Does anyones EBF toddler actually sleep through the night? - Page 3

[Stacy&Lily]

Looks like I amin the majority here...

My dd (13) months generally wakes 2-3 times a night to bf. Sometimes I think that "Yeah, I brought this on myself" for coslepping and EBF, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
p.s she wakes more if we were seperated for a few hours during the day(i work PT) to get that extra feeding in there.

[meemee]

i still ebf and my dd started sleeping thru the night off and on at 2. it didnt happen suddenly. rather it happened slowly. at 2 1/2 it was regular. maybe 3 - 4 times a week she would sleep thru the night. and now at 3 if i am in bed with her she sleeps thru the night without nursing. today our nursing relationship is to fall asleep and first thing in the morning. she is totally nipple addicted and sometimes will just hold on to the nipples and go back to sleep instead of nursing. if i stay in bed with her she will sleep thru the night. if i wake up she wakes up eventually and then comes looking for me and then wants to nurse.

nowadays i have more sleepless nights from watching movie or cleaning house than by a nursing pser.

[Ravin]

First of all, I don't define "good sleeper" as sleeping all night before it's physiologically normal to be able to do so, which is NOT at one year.

My DD has slept through the night twice in the past few weeks (not woken to nurse). We've been gradually working on the transition to her own bed since her birthday.

[spirit4ever]

hmmmmmm...
well my 3 1/2 year old nursed frequently during the night till we nightweaned, or partially nightweaned when I was pregnant with ds2, but if he sleeps in his own bed he still wakes frequently, if he's in bed with us he sleeps through (I think ) or wakes sees me and goes back to bed.
my 10 month old nurses about 12 times a night!! I've also started the pantley pull off and he's pretty good so he just rolls over or at the very least lets me unlatch him!!

[nursing2mom]

After my first daughter was born, I could sure see how sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture! She was a constant nurser, including the nights.
She didn't sleep through the night until she was 3 and we had gone to a naturopath to help (in our case, we had Candida issues that, when treated, helped the sleeping tremendously-- also we used some homeopathic remedies. For her, I used Pulsatilla, but each child is different and it depends on her/his temperment).

My second daughter (born when dd1 was 27 months) has been much different. She has had several nights where she's slept more than 5 hours in a row. This--again-- was after we were all 3 treated for Candida. Diet was a huge issue for us, and still is). I co-sleep with dd2 still, but dd1 chose to go to her own room a little over 3 years of age, for the most part, anyway.

I also agree with a previous post that it depends on the child-- I have a friend who kept telling me her toddler slept through the night (formula-fed, cio) and, during play dates it would come up that he didn't really sleep through the night, but she would either let him cry, or she would hear him wake but he wasn't crying. On that same note, I have a good friend who breastfed on demand and night weaned her toddler to get some sleep, but no one slept through the night for months-- and she had no way to get her daughter back to sleep. So it was worse for months. It really has to depend on the child and what stage he/she is in, in my opinion. There are better times than other to attempt to night-wean, don't you think?

[tinuviel_k]

Denali is 2 years, four months, breastfeeds often during the day (probably 8 or 10 times!) and sleeps through the night. We night weaned at 15 months due to a couple reasons, but mostly to the fact that I have trouble falling back asleep, and I could no longer cope with life on 4-5 hours of sleep a night. Much to my suprise, about a month after we initiated the nightweaning routine Denali was sleeping through the night right at my side! So now I have a cuddly breastfeeding co-sleeping toddler who sleeps through the night, and I am SO happy!

[MommyMine]

Originally Posted by natashaccat

So mamas do you think we are in fact bringing this on ourselves by choosing to BF beyond 1 yo? I just don't get why toddlers who bf don't seem to sleep as well as those who don't.

I breast fed my son and he slept through the night but I guess I "night weaned" because I refused to feed him at night at one point. I would hold him but not nurse him...It just got to be too much for me and I needed to sleep.

