Baby Eating at Night

It is absolutely normal for breastfed babies to wake during the night for nursing. This might be her new normal schedule, though she had been sstn. It is also normal for all babies to go through different sleep phases so even if they are sstn, that may not be forever. There is a lot of growth going on and she needs the nutrition now. As others mentioned teething may also be contributing, of course.

Breastmilk actually provides more nutrition and calories than the solids she would be consuming at that age, so adding solids to fill her up may be counterproductive as it may fill her up but may not satisfy her nutritional needs so she needs to get them met later.

She also may have some intolerance to what you are feeding her or her body just needs to get used to digesting it, so it may be impacting her sleep. So I might give her the solids earlier in the day and concentrate on extra breastfeeding in the evening.

You may not be able to "fix this." She just might need the feeds at night right now. I'd try to get her to nurse more during the day. At that age they are really waking up to a lot of what is going on, so she may just be more interested in the world than nursing during the day (thus starving herself and making up for it at night). Maybe you could try nursing her in a darkish room with no stimulation? It might be helpful to call a LLL leader to talk through it, they often have good suggestions. Sounds like CIO is not working for her, so I'd let that go.

She might be going through a growth spurt and needs the extra feeding at night. I also agree that it might be teething. Sucking sometimes help with the pain of teething and so she might need it for the comfort also. I also agree don't rely on pumping to see how much she is eating. Usually a baby can get way more from the breast than the pump can. I would just feed her on demand as she needs it and it will probably be better in a week or so.

mine did something similar, she is 10 months now, she was teething, try some baby tylenol at bedtime and see if that helps

Is she gaining enough weight? Breastefed babies are not supposed to go the whole night without nursing! Breastmillk digests all too quickly and baby does get hungry! Check your sources if information on this. Le leche league has the right info on breastfeeding, go to thier website, or speak to a local leader. Also mothering.com and askdrsears.com have info about this. She is hungry and needs the nutrition during the night, therefore nothing else will help but feeding her. She is probably teething right now as well, which is causing her to wake more during the night. Your baby is completely normal, listen to her needs.

I know the whole "getting up in the middle of the night" thing is aggravating, as we all want our sleep.

My advice for your 7th month old would be simply...to feed her. She's ONLY 7 months old, not 7 years. She has a small tummy...and needs frequent meals.

Babies and toddlers go through many different stages of eating, drinking, sleeping, et cetera. I don't agree with the CIO method...but based on your statement that she scratches herself...she's telling you there's something she needs...be it food..her mommy..whatever. Give her what she wants, she's still so young.

My son ate throughout the night until he was 2.5....but I have friends whose children slept 8 sound hours from two months on....so all children are different.

If she wakes to eat...feed her would be my advice. If she wakes because she wants her mommy...then hold her.

Good luck. And if you have time, check out the book "The Vital Touch" by Sharon Heller, it's a wonderful book for parents...your local library should have it or you can always check amazon.com for it. :)

http://www.horriblesanity.com

I'm guessing that she's teething. Don't use the pump to gauge your supply. the only way to know how much she gets while breastfeeding is to weight her before and after a nursing session.
Solids can actually irritate some baby's stomachs and make them wake up more often. I'd quit any solids for a while and go back to breatfeeding on demand through the day and try having daddy go to her in the middle of the night first. If he can't get her back to sleep, then you nurse her.
If I think of other ideas I'll update this:)

I agree that it might be teething, sometimes they like to nurse more when they're teething. And don't think that the amount you pump is what they eat in a feeding. I only get 2 oz when I pump but I know my son gets more than that in a feeding or he wouldn't be so plump. Try children's tylenol before bed.

My 6 1/2 month old has not slept more than 2 or 3 hours at a time. They get more milk thank you can pump. Her dr. told me that. My older daughter (31/2 yo) was like this and we gave her a sippy cup with a handle and put it in her crib. Every night we would say if your are thirsty your cup in write hear. We would put it in the same spot every night. Good luck

Can you wake her and feed her before you go to bed? If she is hungry giving her that snack before you go to sleep may help you get more than a couple hours at a time. And if you think she's teething that is probably a good time to give her a little Tylenol to help her sleep. If you don't want to give Tylenol, try something like Baby Orajel that you can put directly on her gums. That will stop the pain immediately and may allow her to go back to sleep without nursing.
Hope that helps.