i've seen these kind of questions on here all the time, so figured someone might have some insight for me. my almost 8 month old son has been a champ at everything from the start. breastfeeding went perfectly, he was sleeping through the night very early on, and now solids have been awesome. on average at night (until about a month ago) he would sleep 10 hours, wake up to nurse and go back to bed for another 3-4 hours. (i know i've been spoiled) now that my teacher husband is back to work, he goes to daycare 3 mornings a week. this means he would get up to nurse (around 5am) and stay up since he'd go to daycare.
i know that his schedule will change for a million reasons....growth spurts, new eating routines, on and on. but now he's waking up around 2:30am (7hours or so) and desperate to nurse. sometimes i'll hold him off with a bottle of water for a while but then i always give in cuz i'm too exhausted to fight it. then the latest he'll sleep is until 7:30, unless its a daycare morning.
i just worry that i've created a bad habit with this feeding and also wonder if it's because he's used to eating more during the daytime since we've started solids. i'm worried i can't work out of it but don't know that i can handle letting him "cry it out". especially when i know he's hungry and rested enough at that point to go at it for quite a while.
i had just hoped into the daycare routine he'd eventually sleep in til 5:30-6 and get used to not going back to bed...instead he's just managed to bump up the midnight feeding much earlier. any pointers to work this out. for now i'm just being tough and i've always let him decide when its time to eat...this is just getting old fast. thanks moms!
He is still an infant. I agree with the previous post that says NURSE HIM.
Breastmilk is digested easier so he may just be growing and needs to be fed more right now. Our son nursed in the middle of the night (anywhere from 1 to 5 times) till he was 18 months old. Trust me. This time with him is precious. You will miss it when you are done nursing....
His whole schedule just changed drastically. If he's waking to nurse at 2:30am, then by all means nurse him. If he goes back to sleep after eating a full feed, then he needs it and you should feed him.
DO NOT GIVE HIM A BOTTLE OF WATER! At his age, his body is not built to handle all the water and he can actually OD on it. I know you probably aren't giving him an 8oz bottle of water multiple times, but you just never know. Its not recommended and its not a good idea.
I know its getting old fast, but you just have to relax and follow his lead, succumb to the fact that he's just a baby and this too shall pass, and ot give him what he needs now, he will learn that you will always be there and will relax and fall back into a better routine.
I have always heard NOT to feed your baby water in a bottle (unless with meals). I read that too much water can actually thin their blood. Seriously scared me. Give him formula if you don't want to breastfeed at night. He is probably hungry.
Yes, you were spoiled ;-) My daughter nursed every night at 1 am and 5 am until she was about 10 months, then she slept through the 5 am feeding but kept the 1 am until 13 months. Some babies need that night feeding even longer. He is a hungry and growing baby, please just nurse him and you both can go back to bed. Feeding a baby when they are hungry is not a "bad habit".
;>
You bragged about how good he was sleeping, didn't you? I learned to NEVER brag about how good my son slept-- the next week would be HELL if I did!
Seriously though, for ME the key to my quality of life isn't how many times I get woke up, it's how quickly and easily I get back to sleep. So my advice would be to keep the baby close and nurse him immediately--that way neither of you have to wake all the way up, and it's a LOT easier to get back to sleep! (I co-sleep, but I'm single and don't have to consider a spouse/partners needs)
