Hi my 11 1/2 month son still wakes up in the middle of the night to eat. I started nursing one less minute per side every couple days. We got to four minutes per side now he is waking up another time in the night. He was getting up only once a night now it is twice. Then some nights he will sleep the night through. Sometimes I let him cry if it is not the usual time he wakes up. Then at his usual time around 1:00 I nurse him, and his belly is empty I can here the liquid enter his belly it makes a noise. We eat supper around 5:30 pm and then I give him a snack at 7:30 and he goes to bed around 8 or 8:30 pm. When he eats supper he keeps eating and eating I have to stop him when we are finished. He eats his food plus he eats stuff from our plates. I don't think he knows when is full or maybe he is not full but he can eat as much as us sometimes. He is very active just started walking around, but I am scared that he might be overweight in the future.
Thanks for all the advice. All last week he slept the whole night through. He did it all on his own. There is a few times he wakes up and I just let him cry.
What do you give him for his snack before bed? I always give my babies some oatmeal cereal and a whole bottle at 8 pm and then off to bed. They start this at the age of 6 months and sleep through the night from then on.
Good luck,
J.
at this age, I would think it would be Ok to feed him as much as he wants, as long as its healthy food. He's burning lots of energy with all his activity, so only he knows how much food he needs. And its normal for nursing babies to still eat in the middle of the night at least until 12 months. Its only the lucky parents whose kids sleep all night, so don't feel like you are alone or doing anything wrong. Its just very hard. My 13 1/2 mo. has just finished weaning and we're still working on getting her make it through the night without a little crying. Good luck and congrats on nursing this long!
J.
Hello,
I was wondering do you nurse him before bed? My son is a little younger than yours (10 months). And I have always nursed him before bed. Also when he was younger, I would wake him up before I went to bed, 10 pm or 11pm whenever it would work and I would nurse him then. I recently just switched to formula and I was not sure how much to give him through out the day. And I found the the American Pediatrics association suggests 6-8 oz of formula, breastmilk or water before bedtime. So I have been trying to give him 6oz before bedtime. I also think that is important to make sure they are getting enough durring the day so that they don't need it at night. However, he will probably keep waking up then if he is used to it. My son would wake up at 4 in the morning for awhile and eventually we let him cry it out and now most nights he does fine. I did read somewhere that if they are waking up at the same time every night it could be more out of habit and their body used to waking up then. Not because of hunger. Just some ideas, I know it can be hard to change something.
My 18 month old just stopped nursing during the night at 15 months. My others were ready long before then, but I have no doubt that he needed that little bit of milk during the night (I know I can't go 12-13 hrs without drinking anything). His issue definitely seemed to be thirst more than hunger. He is also my "bottomless pit" - he was able to eat anything and everything put in front of him, we asked his pedi about that and she said it's fine, some kids are very active and need it and it would even out. She was right - within the past few months his eating has stabilized. I really wouldn't worry about him becoming overweight in the future, just make sure you are instilling healthy eating habits in him and he's filling up on the "right" things. My son is around the 80-90% for weight, but he's also 97% for height, so he's proportionate.
Hi...
I know some moms don't agree with this but I have three of my own who all breastfeed and I think its because of comfort. Not because he is thirsty. If you only feed him 4 min on each side..than he does it to be with you. My youngest will be 11mo and I just stopped breastfeeding last week. He woke up sometimes 3 times a night.....I thought maby thirsty but since I stopped - in one week he no longer even gets up anymore. He eats more durring the day. My doctor said at this age it is alright not to go in there in feed him....he can make it all night...it may seem mean (I know..and tough) but really he will just eat more durring the day to make up for it. Trust me. And my little guy eats sometimes as much as my 4yr. old. And it's probly just a growth spurt right now. I would just let him eat what he wants. Also If you push his snack back closer to bed time and feed him like cereal and give him breastmilk...he will be just fine to make it all night. It is also hard to listen to them cry it out and if you feel like you need to go calm him down make it clear your not feeding him and comfort him in a way he knows no milk is coming and after a that week he probly will just keep sleeping. Like I said I think its just comfort. Alot of babies comfort suck in the night hours just to make sure your there.
Good luck!
