My almost 6 month old son has recently started waking every other hour during the night to nurse! He used to just wake once, nurse, then go back to sleep until the morning. Now it starts around 10:30 and then literally every 2 hours or so he wakes up screaming/crying and won't stop until I nurse him! He is teething, and I've tried just putting some orajel on his gums, give him is binky, pat him on the back and try to get him to go back to sleep... but nothing works - except nursing him. I thought maybe he was just going thru a growth spurt or something? He eats very good during the day, and is on some solids and is thriving. So I'm torn between wondering if its a growth spurt and I should continue to nurse him, or is he just nursing for comfort and I need to stop the habit?? I'm exhausted so something's got to give!!
Thanks everyone for the advice. I just talked to the doctor and he said it does sound like a growth spurt. He suggested giving him rice cereal AND veggies at night before his last bottle before bedtime. I was only giving him some veggies before this. He said it might help him last a little longer - but that he's most likely just going thru a growth spurt and I need to accomodate the nursing. So I'm going to hang in there and do what I need to do! :-) Thanks again everyone - I love this website - it's so helpful and almost everyone is very supportive! :-)
If he is screaming - its not comfort nursing.
I bet it is both a growth spurt and teething. Keep nursing!!
As far as the comfort nursing goes... why would you want to stop it? If he needs your comfort, you should provide it.
Also check out kellymom.com for some articles about this.
I had the same problem with my first son. I would tell you that it is habit for him to want to use you for comfort and not for hunger reasons. I would suggest that you try to break him of the habit. I found that orajel does not work. It can also cause seizures in young children under the age of 2. I never used orajel. I found that using a cold wash cloth from the freezer helped my son the best. I hope that this works for you too. Good Luck! One day you will look back on these times with fond memories.
My baby did this also around 5-6 months. I wish I could tell you it stopped right away when she was done teething, but it didn't- it took a couple of months to get back completely to her old ways of sleeping through the night. Now, when teething, she still might wake up an extra time for a few days- but not as often as before. Just push through- I know, the sleeplessness sucks!
Also- you'll know it's just comfort nursing if she seems not too hungry, and just nurses a little and goes back to sleep.Then you might be able to see if she'll just put herself back to sleep after 5 or so min of crying at that same time slot in subsequent nights.
I would also try the homeopathic teething tablets, they are great and work much better then orajel for my little guy. You can get them at walmart or target..pretty much everywhere lately. Good luck!
I know this is hard, but he is growing and will soon go back to regular sleep habits.
