Sleep Help - Kerrville, TX

My doctor recommended pumping a "before bed bottle" and mixing a little rice cereal in with it to fill my daughter up more. Not only did I get some sleep but she slept so much better and it really helped get her sleep pattern down at night. She would wake up in such a great mood I am definately going to do it again with my second child (due in Nov.) Good luck!!

You may try giving him cereal before he goes to bed. he may not getting a full tummy on just breast milk anymore.

My son did the same thing. I mixed a bottle with Babyrice in a box/milk or juice. It filled him up and he slept better. He was about that age. Try something like that. He is not getting enough to sustain him through the night.

Anita from Spring

Mom:

Try to nap during the day when the baby naps and realize that your life is on a 24 hour per day clock now, not a day time - night time clock. Very soon, he will sleep through the night. I remember when our first one was born, she did not sleep more than about an hour and a half at any given time and nursed every two hours for the first 12 months of her life, yes, around the clock. I was so tired I just did not know how to handle the sleep deprivation. Then one night as I sitting there nursing her, tired to the bone...I thought, what if I was only granted this one last time to hold this child; this one last time to nurse her, cuddle her, change her, look at her? Could I remember her face, could I remember how I feel now, would it be burned in my heart forever? I realized then and there that I no longer cared about how tired I was or how long it had been since I had taken a shower or anything else for that matter. I was 31 years old, holding my first and probably only child and she was only going to be that small and need me that much, just one time and that was the time I was being granted right then and there. My life took on a different, less selfish turn, and I have remembered that from then on. Now I am the mother of 4 little girls. Last night after I put them to bed at about 10 pm, exhausted from being up since 5:30 am, and our little 2 yr old was calling out "one more kiss-hug Momma" as I was walking down the hall. I said "no more kisses, time to go to bed, goodnight, Momma loves you". I got as far as my bedroom door and thought..."What if that was my last kiss from that precious child and I just turned it down?". I turned and went right back to that little girl, climbed into her twin bed and let her kiss my cheeks, back and forth, until she had all of the needed kissing out of her system. I was giggling and she was kissing, I was so glad I went back. I almost lost my second to pneumonia and then follow up asthma, I lost my 4th, and she is my 5th whom I almost lost to a staph infection at 14 days old. I don't really care anymore when they call, I go, I rarely notice how tired I am at times. Oh sometimes I do and say "Momma is bone tired, I need you girls to settle down and go to sleep". And now when I look back at how I wanted to remember my first daughter on those nights that I sat up all the night long it seemed, I can't do it as well as I would like and I know I won't be able to remember the others as well either. Treasure the little peeps at your child in the quite darkness, give your cares to the Lord, Jesus Christ, as you sit up tired and longing for sleep. He can and will renew your strength to not only survive the lack of sleep but also give you joy in the gift he has placed in your arms each night.

Hi F.,

My solution to this was to have my son in our bed at night. It was fantastically practical. No one had to get up when he woke up, since we were all together. When he was almost 2, we moved him into his own room and bed, since it was getting a bit too cosy as he grew bigger (and he now sleeps through the night in what he gleefully calls 'MY bed').

But then there's the whole issue of nursing at night, which (if you are concerned about it), I'd be happy to discuss the pros and cons of.

Good luck!
G.

At that age, he probably can sleep through the night. Our daughter started waking up out of habit, not out of hunger, but we couldn't tell the difference for a while. What we did was move to another room (because we only had one bedroom--we moved to the living room) and let her cry for few minutes before checking on her. That is, that is what we planned to do. She never cried more than 1 or 2 minutes, and then she would go back to sleep, and after a few nights she quit waking up, so we moved back in the bedroom. She was more rested; we, of course, were more rested; and it was soooooooooo nice not to have to get up.

