sleeping problems?

Question

i have a 7 months old boy he starts to eat solids but he still wakes up at night to breast feed about 2 to 3 times at night why he wakes up and how can i stop it? and how can i give him the water he does not want the botlee

Answer 1

That's NORMAL! My son is 1 year and 3 months old, but he still awakes 3-4 times to breastfeed. Do not give him water, give him your breast, let him sleep with you - you will be closer.
Lamaman..., you advice sounds too strict, and I didn't ask for it, by the way.
SSV, I can't believe you let your child cry - that's so cruel not to come to your small child crying for 15 mins!!! I feel sorry for her.
The thing is not how to stop these nights wakes, my dear moms, but how to grow your child happy and healthy. They are so small, they don't understand what's happening to them, they explore the world and they are to know that their moms are here to help them... And by your cruel actions they may loose their faith in you and in the whole world! No wonder how many crimes we've got now... - all begins at home, we, mothers, are responsible for all...

Answer 2

It is a habit that your child has gotten into. Start getting him use to soothing himself to sleep. I have a 6 month old child and she also wakes up a couple times in the middle of the night some nights. I started off just patting her down to sleep and i wouldn't pick her up if she cried. The i started letting her cry it out first would visit her every 5 min, then a couple days later every 10, then 15. This does work, it is just exhausting mentally more so the physically because hearing your child cry for 5 min initially feels like 1 hour. Just stick with it. I also breast feed my child.

Answer 3

Actually, Helen and Elpida, it is NOT normal for a child older than 6 months to continuously awaken more than once or twice. Their nutritional development should be far enough advanced that they no longer need to eat through out the night. This is why it is around 6 months that most babies begin to sleep through the night.

Let's focus on the questioner first....Your son may still need 1-2 feedings through out the night, depending on how long he is staying asleep. He may need to eat every 4-5 hours, but should go longer between feedings at night, than he does during the day. Try feeding him later in the evening, and give him his last feeding just before bed. It may be necessary, through out some kids' childhood, to have a snack before bed. Many adults still do so. Make the snack healthy and nutritious. It is fine to feed your son dinner around 5 or 6, and then around 8 or 9, about half an hour before bed, give him some cereal, or a banana. Bananas are easy for babies to eat, and are full of carbohydrates, which may keep him fuller, longer. Mix some banana baby food with some rice cereal or oatmeal, feed him this, then give him his bath and put him in bed. It might not help, but it could help him sleep longer. And do relax, while some children continue to wake up once per night well into their second year, many do sleep through out the night by the time they turn 1.

Now to Helen, who obviously needs some advice as well, it is NOT normal for a child over the age of 1 to be waking more than once per night. This is a sign that the child is either experiencing horribly poor nutrition, or that the feedings are merely a habit, and one that should be broken swiftly!

Co sleeping into the second year is a nasty habit, and should be discontinued. I can't believe that it's lasted this long. The family bed, while a nice concept, prevents children from learning to self soothe, and will, eventually, result in a child who depends far too much on their parents. And breastfeeding into toddlerhood, while perhaps nutritious, should definately be stopped by age 2, because it is just weird to have a child old enough to walk around, speak to you, use the potty, and go to school, still suckling at the breast. Every other animal on the face of the planet stops breast feeding by this developmental stage, and humans should, too.

Answer 4

It really is quite normal for him to have a few breastfeeds at night. And if you want less hassle and fuss, then you are better off co-sleeping. If you co-sleep it is much easier to feed and for both of you to go back to sleep. Which means more sleep for both of you.

Answer 5

He is waking up due to habit to feed, not because he's hungry. You'll have to start soothing him back to sleep without giving him a feeding. Nutritionally, its not a necessity, like I said, itsjust habit for him now.