8 month old frequent night waking

[allofmyhobbies]

I have a son that is 8 month olds.  He was sleeping 10-12 hours a night until about a week before he was 4 months old.  He has had 3 ear infections, a stomach virus and multiple colds. Since he has been sick so much, I have also had trouble distinguishing the causes of his nightwakings (pain, hunger, habit, etc.)  Right now he is eating 2-3 times a night plus every 3 hours during the day and 3 solid meals a day.  He feeds to sleep for naps and bedtime, which I know is a whole other issue.  I keep waiting for him to feel better to do pu/pd. I have also never been able to stretch him to 4 hours between milk feedings. He acts like I am starving him to death.  Anyway, here is our current schedule.  Any suggestions would be great. 

3 am feeding
6-6:30 am Awake for the day
7 am BF
8 am Yogurt or cereal and fruit (quantity varies, usually between 2-4 oz)
9:30-10 am 6 oz bottle EBM (he goes to daycare during the week, I BF on the weekends)
NAP (usually 30-45 min at daycare, he will sleep 1-1.5 hours at home on weekends)
12:30 PM Veggies 4 oz bottle
NAP (on the weekends we can get him down between 1 and 2)
3:30 6 oz bottle (he usually takes a 30-45 min nap around this time at daycare if we are lucky)
5-5:30 dinner
6:00 bath
6:30 BF and to bed
9:30 he wakes up, my DH tries to get him back down without me feeding him, sometimes I end up feeding him
11:00-12:00 BF

I am exhausted and don't don't know what to do anymore.  Please help!!!!

[Colin Macs Mom]

Is he taking full feeds at night? Could he be having a growth spurt?

[allofmyhobbies]

He does take a full feed.  He has been doing this for several weeks now.  He did have a stomach virus so I thought he was playing catch up, but that was a month ago now.

[Colin Macs Mom]

    In that case he's probably gotten used to doing his eating at night - so now he thinks nighttime is time to eat, rather than daytime. He might very well still need one night feed, some older babies do. BUT, I think your best bet is to wean those feeds. Are you bottlefeeding or BFing at night?

[allofmyhobbies]

I am BFing

[Colin Macs Mom]

A good way then is to offer less minutes than normal. Say he takes 10 minutes each time. Start by offering 8 (or 9 if you think he needs a desperately slow process) and every three days lessen the time by another minute or two. You should see an increase in his daily intake to compensate.

[magda1461]

hi..hugs to you! and to your poor littl ebaby being sick! my DD is also suffering a cold and it breaks my heart seeing them struggles. this is her 5th cold in her 8months!!! ( just a note that my paeditrician said kids on avergae get sick 12 times a year!!! yep thats right)!!!!

i know you said your worrying about her bedtime and night sleep but it may be a good idea to tackle her naps first. e.g try to stop feeding him to sleep during the day. at least if your LO is up for 10mins after his feed thats a start and then gradually increase the time frame.

also when he is sick BW doesnt recommend doing pu/pd as they need comfort at this time more then sleep training.

colin macs mum is right about slowly decresing night feeds . i went cold turkey with my DD at 7months..she was also waking 2-3 times a night for a feed and one night i just bit the bullet and went nope ..but i had to do pu/pd for 40mins that night and 30mins the night after. but presto 3rd night. she woke only once... and since then sure she still wakes once or twice but its not for a feed, more for a resettle and cuddle! and now she has a cold she is up heaps at night only because she is having trouble breathing through her snotty nose! so i dont mind too much knowing when she gets better ill get back to sleep training and will ahve to probably do pu/pd again. but thats babies for you!!!

i hope things go well for you..hope i helped a little!


 

[allofmyhobbies]

Thank you both for your quick response.

I was waiting until I was sure he was all better before doing pu/pd, but at this rate I am not sure that will ever happen.   

We have been working on naps on the weekend.  On Saturday, he went down without being BF and was awake when we put him down.  But it is hard during the week when he is at daycare.  He does not nap as well there and I am just glad when he gets in two naps.  He did nap for over an hour this morning at daycare so maybe he is starting to feel better.  Probably shouldn't say that out loud!!

When reducing the amount of time I BF for the night feedings, do I focus on one feeding at a time or reduce the minutes at each feeding? 

[Colin Macs Mom]

When reducing the amount of time I BF for the night feedings, do I focus on one feeding at a time or reduce the minutes at each feeding? 

More often than not, it's better to tackle one feeding at a time. But you know your LO the best and if you think he can handle all at once then go for it.