Now, if she had really been hungry, she would have kept crying, and I would have gotten up and fed her. But she just cried a little bit and went back to sleep, so I knew she wasn't hungry. Do what is best for both of you. If nothing else, try sleeping with him (since you breastfeed, you can doze while he nurses and not have to get up to go get him); but if he isn't hungry, teach him to sleep through the night and everyone will be happier after a week or so.

I was in the same situation except my son was eating formula. So it wasn't that he wasn't getting enough to eat it was that he was in the habit of getting up at night and needed the bottle (or so I thought) to go back to sleep. When I was finally ready I started decreasing his ounces in the middle of the night until it was down to nothing and then he would wake up and I would have to let him cry. I remember the first night he cried for 45 minutes but I had to remember I was teaching him how to fall back asleep. (That is why you need to wait until YOU are ready because it is hard to let them cry it out). Anyway after 3 nights of him waking up and crying, he finally started sleeping through the night. It changed my life! I'm not sure how it differs with breastmilk but from what I read, 8 months old should be able to go through the night without being fed. It is just habit that is causing him to wake up. Also my son started eating more ounces during the day to make up for the amount he wasn't getting at night. That might happen to your son too and will then increase your breastmilk. Good Luck!!!!

I read the book Babywise and totally loved it. The principles have worked very well for me with my two daughters. For your eight month old you should have him on 3 solid meals a day, along with the breastmilk.

That same type of thing happened when I was breast feeding my son. One night I was gone and my husband was home with my son. He fed him a bottle before bed with some type of formula or something. That night, he slept almost through the night. I felt horrible when I realized that my breast milk was not enough and my son was waking up frequently because he was hungry. The breast-feeding advocates at the LaLeche League were so wrong when they kept assuring me that the breast-milk was enough. I have a small frame and I am petite. I know for a fact that at a point I was just not producing enough milk for my son. So I started to combine breast-feeding with supplementing. It worked! I only wish I had not been given the poor advice to begin with.

You poor thing! My son is almost 4 months and he luckily sleeps through the night, but I have to share what we did as it is different than everyone else's suggestions. We learned early on that our son likes warmth and HATES being cold. As such, we have placed a space heater in his room to just keep his room warm (as no one else in our house likes it that warm). Last week, during the warm spell, I didn't cut the heater on because it was really nice in the house and pretty warm in his room...Guess what?! He woke up 3-4 hours after I put him to bed!!! I brought him to bed with me thinking that he was hungry and he fell fast asleep (hardly eating anything)...two nights later I cut the heater back on and he slept through the night. Definitely determine why he is waking up and try to fix that issue...hopefully this helps!

F.,
I breast fed both of my children. When my son was about 4 months old, the breastfeeding was no longer enough for him. I had to supplement him with either baby food or formula. You have given him a very solid foundation by starting him off with natural "mom" food. There's no harm in giving him formula for his last feeding before bed at this point (unless there's an allergy issue, of course.) It will likely help him (and YOU) sleep through the night. You aren't helping either one of you if you are not getting enough rest. I wish you the best of luck !!

My daughter was 9 months olds when she started sleeping through the night. Before that, she woke up 2-4 times a night. I breastfed as well. I also went back to work when she was two months old. So I know what you mean about the exhaustion. Our daughter also slept in her crib that was located in our room. We (husband and I) noticed that when I did not sleep in the room that she did not wake up as much. For a week, I slept in the guest room and she did not wake up at all. At this point, she was nine months old. So, we figured she must have smelled the breastmilk since I was close when she was in the crib in our room. We decided to move the crib to her room. She is now 12 months and has been sleeping through the night ever since we moved the crib to her own room. I think the night nursing was more comfort and security for her than hunger. Does your child sleep near you? If so, it is time to put him in his own room. Due to the new surroundings, he will cry it out for three days. The crying will get shorter each night. I could not handle the crying so I gave my husband this responsibility and went to my room on the opposite side of the room. So, I could not hear the crying.

