's hungry, and he'll sleep through the night when he's ready (and he did, around 9 or 10 months old). I really just went with my instincts, which the pedi backed up (he is fantastic!), and now, my almost 16 month old son sleeps from 7 pm to 9am, and wakes up in the middle of the night about once every 3 weeks or so, but goes right back down when he does. Your instincts are far better than anything a doctor can tell you when it comes to your child's sleep patterns, so trust yourself!

Eve - posted on 09/28/2010

Our peditrician (who has 5 boys of her own) told me at either 4 or 6 mos. to try to comfort him without nursing during the night, but she didn't prohibit it. My thinking is that it makes sense to try and limit night-time nursing (limit, not eliminate!) because you want them to learn to eat during the day. If they are nursing multiple times during the night, they aren't as hungry during the day, so they may not eat as much, and then they're hungrier the following night as a result. It seems like it could become a cycle.

That being said, I have never withheld breastfeeding from my son when he was insistent about nursing, no matter the time of day or the reason (nutrition, comfort). Particularly if he has been teething or had a stuffy nose and didn't eat as well during the day, I expect at least one night feeding. Like other moms have said, I also bring him to bed with me so we can snuggle, sleep, and nurse. He is 13.5 months old now, and he sleeps through the night maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the time. Other nights he sleeps in his crib 8:30-6, then comes to our bed for a feeding and another hour or so of sleep. It's a rare night when we got 8:30-7 without getting up with him at least once. We are trying to work on comforting without picking him up.

I have pretty much followed my instincts with the doctor's advice in mind. On things where I'm going against what she suggested, it's basically a "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

There were a couple things I wish I'd followed their advice on, however, so I try to give fair consideration to what they say and think ahead about why they're making that suggestion.

Aleks - posted on 09/28/2010

@ Heather Robertson. I would just like to point out that breastmilk does not lack any nutrients. Not at 6 months, not at 12 months or even 24months. And formula will certainly NEVER cover those nutrients that are in breastmilk. The only thing that changes is the iron levels required by the baby are higher roughly around the 6th month mark - and this is usually provided by starting solids. However, there are many mothers out there who still quite successfully breastfeed their child exclusively until 12mths of age without any nutrients missing or their babies going without.

Hundreds and thousands of years ago, when formulas didn't exist, mother's milk managed to be just right for millions of babies then.... I am sure it still is now.

Sorry, but I would just like to correct the incorrect information provided.

Melissa - posted on 09/28/2010

I am feeding at night time but a lot of times this is because a lot is happening during day and we spend a lot of time snack feeding instead of proper feeds. I'm also very tired during the night and go to sleep and wake up to find baby still sucking (dummy sucking) or wake her up trying to put her to bed and then end up falling asleep again while trying to settle her. Friends of mine told me she used to give water at night in a bottle if they woke up and eventually they didn't wake up

Sylvie - posted on 09/28/2010

Well, I'd say, if you are fine with your baby still nursing, then, follow your instinct. For my son, he wasn't sleeping through the night at 10 months, and still nursing 2-3 times / night, and I was so exhausted I could hardly still function. So we decided to let him cry with the 5-10-15 min method that has always worked for us, and after 3 tough nights, he was sleeping through. I am really relieved we did it because it was just killing us to not sleep much at night. My daughter slept through the night at 3 weeks old, so we had it super easy the first time... My son is a whole different story.

Also, I would say that the decision also depends on how big your baby is. My son is huge and has always been chubby, so, we knew he didn't "need" extra food at night and had some stock...
I've always heard that you can expect a child to sleep through the night once he has double his birth weight and as off 6 months of age.
DO what you feel most comfortable with, but don't feel like you are a bad mum if you want to make her sleep through the night and stop the night feedings... This sounds totally reasonable to me, you need to be in good health and shape to take care of her all day long, so, you also need to take care of yourself for that, and that might mean sleeping decent nights.

Jill - posted on 09/27/2010

Don't listen to them. Nursing on demand is what babies are supposed to do, and keeps your ta-ta's from over engorging! Let her eat all that liquid gold that she can!

Ania - posted on 09/25/2010

Ha my ped told me when my son was 4 months old to stop feeding him. I didn't... my son is 7 months and still eats at night, I have to admit that most of the time to put himself back to sleep 3-4 times a night but what am I suppouse to do...just sit there all night and listen to him crying?

Sarah - posted on 09/25/2010

Do what you feel comfortable doing! That's the most important thing. I still gave my daughter a night feed until she was 8 months and at that point it felt right to cut it altogether and from then she's slept through the night ever since, 11 hours straight (9.5 months now). I did some controlled crying with her and it worked great. I didn't want to just leave her to cry it out, but the controlled method seemed like a happy medium for us and she caught on very quickly. Personally, I think 6 months is a little young to be cutting the night feed, but that's just my opinion.

Arifah A - posted on 09/25/2010

i still fed my son now 2 through the night and wen i weaned him at 15 months thats when he started sleeping through the nigh, its up to you, how much are you willing to do for your baby? and yourself? i dont think a 6 month old sleeps through the night, mind you my now 6 month old used to for about a month now he doesn't any more, try a good bedtime routine, maybe ill make her sleep longer.

Sarah - posted on 09/25/2010

Yes, however my ped. told me that it wasn't particularly necessary to feed her but if it's what she wants then give it. No need to stress yourself or baby out. She told me that some parents wait until baby has words to tell you they want before starting the "crying it out" method. Babies really do know what they need. Do what's most comfortable for you and your little one.

Ash - posted on 09/24/2010

My daughter is 9 months old and I still feed her at night. Do what you think is best for your daughter. Try soothing and comforting her first before you feed her to see if she just needs help getting back to bed, if that doesn't work then go to feeding her.