I guess I don't understand why you can't be an extending breast feeding mama and not night nurse? They don't need the food but heck if you could suck all night (and lets face it sucking is comforting) and even get a snack...why not? I guess I worry about thier later health if their metabolism is getting set up to require 24 food. I never felt guilty about night weaning. (though I didn't think of it as weaning at all...just I don't know...sleeping through the night?) I am not sure it is normal to nurse all night.

I think if I could have slept through nursing I might have kept on with it but I can't. I am awake if I am nursing. If I do fall asleep I end up with weird dreams - horrible weird dreams!

[Parker'smommy]

Originally Posted by MommyMine

I guess I don't understand why you can't be an extending breast feeding mama and not night nurse?

Not one person said that you can't. But nightweaning does NOT always equal sleeping through the night. It just doesn't. My ds didn't start sleeping through the night almost a year after we nightweaned him and was over three years old.

They don't need the food but heck if you could suck all night (and lets face it sucking is comforting) and even get a snack...why not?

But who is to say WHEN a babe doesn't NEED to eat at night anymore? I know plenty of adults ( me included) that get up and eat in the middle of the night or go get a drink of water. Docs will tell you that a four month old doesn't need to eat at night anymore. How do they know?

I guess I worry about thier later health if their metabolism is getting set up to require 24 food. I am not sure it is normal to nurse all night.

There has been NO studies that I have seen ( and I have read a lot) that says nursing throughout the night hurts a child's metablolism. Do you have any data or facts to back up this claim? AND....it has been proven that it is INDEED NORMAL for a child, even a three year old, to nurse at night. It just isn't NORMAL in our AMerican CULTURE. If you look at other cultures that don't worry about babe waking and try to sleep train their children, it is very NORMAL for EVERYONE to wake up in the middle of the night.
Our Babies Ourselves How Culture and Biology Shape How We Parent by Merideth F. Small is an excellent read on this. I HIGHLY recommend it. It was VERY enlightening for me.

I never felt guilty about night weaning. (though I didn't think of it as weaning at all...just I don't know...sleeping through the night?)

THat's great that you feel good about your nightime situation. Regret and guilt is not a good thing to deal with and not healthy for mom. When I nightweaned my babe at a little over 2 years old, it was without any resistance from ds, and he was ready and it went very smoothly. I felt no regret for doing so either. But please know that is has been shown that sometimes night weaning leads to all out weaning. Some mommas don't want to take that risk. ANd also, some babes, even though mom wants to nightwean, babe is clearly not ready.

Again, noone needs to sacrafice their sanity. But they need to evaluate what is best for them and for babe.

[MommyMine]

Originally Posted by Parker'smommy

But please know that is has been shown that sometimes night weaning leads to all out weaning.

what a scare tactic...I have never heard of a kid quitting eating just because you wouldn't let them eat at one time.

[Parker'smommy]

Originally Posted by MommyMine

what a scare tactic...I have never heard of a kid quitting eating just because you wouldn't let them eat at one time.

Excuse me??? Please don't accuse me of doing something that I am NOT!!!

Maybe you have never heard of a child striking or weaning because of early nightweaning, but it has happened.


I am not trying to scare anyone.....I think I have been abundantly clear on that. I am just trying to give mommas that are thinking of nightweaning, the facts. One should know that weaning is a possibility when going forth with nightweaning. Don't you think moms should understand all of the sides and facts when considering something as drastic as nightweaning?

Breastfeeding isn't as simple as just eating. It's comfort also. Some children HAVE weaned completely when nightweaned, I'm not making it up.

I guess I will have to repeat again, as I have throughout this entire thread.....do what you think is best for you and your child, noone expects someone to lose all sanity in the name of breastfeeding throughout the night. You aren't a bad mom if you nightwean and NOT one person, including me has said so. But I guess I have upset you with my posting, and I am sorry. I just felt that you saying that it wasn't normal for a child to eat during the night and that it would somehow mess up their metabolism was also a scare tactic. It is normal to eat during the night and will NOT hurt a child's metabolism.

