how long did/do you breast feed for ?

Question

its my daughter she 6 months im still breast feeding as well as weaning,she still wakes in the night 3 maybe 4 times,maybe im not filling her??

Answer 1

La Leche League International, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Medical Association recommend breastfeeding until your baby is at least 1 year old. LLL and the AAP recommend until 2 years (for those who try to recommend that you stop at a year). My son is 16 months old, and still breastfeeds twice a day.

At 6 months old, start feeding her small amounts of rice cereal. You should not put it in bottles. It leads to malodental problems (crooked teeth and overbites), and also delays development in terms of self feeding. It keeps them from adequately using their jaw muscles, in even the most early forms of "chewing." The most nutritious way of making the cereal is to pump small amounts of breastmilk and mix with the cereal until it has a consistency she likes. Every baby is different; some like it thick while some like it thin.

Until your baby is 18 months old, she is still receiving the benefits of nursing that include immunities from disease, minimization of allergies, and increased autoimmune function. You help keep her healthy - babies weaned before 1 year have an increased number of ear infections, croup, sinus infections, and allergies. It's a proven fact. Formula simply doesn't provide the same benefits because it is your immune system that helps fight her little bugs that she comes in contact with. However, formula can help as a supplement - not a replacement.

As for waking up at night, it has more to do with REM sleep. At this age, she has not learned how to cycle from deep REM sleep to shallow sleep. Sleep cycles through 4 stages every 90-120 minutes, and repeat through the night. At this age, transitioning from Deep to shallow can cause a baby to wake up - and if she has always had you there to sooth and calm her, she expects it. I would recommend a form of behavior modification before I resorted to always feeding her. There are many methods of sleep training to use, and I won't get into it here. Just know that your daughters insistence on nursing is more of her needing soothed through that cycling more than hunger; as long as her weight is where it should be.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

I am breastfeeding, my daughter is 5 months. We've not started solids yet. From 6 weeks to approx 14 weeks, she slept straight through, 13 hours! But then things went pear shaped and she started feeding 3 or 4 times in a night. Over the last week I have decided that enough is enough, and rather than take the easy option when she crys, I try to persuade her back to sleep (I'm not being cruel, if she really is hungry I feed her!) After 6 days, she last night had her last feed at 7.15, and although took a while to settle, slept to 2am when I fed her, and then slept to 6. I coaxed her back to sleep, and fed her at 7.

I suspect that night waking and feeding has become a habit rather than a need. If feeding is comfortable, it is unlikely she is not getting enough. Try to ensure that she feeds plenty in the day, and try soothing rather than feeding back to sleep.

For ideas about breaking the habit, try the No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. She advocates no crying it out, but is full of ideas that together should help achieve abetter, if not a full nights sleep. I didn't realise that without crying it out, there was a choice about my sleep until I read this!

Well done for breastfeeding this long, and good luck with getting more sleep!

Answer 3

I don't understand what the big deal is with night weaning!! Being a parent is not a 9-5 job!! Especially in babies who needs may not be being met enough during the day, they make up for it at night.
Breastmilk is the most easily digested substance for a baby, thus why they feed so much more often then there artificially fed counterparts.
Why do ya'll feel the need to "stuff" your baby with hard to digest formula? What good could possible come of that other than to get more sleep, which is pretty selfish IMO. Your breastmilk supply could be cut down doing this, what a silly thing to tamper with!
At 6mo your baby is exploring her world is new ways all day long, which can cause her to wake at night more. She has dreams about her adventures and wakes to be reassured that Mom is there and all is well.

Geez, breastfeeding is NOT ALWAYS THE CULPRIT!!!!!

Answer 4

Breastfeeding has nothing to do with why your daughter is waking up. I breastfed my daughter until she was 2 1/2 but she was sleeping through the night at 6 months. As someone else noted, it is now time for your baby to start solid foods. She is probably hungry and that is why she is waking up. At this point you can keep breastfeeding if you so desire but your daughter also needs to get other forms of sustenance. Start with rice cereal, which you can add breast milk or water or formula to. Check with your daughter's pediatrician on when to start what foods and how often a day. Once your daughter starts to get more food in her stomach she will probably start to sleep through the night. If she doesn't then it is probably because she is accustomed to waking up and getting attention, not that she is hungry. At that point you may need to try other methods to get her accustomed to sleeping through the night.

Answer 5

I stopped breast feeding at 4 and a half months but really missed it. My baby slept through from day 1. I only stopped as I stupidly thought someone else would feed her!!! I still wish that I carried on feeding her for a lot longer. She is now 2

Answer 6

I breastfed for 12 months, I would have fed for longer but I found out I was pregnant again, and definitely didnt want to tandem feed.
I exclusively breastfed for 4 and a half months.
She started sleeping through at 6 months, around the time she started having 3 solid meals a day.

Answer 7

u can breast feed up till they are at school and beyond some women do but i feel 12 months is OK and if Ur baby is putting on weight she is getting enough and u have done well to do it for 6 m my daughter was breast feeding and she found that she was up all nite feeding her which made her depressed with no sleep so she put her on to bottles and she slept better so its really up to u good luck

Answer 8

i breast fed my son for 16 months and he woke up during the night right till the end now he still wakes up and climbs in our bed but doesn't feed hes 19 months now i think after a while they don't need it but they like it have you tried giving alot of heavy food right before bed? you might just have to cut her off during the nite when i did my son was upset for about 20 min and then he went to sleep and never asked again but he was much older i am not sure but i know there is liturature saying when babys should stop during the nite i think its somewhere around 6 months

Answer 9

They say to keep your baby on the breast or on formila until they are at least a year old. My son is 3 months old and I am breast feeding I plan to breast feed until he is a year old. You may want o start them on baby food and feed her near her bed time so she will sleep longer. I think breast feeding is the best way to go if you can do it. But as your baby gets older her needs get bigger and they need babyfood too. Good LUck!

Answer 10

I bf until my DD was 2. It wasn't supposed to be that long. I wanted to wean her at 6 months. But she was not ready. I took her que's. She woke up at least 3 times a night until she was fully weaned. But that was because she needed me as comfort, not milk. And now that I am done, I am glad I waited.