Co~sleeping Infant & Weaning Night Time Feedings

Sleeping for longer periods of time will come with age but this is what worked for me. We got my son in a crib at 4 months and then he has been sleeping through the night (except when ill or teething) since 4 1/2 months. He is 22 months now. Get an ocean wonders aquarium the he can turn on himself if he needs soothing. I would put it on softly as I was nursing my son to sleep and also when I would put him in the crib. When he would get up at night, he could just push the button and it would make the light and music come on...it was a lifesaver. Also, if he doesn't have a lovie yet, he needs one since it really helps develope self soothing behavior. Anytime my son woke at night and cried for more than 1 minute I would go to him. Often a lot sooner if the cry was distressing. SOmetimes babies at that age "fake cry"...I would give it a minute or 2 before you go in. Also, nurse in his room. I know it's tough, but use the same blanket and anything else you can use every time. Keep attending to him and then lay him back down to sleep...when he feels secure, he will realize that crying is more trouble than its worth. Good luck!

Mine is 6 months old and still wakes once a night to be fed. Everyone keeps telling me to just not feed him. He takes the entire bottle each night and goes right back to sleep. Before I know it, he will be grown. If he wants a bottle every night right now, I am OK with it. Maybe try a pack and play beside your bed. That way you can stick him in it after he feeds.

Your son is too young to night wean. I know that "the experts" say that by this age they sould be able to sleep through the night but I wonder if any of them have actually had children. Your son may be going through a growth spurt which would increase the frequncy of nursing. Also night weaning may decrease your milk supply and increase the chance that your fertility will return. Personally I found it easier to nurse the baby for 10 min and go back to bed than have an unhappy crying baby for 45 min!
Many Blessings, K.

He's only 5 months old and, I'm sorry to be the one to say it, but this is completely normal. Thisis a time that is full of changes -- milestones, teething, growth spurts, etc. The reason why he slept so well in the past was that he was younger. Right now is probably the toughest time, but it will get better. He needs the night feedings right now to continue on with his growth and development. Co-sleeping sure beats the pants off of getting up, making a bottle, heating it up, walking back to the room and giving it to the baby -- at least as far as effort or ease goes. My son has a cousin who is 1 week younger. Their sleep habits were exactly the same. The big difference was that I coslept and nursed at night, my SIL formula fed from day one and kept her dd in her own room. She introduced solids at 4 months (I waiting until closer to 7 and he didn't really eat them until 8). Despite all these differences, their sleep was the same (just awful lol). My point being, she did all the things she was "supposed" to do. I got sleep. Yes, I too beat myself up about how maybe I was making it worse. I mentioned this to my ob and she said, "oh my 3rd was like that. You do what you have to for sleep. They grow out of it." She was right. You're not going to mess your kid up (unless you're doing some unsafe cosleeping practices -- research this). Just get yourself some sleep for now. He will eventually night wean and wean. It will be over in a blink. Beleive me on this. ;) When it comes time, here's a great article on night weaning: http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/ap/sleep.asp also, kellymom.com has some great info as well as askmoxie.org. Good luck!

I do the same thing - cosleeping and nursing my baby, who is now a toddler. I did the same thing with her older brother and found that the only way to really break him of waking throughout the night to nurse was to simply be strict in denying him the breast. The first night was hell. The next night was not so bad. And after that he was fine and stopped waking up during the night. Now at age 4 he's a great sleeper. I figure I will have to do the same with his baby sister when I get serious about wanting to sleep through the night. Until then I just enjoy our nightly ritual.

First of all, this is probably a normal phase. Get used to it! They will go through these phases every couple of months (usually associated with a big milestone: sitting, crawling, walking, etc). They will need to eat more, they will want to cuddle more, they will wake up more, whatever. Besides that, he is at the age when you could start introducing solids (cereal & stage 1 baby foods). Never add cereal to a bottle, but it might be good to offer some cereal (mixed with breastmilk: watery at first, work up to thicker) before bedtime. Also, I went through phases, like you, where I was just too exhausted to get up and put the baby back in her bed (after midnight nursing). That would last for a few days to weeks at a time, then I'd get back in the habit of putting her in her crib. She adjusted just fine and would sleep on her own (through the night) for weeks at a time... then back to midnight nursing... repeat, repeat, repeat. Just go with what you feel works for you and baby. Keeping him in your bed when he needs the extra feeding (growth spurts) or extra cuddling won't damage him in the long run. Anyways, they grow up fast and you'll miss the "neediness." :) Good luck!

Are you only nursing one side at a time because he falls asleep at the breast? If so, I would suggest trying to keep him just awake enough to finish on both sides and be burped before lying back down to sleep. I had to partially undress my son and blow on him to keep him awake when he fed. He slept much better between feedings that way. Good luck.