All Night Snack Bar

[slgt]

HELP?! How do I convince DD (6.5 months) that the all night snack bar needs to close? She currently co-sleeps, mostly in our bed and sometimes in a co-sleeper.

[goldenwillow]

My DS is 19 months and it is still open and seems to be a buffet! 

[LittleBirdy]

Just wanted to let you know that DS is 6.5 months and also an all night snacker.  We had a couple of nights a week or two ago where he only woke 2 or 3 times to nurse, which was awesome.  I think it's teething, and that nursing is comforting.  I've tried giving some ibuprofen and sometimes it seems to help.  I'm just trying to hang in there, all the while having bizarre dreams about people touching my breasts...

[elluin]

We had my husband sooth our daughter some of the wakings when she was nursing every hour or less. If she fussed at all, I still nursed her. At the time (about the age your daughter is now), she ate every two hours during the day, so we tried to encourage the same pattern at night. So if it had been two hours since she ate, I nursed her, but if it was less than that my husband tried to sooth her back to sleep. She pretty quickly started settling down on her own and not needing to nurse every time she stirred. If something is bothering her though (like teething), she still wants to nurse all night.

[Knitting Mama]

My own personal take o it is that 6 months is too young to stop nursing throughout the night. My daughter still needed to eat every two hours then. But that's just my experience with my baby.

[Mawood]

I agree with the previous posters. From what I know babies younger than 12 months and beyond that of course :) just do nurse through the night. They have a different metabolism and also shorter sleep cycles and just need the comfort and closeness. My daughter just turned one and we still nurse a lot (on demand) at night. It varies how often she will nurse and a lot of it is for comfort and going back to sleep but she is also not eating very much solids yet and just needs the calories. The very earliest to night wean according to one of my favorite pediatrician (Dr. Jay Gordon) is really after the 12 months mark...

http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html 

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

LOL. DD night-nursed until she was 2.5 (I could have put a stop to it way earlier, but couldn't be bothered - it was easier just to nurse).

DS will be 1 this week, and his night-nursing has definitely slowed down lately (there, I just tempted the Fates didn't I).

It will happen - but it's biologically appropriate for your baby to be nursing a lot at that age. There's a reason milk production is high at night! :)

[Knitting Mama]

Originally Posted by Mawood 

I agree with the previous posters. From what I know babies younger than 12 months and beyond that of course :) just do nurse through the night. They have a different metabolism and also shorter sleep cycles and just need the comfort and closeness. My daughter just turned one and we still nurse a lot (on demand) at night. It varies how often she will nurse and a lot of it is for comfort and going back to sleep but she is also not eating very much solids yet and just needs the calories. The very earliest to night wean according to one of my favorite pediatrician (Dr. Jay Gordon) is really after the 12 months mark...

http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html 

Not only do they have higher metabolisms and shorter sleep cycles, but breastmilk by nature is digested more quickly that solid food or formula, so it stands to reason that, if your child is EBF, they well need to eat more often!

[Terrilein]

ITA with Maewood! I'm not even thinking of nightweaning yet. And my boy is clearly hungry when he comes around in the night.

[lrgs]

I think there is a big difference between night weaning (which I wouldn't even consider at this point) and having a baby nursing all night long. OP, hope you get some advice because I'd love to read it.

[trumpcard]

DD (8.5 months) is an all-night snacker. Last night I tried something different and instead of giving her all night access to the boob-buffet I sat up with her when she first stirred and gave her a long nursing session. It worked like a charm and she didn't 'ask' to nurse again all night. 

I have no interest in night-weening yet but I want to limit the all night buffet just so I can dress more warmly. I've been chilly at night since I've been dressing to allow DD access. We'll see how it goes tonight but my gut tells me me she actually slept better since she got a good drink in the middle of the night and didn't have to come back multiple times.

[marinak1977]

another all you can eat buffet here. My only saving grace is sleeping through the nursing. I usually have only a vague idea how much nursing goes on at night.

[cocoanib]

I know those all night nursing sessions can be tuff.

Mostly DD snacks 2-3 times per night adn I'm fine with that.

Every now and again we will have what seems like all night long and it can be tiring.

usually it's only a couple nights here or there though.

Is it every night that your babe is on the boob all night?

[goldenwillow]

Originally Posted by marinak1977 

another all you can eat buffet here. My only saving grace is sleeping through the nursing. I usually have only a vague idea how much nursing goes on at night.

Funny... same here.  I removed my alarm clock from my room when DS was about 3 months old! 

[TreeRose]

An almost 6-month old DD here and she's an all night buffet as well. I think teething increases her need to nurse although I'm interested to try the sit-up-and-nurse-her-completely approach as a PP said. I wonder if it will work. There was a stretch when she was 6 weeks old, for 2 weeks straight she slept for 6 hours. I felt amazing. That stopped and we've been all-night-feeding ever since. I think a big part of it is that we are committed to co-sleeping and my DH and I both need good night's sleep to survive the next day. We can't imagine getting up for feedings and soothings and co-sleeping just works so well for that. I also don't look at the clock much unless I think I should just get up for good, but usually I find that I was asleep for a few hours. Last night for example, I saw the clock at 11, 2, and 4:30. I've heard from lots of co-sleepers that their babies were like mine, remove the boob and baby wakes up. So we are pretty attached. :)

[moonmama22]

Originally Posted by Xantho 

Originally Posted by marinak1977 

another all you can eat buffet here. My only saving grace is sleeping through the nursing. I usually have only a vague idea how much nursing goes on at night.

Funny... same here.  I removed my alarm clock from my room when DS was about 3 months old! 

Here too.  And when people ask how many times she wakes up, I have no idea!  Though I know I am NOT sleeping all night, I have vague recollection of waking occasionally.  And if I try to substitute a pacifier, she rips it out and throws it at me!  We just got a crib, that is up against the bed, and she sleeps in it for about an hour before she is up and in my bed...I generally don't mind, but sometimes wish I had a break from it.