I'm in the same boat! That is so hard to deal with! My second son still gets up at night and he's 10.5 months. He only gets up once though and then he sleeps til 9 in the morning, so it ends up being worth it now. But at 8 months he was getting up every 3 or 4 hours to nurse. One of my friends suggested giving him a bottle of water when he wakes up. Just to let him know you are there, but you're not going to nurse until morning. I did that with my son an eventually he realized that he wasn't going to get nursed until a more decent hour. It helped even more when my husband would go in there and hold him and give him a drink of water and put him back down. we also made sure he wasn't gassy or teething or had a dirty diaper. He wasn't very happy with our new arrangement, but it worked as long as we were consistent. I did babywise with my first son. and it worked wonders! and the book says that it works for ALL babies. But for some reason, it just did NOT work with my second. So, just make sure your son is on a good schedule during the day and it should make things easier at night. Just remember, "God grants sleep to those He loves" Psalm 127:2 I hope this helps!

girl, i'm in your exact same shoes right now!!!! He'll be 9mos next week (25th) and he's also a breast-feeding baby...he's doing the same thing...the only thing that has helped him sleep a little better is giving him a warm bath with the johnson & johnson "sleepytime" (purple bottle) shampoo & baby wash and topping it off with a massage with the lotion..within 10 minutes he's rubbing his eyes and knocked out!

Give your son baby cereal before his bed time. How much? Maybe a half of a cup or so.

A lot of times babies wake up at night and nurse for the comfort not for the meal. What about trying to soothe him at night without nursing so he gets used to not eating at those times? Those (middle of the night) meals aren't necessary at that age. Then if he still gets up you could try the ferber method (there's others out there too). I did the ferber and it took 2 days for it to work. Everyone is different though, hopefully this helps!

I'm the mom of three boys, one 10 1/2 year old and my twins just turned 4 yesterday. I too breastfed them, for a whole year. What I did was feed them a bottle of infant cereal mixed with some formula or water right before bed time around 8 or 8:30pm, then immediately after that I 'topped' the off by nursing them. I put them to bed and they would sleep almost all night. By this time, 8 months old, your son should be really close to sleeping all night long. He WILL have a little transition period from getting up all night to sleeping all night but this does work and you will be glad when it does. This is not to say that he won't be up at 6am, but thats better than 12, 2 and 4! Hope I helped.

I have breastfed 9 babies and I can tell you that at 8 months old, they are waking up not because they are hungry, but because it's a habit. There are a few things you can try. You can feed him cereal just before nursing him to sleep,and make sure he gets a really good nursing so you know he's not hungry. When he wakes up, you can go in and just pat/rub his back not saying anything. Keep the lights off, too. Maybe the blanket was kicked off and they are cold. Cover him up and just rub his back until he goes back to sleep. IF he tries to stand up, just lay him back down. It will seem like forever, but it really only takes about ten minutes. (my husband timed me once). You may have to do this for three or four nights, but it will work. And you do know you will be VERY full by morning, right?
Also, with my last baby, I just kept him in the bed with me and because I loved nursing, but hated getting up, I would nurse in bed and we both fell back asleep within seconds.
Good luck,

hey, that is something i am familiar with.... will he take a bottle if you pump? because if he does, take one night off a week, get your hubby to do the feedings, and SLEEP.... if you have a hard time sleeping, take an ambien or something, seriously. i am not a pill person, but you need to sleep. sometimes even just psychologicially, one good night of sleep a week could tide me over. then work on two...

My breast fed little girl woke up several time a night to nurse also until a few months ago. She is 16 months now. I read in a book very early on if you would like that to cut down to offer them a bottle of water for a few nights and it would work. Well I drug my feet forever. My daughter did not take a bottle at all usually. Finally I thought okay I am tired of getting up so much at night. I tried it and guess what...it worked great in two nights. It was painless. It was not dramatic with lots of tears for her or me. She would just suck down some water and go right back to sleep and I would put her back in bed. Now she hardly wakes up at all. With my next baby I will do it earlier. I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. Best wishes.

