Why is night nursing important for toddlers?

[Amaryllis]

I'm just wondering why on MDC night nursing seems to be really important, when my Ped said at 6-8 months my DD was old enough to sleep through the night on her own without nursing.
I haven't night-weaned but am just curious to reasons out there for continuing to nurse at night...
My DD is 23 months and can generally sleep about 7 hours without nursing. If she wakes up before then, I can say to her "It's sleepy time, go back to sleep" and she will. (Her crib is right next to my bed.) But that 7 hours seems to be the limit. If she is sick (really rare) or getting more teeth (quite common) I'll nurse her more often at night.

[foreverinbluejeans]

During the first three years there is important brain growth and development. Human milk contains things that enhance brain growth. Human milk is digested so rapidly that babies/toddlers need to nurse at night for optimal brain growth and development.

[isabella-aiyana]

Night nursing

see next post. sorry.

[isabella-aiyana]

Night nursing

Hi. I just came from the dental thread where I was trying to get info on my toddler's teeth. I hear that some dentists are encouraging night weaning to avoid caries and decay! I really hope to find more info on this as it would break both of our hearts to even think about not nursing in the night. My son is on this bit of a mini food strike right now, so he nurses almost all night long. He is in bed with me so I am easy access. I think for him it is also a big security issue. I don't mind it most of the time. It is easy to roll over and pop it in and we both doze back off to sleep.

(ps. I used to live in Santa Cruz! For almost ten years. I also lived in Felton just past the Mountain Store. (Don't know if it is still there)! Miss it sooooooooooo much. I miss the smell the most!)

[Amaryllis]

Hi there! I live in Felton just past the Zayante Market- Love It!!!
Thanks Foreverinbluejeans - that makes sense. I think I'm too happy right now to go back to nursing 4 times a night. Right now it is usually 2 in the early morning.
As far as the night weaning to preven tooth decay, I don't think those dentists know what they are talking about. Unless there is MAYBE a situation where the baby is constantly falling asleep on the tit and there is constantly a pool of milk on their teeth. That's all I can think of. Seems to me nursed kids have better teeth.

[MsMoMpls]

7 hours is considered sleeping through the night and I would think that an exclusively bf baby would be pretty hungry after 7 hours. AP means responding to our children's needs as quickly and compassionately as possible. That means feeding them when they are hungry. I don't believe that most doctors know much about breastfed babies or really a great deal about healthy attachment. They just don't have time for it in school. I go to doctors for medical advice. Actually I don't go to doctors for much. By the time I see a doctor, I usually already know what I need them to do.

I think it is great that you have a good sleeper. None of mine have been. And I am doing just fine feeding once or twice during the night. I love being that available. It is how I parent. When my second son was about 8 months old I convinced myself that nightweaning would be good for us. Instead I ended up pretty much fully weaning and still not getting better sleep. Nightweaning can work but when ever you control nursing, you take some risks that nursing becomes less important to your child. I won't do that with my last baby.

[aimeemac]

there is so much confusion surrounding nursing at night being beneficial, but the other side says, "no, their teeth will rot". i stand confused daily, which leads to some anxiety and worry.

my dd is 26 months old, has had some teeth issues (enamel didn't form right on some molars), she night nurses, usually just once or twice a night.
my intuition tells me to continue until she is ready to wean, which she isn't yet, i've tried. but, then there is that little voice in the back of my head that worries about her teeth, etc. her teeth are fine now, we brush a lot and use tea tree oil and calcarea phosphorica.........

i would say, go with your gut, if your child seems as if he/she still needs it, then that means something............

[isabella-aiyana]

night nursing

YES! that has always been my opinion too. I was so shocked to see the number of threads about BF toddlers needing dental work because of decay and cavities! I read something about the mom's diets and how some addititves in our foods can cause problems in kids teeth. Sorry I can't quote, I forget the terms. It is definitely something I am going to look into. I thought for sure there would never be any dental probs. My 11 year old is healthier than any other kids we know. Problem is, I am jaded when it comes to the medical industry, so I have a hard time trusting your run of the mill docs and dentists. I have to find one that advocates extended nursing. Take care.
And yes, I lived right by there! Lucky you!

[Amaryllis]

Oops, I meant to say I nurse 2x in the early morning, then of course when she wakes up for good. So really she's getting it 4x in about 11 hours including going to sleep).

[velcromom]

Actually it's 5 hours that is considered sleeping thru. And I think for most babies, they still do get hungry and for a ped to say they should all sleep bedtime to morning is unrealistic. You know mamas can tell between a nursing session that is a "help me back to sleep, mom" and one that is, "boy am I hungry!". My ds was well past 18 months before he stopped having "hungry" nursing sessions at night.

[Mothra]

I don't think that all toddlers need to nurse at night. My 14mo old nightweaned while still sleeping in my room, in my bed half the time, with no prompting whatsoever from me. She nurses during the day and eats a ton of solids. It seems like she is always eating!

My 3yo, on the other hand, was still nursing at night when I weaned him at 15mo. (I was pg and knew I'd be going into the hospital soon with a complication I get with each pregnancy so I weaned him slowly to avoid the trauma of weaning abrubtly.) He still gets up at night and wants a cup.

I think it is completely unrealistic for a ped to make such a blanket statement about any developmental issue. I know five and six year olds who do not sleep through the night. If your baby is hungry at night, nurse him! I also think that it can get out of hand, no one gets any sleep because of all night nursing, but I don't think the answer to that is always to nightwean, either.

