I need help with weaning my 8 month old baby he constantly wakes up at night?

Question

He has always gotten up in the middle of the night to nurse but since he was 6 months hes been doing this more frequently almost every hour sometimes I try to rock him to sleep or give him a bottle but in the middle of the night he only wants to be nursed the problem is I NEED MORE REST this is starting to take its toll on me I have aches and pains every morning I want to continue breastfeeding for 2 more months( thinking this will give me time to uccessfully wean him I initially planned to stop at 6 months) but if he had his way he would nurse longer ...somebody please help!

Answer 1

I didn't do it personally with my daugther (I had the same problem but just sucked it up and she still wakes up occasionally for a bottle and she just turned 1) but older mothers have told me to mix their night bottle with rice cereal which will fill them up and make them sleep longer. Maybe you should try a co-sleeper. Maybe he just wants to be close to you.

Good luck.

Answer 2

If you would like to keep nursing him (because he is obviously not ready to stop), but you're just tired, I have a solution.

Put him in bed beside you. Prop yourself up with pillows behind your back and under your hip. You'll want one between your knees, as well. Get comfortable and let him on. Then he can drink and you can sleep.

You don't have to do it all of the time. Put him back in his bed when he gets to sleep-you will probably have gotten a couple hours in too. But you will probably prefer to keep him there because in the night he can roll over and find you. Or if you hear him wake, you can roll over and find him. A lot of people have problems with this-it's called it the "family bed." But years ago that is what people did. One thing was for warmth and sometimes they didn't have a bed for everyone. It helps with the bonding experience, believe me. My daughter is 15 months old and still sleeps with us (although the actual reason is that we have been considering moving and didn't want to put the crib up to have to take it down). I know it's lame. But her older sister is almost 3 now and slept in our bed until she was a little over 1 year. I was so tired after the first one until I discovered this position. I will warn people, though, that if you start out in the beginning doing this it will be very hard to break. But we all have to grow up some time.

"Daddy" might think it's unfair but, believe me, he'll get his one way or the other. wink, wink

It's whatever you need to do to have your rest and keep giving your baby the benefits of breast milk-if that is your desire. The longer you can nurse, the better. I have two: One nursed until 16 months. The other is still nursing at 15 months.

Answer 3

It may be a growth spurt, if it's only lasted a few days. My son did that several times during his first year.

Also, if he's getting up every hour, then he's not getting FULL. I bet he's getting just enough to take the edge off his hunger, then falling asleep--which makes him wake up an hour or so later hungry again. Try keeping him awake (I used a cool washcloth on my son's face and feet) until you think he's full. Also, if there's someone else who could give him a bottle in the night, he would be more likely to take it--my son refused to take a bottle from me, but would drink 6-8 ounces of expressed milk if my husband gave him the bottle. It also kept daddy from feeling so left out.

Also, when is your son sleeping? He needs more sleep than you do, so he's sleeping when you're not. if it's during the day, try keeping him awake longer and see if he sleeps longer at night.

Good luck!

Answer 4

This sounds like a growth spurt. For me I introduced a nighttime bottle with cereal. I went with formula because honestly it was easier to fix in the middle of the night and I was ready to start weaning, but you could use breast milk that you pumped as well. Also is he eating solids yet? You might try giving him a good snack before bed it will take longer to digest and give you a little more of a break. Good luck.

Answer 5

Ok you don't say if you have a partner living with you or at least someone else.We will assume that you do. It sounds like the baby is not getting enough to eat and this is why he is waking up so often. Especially every hour if it is to eat and not just be awake as you know the older they get they do not sleep all the time as they did as new borns. You do have to start talking a playing with a baby at this age. He may be getting his night time mixed up with his day time. I would suggest that if you have a partner, that you pump your breast for breast milk and let them take a turn in the midle of the night therefore giving you alittle more sleep time. Also you may not have enough milk to satisfy the baby for this I would consult a physician, he may have to be supplemented with formula..............Good Luck P.S. some baby's start teething at this age also

Answer 6

some babies wake up but fall back to sleep on their own. wake up but don't get out of bed wait just a few minutes if the crying doesn't subside then give him attention. A rule I always used don't pick them up other than change their butts and feed them. Try not to rock the baby he will get use to waking up and being rocked. at 8 months baby cereal is good at night so the baby will stay full longer hence giving you a little more shut eye. Good Luck

Answer 7

I had th same proplem my daughter used to wake up almost every hour and i know u wont like hearing this but as long as your baby is full up (e.g baby rice or weetabix before bed ) then u should leave him to cry. It took me a month and I felt like it was never going to wrk but it did and my daughter now sleep 12 hours straight through and its amazing. Tips' once you ut him to bed do not take him bk out unless sick as this is giving in to him, he needs to learn to go to sleep by himself. Make sure you put him to bed awake and let him go to sleep on his own. Keep going in every so often so he knows your still there but dont fuss him too much. Stick with it, it will get better and when it does you'll feel great all the best x

Answer 8

Hi. I had the same problem with my son, the only difference was that he is a year old. He started this about a month ago. I was supposed to be getting him off the bottle, but he was so attatched to it that he only slept all night a couple of times since his birth.Every night he would wake up at least twice, and the ONLY, (and I mean only,) way to get him back to sleep was to give him a bottle.Well there around the end he was waking up like yours is, nearly every hour, so I knew something had to be done. I have four other kids, so as exhausted as I was all the time I was scared at first to get him off that bottle at night, knowing it would probably mean even more hellish nights at the beginning. But I knew the longer I waited the harder it would be.
Now doctors say that babies have the ability to sleep all night and go without eating for 7-8 hours at the age of six months. So if they are still waking up to eat after 6 months of age, its only habit, you just have to break him of it. What I did was feed him a bottle at bedtime and lay him down for bed. The first time he woke up, I did NOT pick him up, and did NOT give him a bottle. I gave him a pacifier and eased him back down onto his pillow.Hed stand up crying again , and I'd ease him back down on the pillow again. I'd do this several times, then tell him goodnight and leave the room.Of course the crying would continue, but I would wait five minutes before reentering the room.Then I'd do the same ritual, give him the pacifier and lay him back on the pillow. several times, then leave the room. Under no circumstances would I pick him up, or give in to his bottle habit. I would continue to do this, until he finally got the point that I wasn,t going to pick him up, and he would, finally go to sleep. Now don't give up! The first night, When he woke up first, It took almost two hours before he finally went back to sleep.
The second time he woke up, it took 45 minutes. after that he slept the rest of the night.The second day, the first time he woke up, it took 45 minutes for him to go back to sleep, the second time, only about 10 minutes. The third day, the first time he woke up, all I had to do was go and give him the pacifier and ease him back down onto his pillow and he went right to sleep. It took about a week for him to sleep all night, but it was worth it. Don't give up and don't give in.The first night was the worst, but each night got better. I feel your pain and I know what youre going through. From one mother to another, good luck and again, don't give up!!

Answer 9

I have 2 kids & what i did cuz mine did that alot is that i put baby
cereal like oatmeal & just make it kinda thick but not too thick in the baby's bottle whether it is in the breast milk or formula & mix
it up real good & warm it up a little bout 3 sec.& give to him & he should be good to go at least that is what i did with both of my kids..

Hopefully that will work for ya

Good Luck!!!!!

Answer 10

i don't think u need to wean just yet, try giving the baby formula at night so that he stays fuller longer. than continue nursing him throughout the day as u normally have. good luck.