What age can you night wean?

[Care76]

I have a 32 weeks old son who is almost night weaned, but I still go in and top him off before I head to bed. If I don't he will wake to eat and I am not sure if it is out of habit or hunger. Then he doesn't wake until 5-6 am when he wakes for the day.

The reason I want to wean him at night is because it took us 12.5 years to conceive him and we were hoping now that I have been pregnant we might be able to try for #2 and have an easier time. I have read that the first year after birth is the best/easiest time for conception, also age is a factor so we would like to try sooner rather than later. I have also read that night weaning is the first step to getting your cycles back.

Two of my sisters have assured me my 7 month old baby is old enough to go through the night without feeding, but he is not a chunky baby. He is very long and very lean. The doctor actually suggested formula to put some weight on him! He said he is not sick, he just hadn't doubled his weight by 6 months (he was 1 lb under if you consider he was almost 2 weeks late). We had a heck of a time BF, it took us until 5 months to BF without pain and have decent supply. We had tongue tie and latch problems and low supply, so I am incredibly happy we made it this far. So I DO NOT want to go to formula. We are doing so well now.

My son gets 4-5 feeds in 24 hrs. I have no idea how much he eats as I don't have proper scales to do a before and after weigh. He has gained another pound when I went to visit my midwives, so that is good.

So basically I am wondering if he is old enough or getting enough food to night wean. And if not, any tips to get my cycles back would be great. I did read some of the sticky thread here, but I didn't have time to read it all as my time is pretty thin these days, lol.

Thanks for reading.

 

[RoseArcana]

I would have thought at 7 months he could manage? You could offer water when he wakes and see if he's still wanting boob after?

I night weaned about 6 weeks ago. It was a tough couple of nights but since then her sleeping improved dramatically. You have to use your mummy instinct tbh as he might still need it so pick a night when you don't mind being woken up so much and if you have a partner get some support. Good luck x

 

[babyjo]

My LO is 7 months too and I'm considering night weaning but for different reasons.

I think if it feels right for you and your family go for it. Care well done for bf for that long!

It took us a long time to get comfortable bf too because of tongue tie etc and am proud that we have made it this far. I love bf and have such a contented baby who is on the 99th centile but ......night time he loooooooves to comfort suck allll night and relies on the boob to get to sleep. He used to feed every 30min to two hourly for months day and night but now I'm too exhausted for words, lost a crazy amount of weight and will be back at work soon. He doesn't take a bottle so my plan is to go cold turkey so that he is not confused by me giving in sometimes.i plan to continue to feed on demand daytime. How has your LO taken to food?My LO is not that interested yet so I'm expecting to have to feed him more in the day.

Rosearcana how did you settle your little one when they woke? Was there a lot of crying? I hope it is as quick for me.

 

[pinklightbulb]

I would just go in and settle without feeding when night weaning Eamon. (He was 10 months old). After a few nights, he got it that he wasn't being comfort fed, and stopped waking. Doesn't mean it will be that easy for everyone though

 

[Care76]

Thanks for all the input. Pinklightbulb I am going to try it and see how he does.

RoseArcana, my mummy instinct says he will be OK, but then I have times I worry he still needs it. I don't know if it's just paranoia or what others say.

Babyjo, thanks. I am very proud to have been able to get this far. There were so many times I wasn't sure if we would make it but I just kept going one feed at a time. We also used to feed every 20 mins for the first few months. I lost weight but then when we got feedings sorted out and I started the Domperidone I gained it all back.

We went to the International Breastfeeding Centre (Jack Newman's clinic) and we were told to start solids at 4 months as my son was very interested in food when I ate. He took them well. I make my own baby food and he is now at the stage where I can mash up some fruits and veggies (only some) instead of pureeing them all. He has only had chicken so far as I got an organic one from my MIL.

My son won't take a bottle either. I don't mind, I feed him every 2-3 hours until he goes to bed (bedtime feedings just changed recently thankfully as I am so extremely tired), but my husband and I would like to go out sometimes and Declan won't take the bottle. I tried a sippy cup as well, a few actually, but he wants me, or my boob I should say.

 

[RoseArcana]

Rosearcana how did you settle your little one when they woke? Was there a lot of crying? I hope it is as quick for me.

I would give her her dummy, pop her dream sheep back on and hold her hand/back. She refused water everytime. I did it after a day when she'd fed well so I knew she shouldn't be hungry. She did cry a bit but not much more than usual.

I hope it's just as easy for you x

 

[lily28]

Stalking to see what other ppl do/think!

 

[justkitty]

My son was ff and hadn't doubled birth weight until 10m so it makes no difference. I'd say if his weight is an issue then keep feeding him if he wants it. Perhaps try an additional feed in the day to top him up. What's he like with solids?

 

[Care76]

Justkitty he is great with solids. I try not to give him too much though as I want him to nurse more. He does get goats yogurt almost every day plus fruits and veggies and chicken a few times a week. He eats a couple tablespoons 2-3 times a day.

 

[TheNewMrs]

14 mo here and shes just night weaning herself this week. I didn't want to push her before she was ready and I'm about 6wks pregnant too!

 

[Care76]

Congrats TheNewMrs! That is wonderful.

I know it is possible to get pregnant while nursing at night, but I don't have much of a chance in getting pregnant in the first place so I want to do everything I can. Most people look at me like I am crazy when they hear we are hoping to conceive naturally. I really believe it may happen though.

I started by feeding him earlier (he doesn't always wake to eat anymore, but I like to go in and fill him up), before 9 so I don't disturb him during his REM sleep. It seemed to work fine he never woke until 6:20 am and he went to bed at 5:30 pm as he missed his nap.