I feel your pain!! When this was happening to me, I was soooo in the fog of all of it. I had no idea who to ask or what to do. One thing I found out (after he finished breast feeding) was he was probably not getting enough.
A good friend of mine who is a doctor, told me to pump with my second child. It produces more milk and allows you to produce more. If you see it takes forever to pump a couple of ounces, you are probably not producing enough to fill your baby up each time...so in return they are waking up and you are exhausted! Also, you may try to subliment with formula around midnight and see if it helps.
If you are feeding him baby food, you may try to feed him three times a day with a late snack. I have an 11 month old now and he has been eating "real" food for about 2 months now. He started with baby food at 4 months because he is such a good eater and needed to be full.
Just some random thoughts. Hope it helps. I pray you get rest NOW!! Oh..i feel your pain!!!

I read some of the other responses and you may need to start on some babyfood during the day if you haven't already. However, if he's growing okay I would think he's getting enough and it's just a habit that's causing the night wakings. My breastfed daughter was sleeping through the night (7 to 8 hours) by two months. My doctor, who was nursing and had an infant the same age as mine at the same time, gave me this advice...The key is to feed them more frequently during the day. This helps them get the idea that there's a difference between night and day. I usually only went two and half hours max between feedings in the day. The few hours before bedtime I did cluster feedings (every hour or so). This helped her build up before the long night of sleep. I would lay her down for bed around 9 PM. Then I would wake her by 11 PM just before I went to bed and feed her again. By doing this she started to stretch out between feedings at night. I did have to let her cry it out some, but it wasn't but a couple of days before she got the hint. I never let her fall asleep nursing. Also, I always laid her down when she was drowsy, but not asleep. It helps if they are in their own room when you do the cry it out thing. You'll be less likely to jump up at every little cry. Sometimes they just fuss in their sleep a little and if left alone for a few minutes will drift back off on their own. As someone else here said though, YOU have to be ready for it. It's not easy those first few nights.

Have you thought about him a bottle with half breastmilk and 1/2 formula before bed. Formula is a bit heavier and contains more fat, so it should tide him over and let everyone sleep longer.

I breastfed (and still do) my daughter who is now 11 months old. She woke up 2-3 times a night at 6 to 7 months old. The first time she slept through the night was when I was out of town. When i was home, we co-slept. I think that prompted her to wake up, because for 1, I think she could sense I was there, and 2, I am a light sleeper, so any time she stirred I fed her to get her back to sleep. I moved her to her crib, and when she woke up, I'd give her a few minutes to get herself back to sleep. If she truly started to cry, I'd get her. If she was just making noise, I'd let her be. Eventually we got there, and you will too. Now when she wakes up, she goes back to sleep on her own. I think feeding her solids during the day helped. I think if you've breastfed this long, you know better than to give cow's milk and vanilla wafers at this age (maybe something to try if you are still having this problem when he's 2 :) ).
To get a solid night sleep, try what I mentioned above, and have your husband involved. If he wakes up and needs help getting back to sleep, have your husband get up with him and give him a bottle of expressed milk so you can get some sleep.
Keep up the good work! I have planned on breastfeeding my daughter until she is a year, but when I took her to the dr. recently, our pediatrician told us that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends at least a year, and the WHO recommends 2. (I have not found anyone who is supportive of nursing past a year in my group of family and friends, but I am still considering it - support really does make a difference! I guess since it's not common, people arent comfortable with it - I know I wasnt before I nursed). There are so many benefits in breastmilk, we dont even know the full range of it, so dont take any advice to wean, unless you are ready.

Hi...At 8months, he's old enough to wean. I weaned our son at 8 months with a cup of milk and vanilla wafers. It was no problem at all. Since he wakes up so much at night he's not satisified with your milk. I hope you are feeding him baby food, although I had both my kids of table foods by that age. lots of luck L.