[Amaryllis]

Well I've been thinking about all this, and I think I've been on the right track. it was around 19 or 20 months that I started to feel the night nursing was way out of hand (wanting to nurse every 45 minutes or so) so early one morning I was so exhausted I just lay in bed and said, "No, mommy's sleeping, go back to sleep" and she yelled at me for about a minute and then practically fell over and was sound asleep. Then I worked out the hours thing (max 7) to where I know she is actually hungry at that point. Like I said earlier, if she is sick or something, she nurses more often. I really don't consider her "night weaned" at all, because although maybe for a baby 5 hours is sleeping though the night, I just don't feel that it is the same for an almost 2 year old. Of course every baby is different...
Thanks for everyone's input here, if anyone else has any other reasons "to" nurse at night, please add them! I definitely believe the brain enhancement function of breast milk. Plus the emotional benefit of nursing. Just look at these kids! What a difference!

[mom2threenurslings]

Others have explained why night nursing is important ... the only thing I have to add is that if they won't go back to sleep with a back rub or when you ask them to, it's usually still a need that needs to be met, not a want. Sometimes we lose perspective on this when we're half asleep! Also, I can't even think about getting through 2 year molars without night nursing

Night nursing and dental caries: From what I've read, research now says that breastmilk not only doesn't cause dental caries, but it contains a substance that helps prevent them! Genetics, not brushing before bed (if child is consuming things other than breastmilk), and dental diseases can lead to tooth decay. I'll try to find the articles I've read and post a link.

[Mothra]

I'm not entirely convinced that night nursing and bottles at night do not lead to cavities. But I also believe that even if they do, a child's needs must be met and if a child needs to eat at night, that child should be fed at night. The consequences do not outweigh the benefits in my mind.

[aimeemac]

I can't imagine getting through the 2 year molars w/o nursing. Also, Dr. Weston Price did a lot of research on native and indigenous tribes and civilized or modern people. He found that those who had teeth trouble (crowding, cavities etc) were more likely to eat refined grains, pasteurized milk, addtives etc.

www.westonaprice.org

Information regarding his research can be found here.

[Ruthla]

Originally Posted by Staraklaw

I'm just wondering why on MDC night nursing seems to be really important, when my Ped said at 6-8 months my DD was old enough to sleep through the night on her own without nursing.

There are lots of reasons to continue nursing at night. My 3yo still does and we both enjoy it.

Just because a child is old enough to manage overnight without nursing doens't mean it's a good idea. Also, keep in mind that even though MOST 8mo babies can sleep through without nursing, not all can. Some older babies are too distracted to nurse well during the day and need the night nursings to get enough calories.

Lots of babies and young children find comfort in nursing- why should a source of comfort be limited just because it's dark out?

Lots of mommies find it easier to roll over and whip out a boob rather than having to get UP with the baby and walk him or her around the house to get the baby back to sleep. If night-nursing is working well for both mother and child, why mess with a good thing?

If you haven't gotten your period back yet, frequent nursing and/or pumping at throughout the day and night can help keep it away.

Working moms who have to leave the baby all day often find the nighttime a great time to reconnect (and keep up milk supply if she finds pumping challenging.) Even moms who don't work enjoy snuggling and nursing at night too!!!

As for the dental thing: Yes, there are children who nurse at night who also get dental carries. That does NOT mean that nursing caused the carries- most of these children have issues with their teeth (for ex: weakened enamel) and would likely get carries whether they night-nursed or not.

[MisfitMama]

My toddler (21 mo.) still nurses 4-8 times a night. I don't know of any scientific reason - I just know that if I didn't nurse him, he'd scream bloody murder until he threw up - and *that* can't be healthy! I actually don't mind night-nursing.

As far as cavities and BF - yes, I second the poster who recommended the Weston A. Price website. I just read his book, _Nutrition and Physical Degeneration_, and the people all around the world that he studied, who were still eating "traditional diets" had basically no cavities, ever. And they were all extended BF-ers, I'm sure.

If you want to start protecting your kids' teeth, I recommend reading that book, if you are into somewhat heavy reading, or just read Sally Fallon's _Nourishing Traditions_. She takes WAP's ideas and explains them very clearly, although she has weird nursing stuff in there, but that doesn't have anything to do with the original studies (done in the 1920s).

MisfitMama

[Mama2ABCD]

the peds around here tell the moms their babies need to sleep thru the night at 4 mos. and a lot of the moms take the advice. i tell my friends when they get this advice that it's just advice. but, they think that because the doc said it.....and these are educated women :

i'm so tired of doctors giving out advice as if it were a medical treatment. they should really be held accountable for all the crappy advice they give. too many patients treat it as the "gospel"!

incidentally, these moms started giving their babies formula so that they would sleep all night like the doc said. it wasn't long after that most of those babies didn't breastfeed at all.

that is one of the biggest reason nightweaning is not recommended for an infant on these forums. it usually leads to total weaning.

i don't believe that tooth decay is caused by nursing at night. and for 8-9 mos doesn't usually have the teeth. they are more likely to be teething and will wake up anyways. it's much more soothing for the nurser and easier on the rest of the family when i nursed my children in bed with me.

[KellyandKatie]

Why I LOVE night nursing

My 17 month old DD is a cute little fat role becuase she nurses all night long and just absorbs all those healthy calories. Everyone is always complimenting what a "gerber baby" she is. This annoys me as I would never feed my angle gerber and she is sooo cute and fat becuase I dont use gerber! ( but she sort of does look like the gerber baby ) anyway, everytime someone says that I say it is from night nursing. Most people dont know what I am saying, but I belive it anyway!
happy nursing!

[katallen]

I think breastfeeding at night keeps my daughter and I close. I go to school full time and it helps both of us to feel connected. Also, sleeping through the night is defined as sleeping for a stretch of 5 hours at night.