13 month old EBF (nearly) and waking up CONSTANTLY in the middle of the night. Should I night...

[strmis]

OKAY, so at 13 mod she is STILL waking up nearly every hour, I feel. Between 8pm and 1030pm (when I finally go to bed) she wakes up 2, sometimes up to 4 times! The room temp is ok. I try to not get her over tired (but sometimes it does happen). She'll nurse until the well is dry and still will wake up. 

I'm debating weaning her in the evening, but I feel like she gets a huge bulk of her nutrition at night, since she eats nearly no solids (negligible) and she is quite small for her age. (She has very little interest in food and has multiple allergies. She's -2 in the percentile when I look her up for her age for weight. She always teetered in the 25th before). I have to say, that I am a small adult. 

[ChristmasLover]

I feel bad for you, but I do think you're doing the right thing by providing night nutrition to such a small baby.  She obviously still needs your milk.  Good job, Mom-- most wouldn't be so selfless in this society.  I would, however, try to find solids that she will eat.  Get her eating more solid food, and I think she'll naturally sleep longer at night.  

PS-- What are her allergies?  Maybe I can help come up with some solid food ideas.  

[strmis]

Good to know.  

I posted this question in another forum specifically about eating, but since we are kinda on the topic... she has an interest in some things. Mainly rice crackers and dried mango (no preservatives). Will that shape her palate to only like rice-like stuff and sweets or should or even and fill her up on less nutritious stuff, I just go ahead and freely give to her? I debate if giving rice crackers so she can "learn to eat" (she still gags most of the time on most solids I've tried).

[deminc]

Hi I saw in another thread that your child has eczema. Mine too and was a poor sleeper until we got it under control, which took like three years. He would wake up many times a night to nurse and cry and he was a very tired baby.  I have heard the same from other mothers wtih eczemic children.

You mentioned she gets the bulk of her nutrition at night. Does she nurse out of hunger, or out of comfort?

If it was hunger, could she also have gone into a night-time nursing cycle? Can you nurse her more during the day so that she won't nurse as much at night out of hunger? Of course continue offering gentle solids that she can take.

If it was out of comfort - and I am talking about distracting herself from itchiness, that is a tough one because they simply cannot sleep through the itch. After I stopped night time nursing, I spent many nights gently massaging and lightly tapping on his patches just so that he won't scratch and can doze for a little while. We were a very tired mother-child pair then. So in hindsight, it was not so much about nursing but about the eczema.

While you figure this out, do make sure you are eating enough and if you don't have another child to tend to, try to nap with your child during the day if you can. It will greatly improve your sanity and protect your health.

[strmis]

Originally Posted by deminc 

Hi I saw in another thread that your child has eczema. Mine too and was a poor sleeper until we got it under control, which took like three years. He would wake up many times a night to nurse and cry and he was a very tired baby.  I have heard the same from other mothers wtih eczemic children.

You mentioned she gets the bulk of her nutrition at night. Does she nurse out of hunger, or out of comfort?
If it was hunger, could she also have gone into a night-time nursing cycle? Can you nurse her more during the day so that she won't nurse as much at night out of hunger? Of course continue offering gentle solids that she can take.
If it was out of comfort - and I am talking about distracting herself from itchiness, that is a tough one because they simply cannot sleep through the itch. After I stopped night time nursing, I spent many nights gently massaging and lightly tapping on his patches just so that he won't scratch and can doze for a little while. We were a very tired mother-child pair then. So in hindsight, it was not so much about nursing but about the eczema.

While you figure this out, do make sure you are eating enough and if you don't have another child to tend to, try to nap with your child during the day if you can. It will greatly improve your sanity and protect your health.

Thanks for the insight!
At first it was due to itchiness, now I feel like its just out of habit and/or comfort. I(i think ive figured out mist triggers and am working on some of her gut issues so she doesnt itch as much). I feel like even on the days when she does get a good amount to eat she still wakes up. Some nights are "better" than others, relatively speaking, but for the most part she still wakes. I'm somewhat tired, but perhaps am getting used to all of it too. Eesh... What I would give for a nap! Though!

[foreverinbluejeans]

It's normal and often necessary for a 1 year old to wake up at night frequently to nurse for nutrition. Night nursing is normal until a child is 2-3. If you do manage to somehow wean at night that doesn't make the child sleep through the night. If you aren't nursing then you have to do other things that expend a lot of energy to try and get the child to go back to sleep (rocking, walking, singing, ect). Your baby may not want to go to bed by herself as early as 8pm. There is nothing wrong with the baby staying up until 10:30 (or staying in your arms drowsing) and then she may sleep better the rest of the night.

Rice crackers offer no nutritional value. You want the things you feed your child to be as nutritious as possible. Dried fruit is not healthy for young children especially a 13 month old little one (even without preservatives). I agree with nursing her more during the day. Some moms of toddlers don't realize how busy they or their toddler are and how that affects their nursing. Go to google and type in superfoods. You will find lists of foods that offer lots of nutrition. These are the kinds of foods you should feed your toddler in the appropriate form.

When we had my grandson tested for allergies we were surprised that he was allergic to things we didn't expect at all. He was tested around 13 months and the skin tests weren't traumatic.

[Adaline'sMama]

What is her height? You say she is in the -2 percentile, but if you are just going by age, that is not accurate. 

If I were in your situation, yes, I would nightwean. But, I plan tonight wean this time at/around a year so that goes along with what I think should be done anyway. She will eat more in the day time if you arent feeding her at night. Often times kids at that are age so excited by becoming mobile that they dont want to stop to nurse, and they wind up eating all night long. Not only are they not getting sufficient calorie intake during the day, but then they arent sleeping as soundly at night. 

FIBJ- IMO it is NOT normal for a one year old to need to eat every hour. That is absurd. There is nothing wrong with some dried fruit that has no added sugar. Dried fruit can be very nutritious http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/12-healthiest-dried-fruits.html#b