I would let him eat all he wants in the evening. As long as he is eating healthy things I wouldn't worry too much about him being overweight. My boys (4 1/2) still go through spurts where they pig out for awhile and then they go through times when they eat very little. I figure they are going through growth spurts. They also are NOT overweight. My boys use a lot of energy, esp. in the summer, and sometimes eat more than I do. I've also found that sometimes if they know they have to have carrots or an apple for a snack they aren't as eager to pig out as they would be with cookies or ice cream. And it is building good eating habits.
When my 8 month old wakes up in the night I give her a nuk and tuck her back in. I give her about five minutes of crying time. If that doesn't work, I hold her and comfort her, but I NEVER feed her during the night. Her stomach is big enough so that if she eats before bed (her last feeding is at 8:00 p.m.) she should be fine until morning (her first feeding is anytime between 5:30 a.m and 9:00 a.m.). She rarely wakes up now!!
I didn't nurse my baby, but I did have a baby who was waking up in the middle of the night for her bottle. This winter when we were visiting my sister in law, who did nurse all three of her babies, she noticed our waking problem and gave us a solution which had the problem nipped in three nights. She had us cut back the amount by half every night. For instance, the first night we gave her six ounces, the second - three, the third - one or so, and the fourth zero. Her point was that if you are used to getting a hamburger in the middle of the night every night, you get used to it. There is no medical reason we need to eat in the middle of the night. I know it's hard, but the best way to change this behavior is to be strong. We just went through that with bedtime. Our baby would cry when we put her down because she knew we'd come back to hold her. When we became firm about staying away, she stopped within two nights and now goes to sleep with no drama. My sister in law got her middle of the night nursing problem solution from her doctor. Perhaps you can ask your doctor for more advice on this since your baby has a higher demand for food?
I was in a similar situation, I spoke to our pediatrician and was assured that babies go through "growth-spurs" and will stop eating when full. At his age, he should be sleeping through the night, so increase his calorie intake during the day. Also, breast milk is much more digestible and passes through quicker.
If your son is eating a wide variety of fruit, veggies, good fats and whole grains - Let him eat!
Once you don't make it a big deal, I am sure he will move on to other things to power struggle over :D
You are cutting back his nursing sessions during the day? If so, thats probably the problem. He still needs those calories, and his body will be searching for them at night if he doesn't get them during the day. So nurse him as long as he wants during the day... and stick to one side each session. Don't switch breasts, just let him nurse as long as he wants on one side. This will get him the fatty hindmilk, fill him up, and get him the calories he needs from your breastmilk.
Also let him eat at dinner, and nurse him before bed. IF he's hungry, let him eat. Don't feed him though, give him food and let him pck it up and eat it. If you are feeding him, it could be coming in too fast andh e can't regulate when he is full. It takes him longer to feed himself and he'll realize when he is full. He doesn't need baby food, he can have any and all table foods (aside from any allergy foods) so feed the little guy, nurse him when he wants during the day sticking to just one breast.
When he wakes at night, let your husband go in and soothe him. Give him a minute too, babies are loud sleepers and he can easily soothe himself at this age. Get him a blankie or a lovey and help him soothe himself.
Hello,
I have a 14 month old boy, and I remember right around his first borthday being sirprised by how much he could eat. He really would eat as much as my husband and I!
He stopped nursing in the middle of the night around five months, so I am not sure what is normal, but maybe you should talk to the daycare and see how much he is eating there. He may not get enough to eat during the day and is hungry at night. I think especially since you said he is waking up twice when you feed him less. I say if he is eating all he wants through out the day to start letting him cry it out. It is hard, but really works.
Or he could just love that extra time he gets with mommy...
My daughter was exactly like that too! Each time that we went in for a well-check I would bring it up with her doctor. She would show me where my daughter was on the growth chart and it was always very average. She explained to me that kids know when they are hungry and when they are not, much better than their parents do! He may be going through a growth spurt. My daughter was in a "growth spurt" for the first three years of her life!!! When she moved to milk, we started with the whole milk as suggested, but as soon as we got the ok, we switched her to skim. I also try to make sure that she has snacks that are healthy, so that when she "pigs out" that she is doing that with fruit and veggies, not crackers and fruit snacks.
Hope this helps!
