Weaning Earlier than We Wanted

I actually disagree with giving cereal before bedtime. That can cause more waking than before, because rice cereal is essentially just a bunch of carbs. Your child burns them off quickly and they turn to sugar. Is he actually hungry when he's waking to nurse? Or is it out of habit that he wants your breast? At that age, my daughter didn't NEED to have a bottle when she woke, but she would drink out of habit. Maybe you could try some comfort nursing when he wakes, and see if that's all he is wanting until he gets settled into a better sleeping schedule?

I agree that cereal does nothing to help them sleep through the night. My daughter has been sleeping through the night since 4 months old... not by choice. We made her learn to put herself back to sleep when she woke. Like another mom said, it's not that they need a bottle, they just want a bottle. I read the book "Healthy Sleep Habits: Happy Child" by Marc Weiss and followed the extinction method. It's basically where you let them cry it out. It is very hard for parents to do but it sure works. Good luck.

P.S. I struggled with low milk supply and I tried EVERYTHING!!! You can take herbs called Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle. You need to drink lots of water. And, if the herbs don't show a difference in supply within the first 72 hours, you can get a prescription from the doctor for Reglan. Reglan is a medicine for GI problems, but it has the side effect of producing lots of milk. And man does it work! You can take it for about 12 days to see if it will "replenish" supply and keep the supply up, or you can take it for months at a time to keep supply going. It's completely safe for baby.

Try to give him cereal before bedtime. Fill his belly with something with substance before he goes to bed and it should help him get through the night without being hungry. I even mixed a little formula or applesauce in the cereal to make it taste good.
Good Luck and God Bless <>< J.

H., Looking at the other suggestions, I will add a few. Have your periods restarted, or on birth control...sometimes that messes with your supply. Also, perhaps you've been on bc but now that your doing more solids, working, etc the infrequent nursing is catching up and overweighing the bc hormones. But, many babies at this age, start waking more at night, seemingly wanting to eat. Most times, they are not hungry BUT if you feed them a few nights in a row, they will become hungry...Imagine if you started snacking every night, you get used to it and expect it. So, address the night wakings seperate from feedings. It is okay if you want to comfort nurse at night, but it will continue if you allow it. (personal note: my girls nursed through the night, in my bed for many, many months, so I am ok with it..but many moms aren't). Secondly, since he doesn't appear to want to wean..& I'm sensing you either, I would follow some of the other tips on increasing your supply and see how it goes. It's also most likely just another stage and he'll get through it with your love!

Unfortunately, supplementing with formula would have hastened your milk supply decline. It isn't took late to save your milk supply if you want to continue nursing. You can take herbs or drugs to boost your supply, eat lactation-friendly foods and try to boost your supply. It sounds like your baby isn't ready to wean and all the benefits of breastfeeding continue well after the first birthday.

Perhaps some of the info here will help you: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/index.html

Best of luck!

As a mother of a six month old son. I went through a similar situation. My breast milk stopped producing when my son was 5 1/2 weeks old. My son would not take a bottle because he wanted the breast. I finally bought the playtex bottles that had the bags in them. I snuggled to my chest just like I would when he breast feed. He started eating more and sleeping through the night.