hey, leave those boobs alone!

Leftist

What to do with a 6month old who has started waking up every two hours, constantly craving the nipples?
he's standing on his own (with support to hold) so he's a bloody nightmare to get to sleep now coupled with this endless need for breast milk (although not so bothered about food).

How to wean him off? beat him with sticks is my next option but I am open to other suggestions.

pickarooney

He's probably having a growth spurt. They usually wean themselves off naturally and six months is a bit early for that to happen so probably just best to keep feeding him. Not what you want to hear, I'm sure!

Leftist

o.k thanks, I am reading other places, baby websites etc. some conflicting suggestions.

One 'expert' is saying to leave them alone and don't pick them up, but he's non-stop screaming if I do that. They say that feeding during the day should be enough and don't give them more during the night.

But we moved about 3 weeks ago and he's just come off a cold so I don't know...
I'd like if we keep giving him milk, I don't mind that he wakes during a growth spurt, it's just if we're dealing with it right.

Squiggler

There is nothing wrong with feeding a baby who is hungry. The only "right thing" is what works for you and your baby.

If you are getting exhausted can you enlist your OH to lift him occasionally when he wakes and see if baby can be soothed back to sleep without feeding? I find with our little guy that he will look to be fed if I pick him up when he's upset, even if he is not hungry.

Breastfed babies tend to take what the need when they need it, so they're more likely to feed little and often (or lots and often) than to take big feeds less frequently (which is just as well for us as it helps us to avoid engorgement and keeps discomfort to a minimum).

NextSteps

Maybe take him into the bed so you can sleep and feed at the same time? He mightn't be able to stand there either, if there's nothing to hold on to.

Leftist

NextSteps wrote: »

Maybe take him into the bed so you can sleep and feed at the same time? He mightn't be able to stand there either, if there's nothing to hold on to.

his mam is doing that, usually from 4am.

I'm thinking it could be a spurt, coupled with post illness and teething... he was sleeping through until 3/4am but is now up at 10pm and then every two hours.
We just don't want to encourage a change in behaviour I suppose. by comfort feeding every 2/3 hours a night.

littlemissfixit

My little one just done that, he will be 6 mths this week. 3 wks ago he had a cold that lasted 2-3 days, he was waking a lot because of it, then went back to his normal (feed 10h30pm then sleep till at least 2h30/3 am) for 2 nights but then started waking every 2-2 and half hours through night. It was defo a growth spurt but it lasted longer than any other one (about 10 days :eek:) but he is now back to normal thank god. But I was like you, afraid I was giving him bad habits by feeding him all them times if it wasn't a spurt.
How long has it been?

mel1

NextSteps wrote: »

Maybe take him into the bed so you can sleep and feed at the same time? He mightn't be able to stand there either, if there's nothing to hold on to.

Oh i did this with my first, i call it my first big mistake! Not knowing any better i wound up going to bed with her for 4 year at nine o clock till she go sleep. I must have been soft in the head. Even if i put her in own bed after she go asleep she wake up and look to get back in to my bed. Was a total nightmare for me. Needless to say it was 5 year till another one came along and i did not make same mistake with second one!
Maybe others dont mind but i would not encorage bringing them into your bed.

NextSteps

mel1 wrote: »

Oh i did this with my first, i call it my first big mistake! Not knowing any better i wound up going to bed with her for 4 year at nine o clock till she go sleep. I must have been soft in the head. Even if i put her in own bed after she go asleep she wake up and look to get back in to my bed. Was a total nightmare for me. Needless to say it was 5 year till another one came along and i did not make same mistake with second one!
Maybe others dont mind but i would not encorage bringing them into your bed.

I had the opposite experience - had baby in the bed for a year, then gradually moved him to his own bed. Since 18 months of age he sleeps soundly for 13 hours a night. (And I kind of miss snuggling up with him!) So it doesn't necessarily mean signing your life away.

Maggie 2

Is he on breast only? If so, try a bottle of formula at night. Your partner may ahve to give it to him, as he'll smell your milk from you and may refuse the bottle. He's had a bit of upheavel latley and may be teething too.

Squiggler

Maggie 2 wrote: »

Is he on breast only? If so, try a bottle of formula at night. Your partner may ahve to give it to him, as he'll smell your milk from you and may refuse the bottle. He's had a bit of upheavel latley and may be teething too.

I'm sorry, but why do you think that a breastfed baby needs a bottle of formula? And why do so many people seem to think that a bottle of formula is the answer - formula fed babies have all these problems too.

When my baby is crying in pain or hungry during the night or even just looking for comfort after a bad dream the last thing I want to be doing is trying to prepare a bottle of formula when I can offer a breast instead and respond instantly to his needs.

Maggie 2

Had the same problem with my son. Much to my disappointment, my milk wasn't enough, so after a week of broken nights and sore nipples, I resorted to a bottle of formula at night and it did the trick. He was hungry! He had breast in daytime too. Needs of a hungry baby came before principles!

littlemissfixit

mel1 wrote: »

Oh i did this with my first, i call it my first big mistake! Not knowing any better i wound up going to bed with her for 4 year at nine o clock till she go sleep. I must have been soft in the head. Even if i put her in own bed after she go asleep she wake up and look to get back in to my bed. Was a total nightmare for me. Needless to say it was 5 year till another one came along and i did not make same mistake with second one!
Maybe others dont mind but i would not encorage bringing them into your bed.

I do think that at that age, it is safe enough to do it for a couple of nights even just to give parents a better rest, they are still very adaptable. When they are a bit bigger I agree they can quickly take bad habits. Took my 18 mth old to bed with me one night she was going mental and I was 9 mths pregnant, well it took three nights to get her back into her bed without a drama. Never in my life I could have done 4 years of it!
If you get a couple good nights (as good as it gets anyway) your head will be a bit clearer to figure out what is bringing this on and what, if anything, you want to do about it.

How Strange

I think the 'problems' with long term co sleeping depend on the individual baby. I had my sin in bed with us for the majority of the night up to 6 months then he was mostly in his cot. Inevitably he ended up in our bed around 4am as he always woke for a feed. Sometimes if I was still awake I'd put him back in his cot. He's (for the most part!) a fantastic sleeper and roils only ever sleep with us if he was ill. He loves being in his cot and having his own space.

If you're breastfeeding then combining cosleeping with sleeping in a cot just makes sense. I couldn't exclusively cosleep because my back was in tatters from hanging off the side of the bed.

At 6 months I'd say you should still be feeding on demand. If you're feeding on demand you'll have a much more content baby. Breastfeeding at night also helps both of you go back to sleep quicker so much so you'll hardly remember being awake to feed.

Formula isn't needed if you feed on demand day and night.

mel1

NextSteps wrote: »

I had the opposite experience - had baby in the bed for a year, then gradually moved him to his own bed. Since 18 months of age he sleeps soundly for 13 hours a night. (And I kind of miss snuggling up with him!) So it doesn't necessarily mean signing your life away.

Ah sure first kid, first mistake, i didnt know any better and let it continue untill it became a massive problem for me. Im still a firm believer of not starting bad habits to begin with which is why second child didnt have same problem. Babies are extreamly clever and once they figure out the if i cry hard enough i always get what i want then thats what you are going to have to live with!