Training a baby to nurse twice a night

amother

Silver

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 2:40 am

Want to train her to nurse before I go to bed (around 10) and in middle of the night (around 2-3). She is 10 month old. How do I do this?

amother

Silver

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 6:55 am

To give an example. This is her third night of sleep training. She woke at 10:30. I nursed her. She woke at 1:30. I didn't nurse her. She cried for a while. She woke at 3:00. I nursed her. She woke at 6:30. I nursed her even though my plan was to only nurse at 7:00 in the morning.

amother

Silver

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 10:09 am

Bump. Did no one ever do this?

FranticFrummie

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 10:12 am

Why don't you want to feed her if she's hungry? She's a growing baby!

N'sMom

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 10:49 am

Sorry OP but I agree with FranticF. The schedule your baby is trying to be on doesn't seem excessive. In my experience, kids seem to settle in best if they are on a demand schedule when they are young. Chizki! This won't last long!

amother

Silver

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 10:59 am

[quote="FranticFrummie"]Why don't you want to feed her if she's hungry? She's a growing baby![/quote)

You would nurse your 10 month old every three hours at night?

cnc

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 11:01 am

[quote="amother"]

FranticFrummie wrote:

Why don't you want to feed her if she's hungry? She's a growing baby![/quote)

You would nurse your 10 month old every three hours at night?

I don't nurse, but why not?
I know women feeding babies older than that every three hours.
Is your baby eating solids? She might need that food. It's like telling you to skip a meal.

N'sMom

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 11:01 am

I would if she asked for it. Babies grow through physical and cognitive spurts where they need more food.

amother

Silver

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 11:03 am

N'sMom wrote:

I am coming from on demand and it wasn't working. She was up every hour and NOT settling. I am sleep training and she is falling asleep much quicker ON HER OWN. I am very ok with what I am doing. I am only asking how to teach her to wake twice. I am not nursing her bec I think she is famished. I don't want to get my period just yet. Please respect the question.

mommy best

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 11:16 am

My baby is also 10 months I would love to try this. But how do you manage with the crying and not nursing when ;A: I'm so tired B: don't want everyone to wake up.

amother

Silver

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 11:40 am

mommy best wrote:

My baby is also 10 months I would love to try this. But how do you manage with the crying and not nursing when ;A: I'm so tired B: don't want everyone to wake up.

She sleeps in my room so it is just myself and DH that are being disturbed. The crying is only for a few nights and than they learn to sleep on their own. In my case she was crying anyways. I was patting her and nursing her practically all night. My nipples were sore bec she was literally on me ALL night. Babies also develop habits so mine had a habit of waking on the hour. Some babies have a habit of eating three times a night. The question is how bad is it now and how much better will it be and is it worth going through the inconvenience for a few nights. Only you can answer that.

Iymnok

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 11:43 am

Have dh rock her. No food there.

amother

Red

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 12:16 pm

A 10 mo baby can sleep through the night if she's getting enough food and feeds during the day.

Feed her the last time between 10 and 11pm. Feed her in the morning when you two wake up.

amother

Silver

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 12:19 pm

amother wrote:

A 10 mo baby can sleep through the night if she's getting enough food and feeds during the day.

Feed her the last time between 10 and 11pm. Feed her in the morning when you two wake up.

I didn't ask how many times I should nurse her. I want to nurse her twice a night. I want to know how to get there.

Hashem_Yaazor

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 12:22 pm

You can try a gradual weaning of night time feedings if you really want to.

1 option is if you know a standard time she wakes up, to set an alarm for yourself 15 minutes before and dream feed her before she wakes up on her own...and you manipulate the times over the course of a few weeks to get longer stretches.

Another option is to cut down on length of feedings gradually till it gets down to a minute nursing at which point it's not worth it for her and if she wakes up you do just a quick snuggle and she'd be more ok with that because she is used to not getting a full feeding.

You can also try dream feeding before you go to bed so you don't have to wake up so soon. Cluster feed at night as well to keep her fuller longer.

Or you can just get used to nursing during the night and realize it's the simplest way to go back to sleep. That is what I do Wink

amother

Silver

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 12:29 pm

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

Thank you for answering my question. That is just the information I was looking for Smile

amother

Babyblue

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 12:32 pm

Huh? You all think this is normal? My babies sleep through the night at 3 months. For 12 hours. Except one who had an all around crazy nature--he still didn't sleep though the night at age 5. The way to get them to do this is to make sure they get enough food during the day. After you nurse, give solids (or formula if it is a supply problem.) If he is eating enough during the day he won't wake up except for habitual wakings which you calm by holding and not feeding. When he sees you aren't feeding he will stop.

mha3484

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 12:37 pm

My now toddler did an 8 hour stretch once he was sleeping in the crib in his brothers room. A few months later he was sleeping 12 hours. I think we were waking each other up and he needed a real mattress not the pack n play or bassinet style one which is very thin. He was around 9 months. If you nurse at 10 pm, wake him around 2am and then again at 6 am that should work. My current baby does that on his own for the most part.

Hashem_Yaazor

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 9:51 pm

amother wrote:

Yes, I think it's normal. I think it's an emotional connection to Mommy who is pulled away in a million different directions and a bonding needs to be made with no other interruptions. My 3 yo sleeps through the night (unless he wakes up to use the bathroom) and he nursed during the night (and slept in my room!) till about 1.5. No complaints at all on my end, B"H.

But are you implying your babies who slept through the night by 3 months had solids to give more food??

Either way, parents have to do what works for them. I have to work and I have to take care of my other kids, so despite frequent nursings during the day, I'm happy to be able to give my babies the nurturing they need at other hours.

Also, biologically, it's normal for breastfed babies to digest breastmilk quickly and nurse every 3 hours. It's totally normal in most cultures (read up on ecological breastfeeding) -- it's just that in the Western world we have changed how we view the mother/baby relationship. Putting babies in cribs and in their own rooms and not feeding them at nights. Some of this is for sanity, surely, what with 6 week maternity leaves and mainly working mothers, but that doesn't take away from it being completely normal and healthy for babies to wake up during the night.

BTW, sometimes my baby isn't really hungry, you're right. I could get away with a cup of water if he or she is thirsty (like my older kids have). But sometimes it's for comfort. I find it easier to nurse than to hold during the middle of the night, but other times, all that is needed is bringing baby back to my bed and snuggling together with me back to sleep without nursing. (Not at 3 months tough Wink

)

If I wanted to sleep train, I suppose I could. It's just easier for me not to, and none of my kids have fared poorly from my method of parenting. It works for us Very Happy

cnc

Thu, Feb 02 2017, 10:06 pm

amother wrote:

My babies sleep through the night at 5 or 6 weeks but they're formula fed. It's very normal for nursing babies to need to eat much more often. A feeding does not fill them up the way a bottle does. Not all nursing mothers give (or want to give) solids.