The OP asked if anyone's extended breastfed toddler slept through the night. As the responses have indicated, every child is different, but for many, sleeping through the night didn't happen until the child was older. And I know it helped for me to know that kids and small babes shouldn't be expected to sleep through the night and be nightweaned. It just isn't biologicaly expected of them. And nightweaning does NOT equal sleeping through the night. It just doesn't. It can happen, but like another poster indicated, it stinks when you take away the night nursing and then you lose a way to comfort your child at night when they are still waking and needing help soothing themselves back to sleep.

Sleep tight everyone!

[MommyMine]

Originally Posted by Parker'smommy

I am not trying to scare anyone.....I think I have been abundantly clear on that. I am just trying to give mommas that are thinking of nightweaning, the facts. One should know that weaning is a possibility when going forth with nightweaning. Don't you think moms should understand all of the sides and facts when considering something as drastic as nightweaning?

\

Then be more clear...How many kids quit nursing all together if they are night weaned? At what age are they night weaned? I need more info.

If a lot of 4 year olds wean totally after being night weaned that would be different than if a lot of 4m old totally wean after being night weaned. Also what do you mean by some? Most? rarely?

I know my metabolism theory is my own alone...I said "I THINK" because I just think that. I also think that maybe starting our kids on rice cereal and grains (or carbs) might have something to do with obesity in this country, other countries start kids on protien as a first food. But like I say...I THINK....I don't know. I just think. I did however still start with rice.

I think if you are going to say people need to consider the side effects you really ought to give some real info on how prevalant those "side effects" really are because honestly in real life I have never heard of a kid stopping nursing becuase he was night weaned.

But I have met many mamas who can't sleep through nursing and find that they can't function on sleep in 2 hour blocks for 3 years. I know I can't do that! Frankly I doubt anyone in any country anywhere can...I think humans need sleep.

[mrmomwife]

ebf

hello, I am currently breastfeeding my 13 month old and think I may be able to help you...
at 12 pounds, they are old enough to sleep through the night without nursing. (i.e 5 hours) I put mine to bed at 8pm after the last nursing, and topped him off at 11pm before I went to bed. Then don't nurse until the morning when they get up...if they cry, tell them it's ok, and pat their back and say nite nite. They will continue to nurse through the night if you let them, out of habbit, not hunger. I hope that helps. Ours has been sleeping through the night with no 11pm feedings, no night wakings, for 6 months now. I think it would be really hard if you co-sleep, b/c they will keep bugging you...how in the world do you get any rest? best of luck, and congrats for bf for so long. Is it just me, or do you guys get a lot of slack for ebf? I am the butt of a lot of jokes..like "is he 8 yet and still on your boob" ???

[alexsam]

Ah, a thread near and dear to my heart . My 15 month old is a night-nurser and a co-sleeper and he currently is up about 5 times a night. He will wake if he is sleeping with DH, and will even wake during naps when he is alone. He just is that way. At the moment, I think the "extra" waking (as compared to his usual 3 times a night) is due to a big language leap he is making at the moment...

Oh, sleep. I'll see you in a few years!

[ChinaDoll]

Emily stopped night-nursing at 15 months old (though I was pregnant, so maybe that contributed), and has slept through the night most of the time since then; she's 3.5 years old.

Liam is still night-nursing at 19 months old.

[SamanthaJ]

My ds is 14 months old, EBF and sleeps through the night. He night weaned himself around 10 months with a little nudge from me I guess. He had been down to nursing only once at night for a few months and I figured he wanted to nurse when he woke up at night (we co-slept full time at the time). Well one night he woke up and was crying and instead of immediately offering the breast like I had for the past 10 months I just patted his bum and he immediately quit crying and went back to sleep. I thought it was a fluke since it was so easy, but he hasn't nursed at night since and no crying either. Now he starts the night out in his own bed because I had to go back to school and stay up to study after he goes to bed for the night (didn't want him rolling off my bed of course!) and most nights he sleeps straight through from 8:30-6:00 or so and then he usually wakes and I bring him to bed with me where he falls asleep for another couple of hours without nursing.

Personally I think EBF does lead to more waking during the night, but I also think baby's personality plays a role. Julian has been very easy going from birth btw..

