Night Weaning Questions

[lepetitmatin]

Anyone use a paci to help wean off feeding at night? My 5 month old does not need to be eating at night; she wakes out of habit and the only way I can now get her to go back to sleep is by nursing her. She never used to take a paci, but I've tried a couple times recently and she takes it really well; it helps calm her and put her right to sleep. She's been waking every three hours or so at night, so I'd like to transition her out of that and out of nursing to sleep. Anyone ever try this by introducing a paci at this age? I obviously don't want it to become yet another prop, but not sure what else to do...

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Is she ebf? If so it is perfectly normal for her to still have night feeds at her age. Does she use a soother otherwise? With my babies that took soothers, once they were around this age I always offered it first to see if they would settle and then fed if they didn't or woke soon after as clearly they were hungry then. 

[lepetitmatin]

She is EBF. I'm pretty sure it's out of habit - it's like clockwork and she's been eating less and less at the night wakings. I'm ok with feeding her once but not each time she wakes. If my husband picks her up, she'll often settle; if I do, she won't, I think because she knows it's me and wants to nurse back to sleep.  But he can't always be getting up to settle her since she's waking so often at night. She doesn't use a paci any other time; she's always refused it, though lately we've been trying in the car when she starts to cry a lot, or now a couple times at night and she'll take it and it'll put her fast asleep really quickly when she otherwise won't settle. I just don't want it to become a prop, though! Not sure if it this is a bad age to introduce? How can I make sure it doesn't become a prop?

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

She is pretty close to the age my two soother kids learned to replug so once that happens it isn't really a prop (if you get a few glow in the dark ones so she can find them easy!) as she controls it. How many day feeds is she on now?

[lepetitmatin]

Right now she generally eats at: 5am, 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 6pm, 11pm. I'm trying to wean her from a 2am, which seems to be going well... next will be weaning from the 5am (she habitually wakes at this time every morning and just chats/hangs out in her crib). She doesn't eat much at the 7am or 6pm feeds. I don't actually think she's hungry at 5am but I feed her just to get her to back to sleep so that I (and she!) can get an hour or two more rest -- horrible, I know!!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Lol not horrible at all! DD2 had a 5 am feed for ages as it was just easier! You may find that when she hits her 6 month growth spurt that her night feeds go up temporarily again!

[lepetitmatin]

Another question - we've transitioned to a longer A time, which has helped her naps tremendously. But the way it works out cuts a feeding out of the day. In other words, she has a 2.5-3 hour A time, and has two naps in the day, one usually 1.5 hours long and the other 2 hours long. The way it works out, she's having about 4 meals during the day - two while I'm at work. I pump three times at work though, getting 3-4 ounces each time, to total about 11 ounces. Yesterday, we had one bottle left over so she took that while I was at home right before bedtime, whereas usually I'd nurse her when I get home. So she got less milk before 7pm bedtime yesterday (and woke really hungry at 2 am, even though she ate really well at 10pm). She would take more at each feeding during the day, but should I be consolidating to 2 pumping sessions to mimic what she's doing at home while I'm at work (and hope to get about 2 5 or 6 ounce bottles? I've never been able to pump that much in one session unless I was engorged. Will going down to 2 pumping sessions reduce my supply?

So yesterday looked like this:

E: 7a (nursing)
S: 9-1030a
E: 11a (4oz)
S: 130-330p
E: 330p (4oz)
E: 630p (3oz+brief nursing)
S: 7p
NW/E: 10a (nursing)
NW/E: 230a (nursing)

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I have never been successful at pumping really, how often do you work? I wouldn't think you would have to match her feed times exactly to make it work though. Could the nf's partly be a bit of reverse cycling and wanting you? My DD3 used to do that!

[lepetitmatin]

I think I'll keep the same number of pumping sessions, just to give my body more demand and keep my supply up. I'm away from her full-time (about 50 hours a week), so there's lots of pumping going on!

Don't think it's reverse cycling... but maybe? She's drinking her bottles great, I think at this point it's just habitual night-wakings and she can't get back down without (comfort?) nursing. She doesn't even eat much each time. But falls asleep almost immediately, but wakes if I take her off.

I've tried having trying to resettle her in various ways including shhpat and pu/pd which has never worked for her, rocking/walking (up to 1 hour!) and nothing seems to work. I've tried reducing the number of minutes of the night feeds (which may ultimately work, but we are down to 7 minutes right now).  Open to any suggestions!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Sounds like it is a bit for comfort and a bit for hunger...I think the way you are going about it is fine and if she won't settle otherwise then it probably is hunger.