Nursing through the night ... at 2!

PETA - posted on 06/07/2010

My daughter was exactly the same. I use to give her water when she woke at this hour, and nothing more. We had several night crying, but finally she came good and started sleeping through. Try giving her a big feed before bed, maybe a bottle with a little baby cereal in it, just to keep her tummy feeling full longer. You will have to make the hole bigger as it will be thicker.

Let your hubby know what you are plaining to do, and try and do it on a weekend so you both can help each other.

Good luck, hope this helped.

Victoria - posted on 06/06/2010

How's it going?

Laura - posted on 06/05/2010

sylvia: what a lovely way to 'night wean'! nothing more natural than that! And I'm really happy for you that it happened before you were at the end of your tether. We had the intention of putting our youngest in a lovely, expensive (ouch!) bassinet in our room when she was born, as we were in a 2 bed flat at the time, but she had no intention of doing that! so she was sleeping with us from day one! I'd never planned to co-sleep, cause my eldest only came to our bed for cuddles, then I'd pop her back in her cot. I think the little one was almost one when we moved and we moved her into her own room. she did sleep a little better by herself (I missed her terribly, and if it wasn't for my husband's insistence, would have stolen her back to my bed in a flash! At least she still had early morning cuddles in my bed!) but we still had that night feeding issue for awhile after. I'd always wake to find her pulling my top up for snacks if she was in bed with me early in the morn! **I just read that article too- what great advice! sounds like a gentle plan.

Sylvia - posted on 06/05/2010

I'm ... pretty sure my DD was still nursing frequently at night at that age. I don't remember exactly when she night-weaned, but I *think* she was around 3. I had just about gotten to the point of feeling like I needed to encourage night-weaning myself when suddenly I realized I'd slept almost all night for several nights running! :) We never had a crib -- DD co-slept full-time until we moved to our current flat, which has 2 bedrooms, when she was 4.5 -- so there was no question of her *sleeping* anywhere else, just of her not waking up every hour and a half for a little snack :P

The method I was planning to use, if it came to that, is described in this great article: http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleepp...

Laura - posted on 06/05/2010

I think it's a good thing that I can't remember how I eventually night weaned my eldest! She didn't sleep through the night until about 18mths even though we night weaned at around 14mths I think! These trying times fade! But with my youngest (two this month), I was so exhaused with the constant night feeding by the time she was 18mths, that I had my husband bunk in with her for a few nights to break the cycle. I was amazed that he did so with no complaints, and even more amazed when it worked! Two months later she had weaned completely, and was sleeping all night every night. I'm by no means suggesting this will happen for anyone else (I still can't believe it happened so fast!!) but we do what works until these things pass.
I hope you had some luck. If you can somehow keep her in her room (the baby gate idea is a good one), or sit with her in her room, offering her a cup of water instead, maybe after a few sleepless nights the cycle may break?? no fun for you, especially when you're exhausted already... good luck!!

Cassandra - posted on 06/05/2010

Thank you for these comments. I will try one of these tonight. Cassandra

Teresa - posted on 06/04/2010

Yeah, no sleep totally wears on you. The 'good' thing about me is that I haven't slept good in YEARS, so restless kids haven't been too much of an issue since I can't sleep anyway. ;)

Victoria - posted on 06/04/2010

Teresa, I'm kinda against drugging kids to sleep too ;o) but after months (no years!) of no decent sleep I was getting desperate. I gave him the minimum dose and spoke to my community nurse for ages before I did it. Didn't stop me feeling guilty though!
My mantra at the moment is "this too shall pass!"

Teresa - posted on 06/04/2010

Tisha and Victoria both had good suggestions.. though I'm against drugging kids to sleep. ;)



My only additional suggestion would be to talk to her about how she is too old to nurse during the night and that she can wait til the sun comes up. I did that for MONTHS w/ my son and was finally able to get him only waking once a night most nights and sometimes he actually sleeps through.



I'm single, so have no help or nighttime support whatsoever and we are co-sleeping since I really have no where else to put him. W/ him only waking once my night is tolerable though. Good luck!!

Victoria - posted on 06/04/2010

Hi Cassandra, I'm glad you posted this question because I'm going through the same thing with my son who is 22 months. What seems to be working (for the last two nights anyway!) is that when he wakes instead of my husband bringing him into our bed, I go to his room and feed him and once he's back asleep I put him back into his cot. This is hard work because he wants to feed every two hours and so I'm not getting a lot of sleep but I found that if he's in our bed he'll feed continually so if I sit up he doesn't just snack.

I've also tried giving him children's Phenergan (an antihistamine) which was recommended to me as it acts like a sedative so he sleeps longer before waking up. It kinda worked and he slept about 4 hours straight but it didn't seem to last all night, but apparently it effects each child differently. I was also told to give him a glass (not bottle, too old) of milk before bed and only offer water at night first before the breast.

I hope some more people post recommendations so it can help me too! Good luck and I'll be thinking of you at 2am in the morning! And well done on breastfeeding for so long! (BTW I'm in Australia)

Helen - posted on 06/04/2010

I have to say it sounds like you are just exhausted with the night feeds, at 2 there is no reason she needs to feed at night it is purely a comfort thing. Without your husbands help though it will be very hard to stop. I would go the cold turkey method for nights and just feed before bed if thats what you do then in the night (it will probably be a week of hell) either leave your daughter in her bed or wear a top so she can cuddle in your bed. Leaving her in her own will make it a lot easier in the long run though.
Could you remove the light bulb from her bedroom to save the light being turned on? or maybe make a big fuss & put her into a bed & say she doesn't need feeding in the night anymore. Being in a cot helps to babify her and making a big fuss of her being a big girl might help. it will take determination though.
Hugs

Tisha - posted on 06/04/2010

Try to stop nursing in your bed. Make that a nursing free zone. Nurse her before she goes to sleepin another room, then if she wakes up in the middle of the night go to another room and sit in a chair with her. Don't lay down. Don't nurse her for more than 30 minutes. Research shows that after about 15 minutes on each side they are only getting a little bit of milk. After the 30 minutes put her back in her bed. If she tries to get out just keep putting her back. You can also try to put a baby gate at her door so she can't leave the room and run around the house. She is just using you as a pacifier! She really is old enough to go through the night with out getting hungry. If it were me I would stop nursing altogether.

Emi - posted on 06/04/2010

is she your only child? i think you should stop nursing , offer the bottle with water or milk or juice...my younges one used to do the same nurse through the night, very tiring, frustrating. finally I stopped nursing and we are able to sleep.Actually, 3 of my boys did the same would hung on my breast all night long , remember my husband will be so upset but the frustration made my babies wanted to nurse more and very loud..LOL. Try to give a good meal for dinner it helps as well.