[Jillipede]

My son is 2 1/2 and last night he woke my up every 2 hours to nurse. We cosleep and I woke up thinking, I simply have to night wean him. It's so hard to tell him no but I need to sleep at night, especially now that I am 5 weeks pregnant. He cries, big tears coming down his cheeks and keeps repeating, "Milk, Mama?" over and over until I give in. I am really going to try to night wean him...I think..I guess I will make the change when I'm truly ready. Until then, he will continue to nurse a couple times at night.

[Brinda]

I got really, really lucky. My girls both had really bad colic. All three of my kids started sleeping through the night like magic at 12 weeks. It seemed that was our magic number, because the colic stopped then, too.

[natashaccat]

[QUOTE=mrmomwife]
hello, I am currently breastfeeding my 13 month old and think I may be able to help you...
at 12 pounds, they are old enough to sleep through the night without nursing. (i.e 5 hours) I put mine to bed at 8pm after the last nursing, and topped him off at 11pm before I went to bed. Then don't nurse until the morning when they get up...if they cry, tell them it's ok, and pat their back and say nite nite. They will continue to nurse through the night if you let them, out of habbit, not hunger. I hope that helps. Ours has been sleeping through the night with no 11pm feedings, no night wakings, for 6 months now. I think it would be really hard if you co-sleep, b/c they will keep bugging you...how in the world do you get any rest? best of luck, and congrats for bf for so long. Is it just me, or do you guys get a lot of slack for ebf? I am the butt of a lot of jokes..like "is he 8 yet and still on your boob" ???QUOTE]

I personally don't think that this is true. Yeah, I know you can get these sorts of numbers from books, studies, etc but really, where is that data coming from? FF children? There is no way "studies" can truely accurately measure the caloric intake of a BF baby. My boobs don't come with oz measurements on them and even if they did, the fat content of BM intake can vary so much that this wouldn't be accurate anyway.

In any case, you may have an unusually efficient daytime nurser. Not all BF babies are this way, some have a more difficult time getting enough calories during the daytime. There is no way my 18lb, 7 mo dd could get enough calories from daytime feedings alone unless I spent the whole day sitting in bed nursing. If you've ever had the experience of trying to push a child into something that they aren't ready for you can probably understand the phrase "one step forward, two steps back." One simple fact of bfing is that you can lead 'em to the boob but you can't make 'em drink. I believe that if a person has a child who is easily consoled by other means than that child is ready for night weaning. If not, then the child isn't ready and pushing is going to be counter productive.

I have never heard of a kid quitting eating just because you wouldn't let them eat at one time.

Probably true, but night weaning can lead to a big supply drop. Maybe not a big deal for an older toddler but it could be a problem for a younger toddler. Some kiddos may compensate by nursing more during the day but others might not.

[Seie]

I nightweaned my boy back when he was 9-10 months old. (now he is 27 months) I do not regret it. He seemed to sleep much better after we skipped the night-eating. Not like he needs the nutrition at night and I know he gets plenty of love and hugs so I don't have any worries. He still nurses early morning when he wakes up. We do not cosleep usually but he is always welcome in our bed if he wants to. He always has his morning-nursing in our bed - then rests another hour or so with us till it is time to get up.

I wonder about their teeth? My assumption would be that nursing at night would be bad for their teeth since they do not produce so much saliva in their sleep? Anyone know more of this or has experience?

Inca

[GoodEats]

Originally Posted by alexsam

Ah, a thread near and dear to my heart . My 15 month old is a night-nurser and a co-sleeper and he currently is up about 5 times a night. He will wake if he is sleeping with DH, and will even wake during naps when he is alone. He just is that way. At the moment, I think the "extra" waking (as compared to his usual 3 times a night) is due to a big language leap he is making at the moment...

Oh, sleep. I'll see you in a few years!

Ditto x 2.

FWIW, Bailey is nearly 5 and still doesn't "sleep through the night". The difference is that she gets up and gets a drink, goes to the bathroom, sings to her animals, whatever and I don't hear her unless I'm awake, too, because she sleeps in her own room now. She used to wake and talk or cuddle or want to play when she was co-sleeping, as recently as a year and a half ago and she had already weaned.