Hi F.,

Try giving him some oatmeal cereal mixed with your breast milk and maybe add some fruit in it right before his bed time and give him a bath and I am sure he will sleep through the night.
Also if you have a night light do away with it....with night lights they don't get to learn the difference between day and night. That way when it's dark they will learn that it's time to sleep and when it's day light that it's time to be up.
I hope these tips help you like they helped me.

Hi F.,

I did not get to breast feed my son who is at this time 7 months. I can tell you what worked for me but it is not easy. I decided that I wanted my child independent so when he turned 3 months I began to put him in his bed, in his room, "awake" every night at 8:00pm. to learn how to soothe himself to sleep. He fought going to sleep for days and cried and cried...it was so hard for me to let him cry but consistency is the key. By the time he was 3 1/2 months, he was sleeping through the night and has been ever since. This is just a suggestion but you can't be letting him control you and believe me it's hard when that cute little face is filled with tears. He is old enough to know that if he cries that you will come. You must break the cycle. If you have a routine, start with adjusting it. Mine is as follows:
7:30-8am Reegan wakes up
8:35am Needs a 4oz bottle
9:00am Playtime & learning
10:45am Breakfast
11:30am Morning bath-this helps him t0 sleep better
12:10 Nap time
1:30-2pm Wakes up
2:15pm Needs to drink water from sippy cup & playtime
3pm May take a cat nap
4-6pm Playtime & learning
6:45-7pm Dinner
7-7:30pm Bath-again this helps him go down quicker
8pm Bedtime

I hope this helps. I think that this is the best thing that you can do for your child. Reegan is not shy, he has an outgoing personality, not afraid to be handed over to adults and relatives that he doesn't know, and he is a happy child. I get quite a few compliments from other mothers on how good he behaves and that he smiles all the time. He is such a character. Good Luck and God Bless.

first, in response to another post, your breastmilk is enough at night if you have good nutrition. at this age, you can supplement with food during the day, but breastmilk is all he needs at night. he is probably teething. you can try some natural remedies (hyland's teething tablets, etc...) or you can try a little tylenol or ibuprofen. if it's teething they won't wake up as often if it's that they are hungry, they will still wake up so you'll be able to tell the difference.
have you tried bringing him to bed with you? i co-sleep/slept with my kids and that helps me tremendously in getting sleep i need. at least try to take naps with him during the day. also, try to keep his days calm and pretty predictable so he settles easier at night. remember, this too shall pass. it is such a short time that this lasts in the scheme of things.
good luck.
blessings,
A.

I highly recommend a wonderful book called On Becoming Babywise by Garry Ezzo. I am a first time mom of a 7 month old girl and she has been sleeping through the nigh (8 hours) since she was 6 weeks old. I used the suggestions from the book and am very glad I did. :) The trick is to be on a good schedule and be consistent with it. Also, if you are not feeding him cereal and baby food start that and it will help fill him up for the night. If he is not sleeping in his own crib/nursery that might help to transition him over. Just check out the book and see what you think. It is very short and easy reading. I read it in a day. :) Good luck.

Honeslty the only thing to do is sleep when he sleeps. If he sleeps during the day then you have to as well. I heard that advice from every mom out there. And I did not listen. And I was miserable. Really sleep when he does!!!

The only other thing is to try formula feeding at night if you are open to that. It is thicker and will hold his tummy down longer. So he most likely will sleep for a couple more hours. At first I was against it, but then it got to hard for me. So I did half formula and half brestmilk.

I hope you figure something out. Good Luck!!

Yay for breastfeeding for so long! Breastfeeding has NOTHING to do with why he's still waking up. He's used to waking up and getting fed so now it's time to do some sleep training. Tracy Hogg's "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" worked great for me and has worked for every single person I know that's read it and followed her advice. Because your little one isn't a newborn, you may want to check out "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems" by Tracy Hogg. My daughter was sleeping all night at 10 weeks and my friend has a daughter who just started sleeping all night at 8 weeks - both are strictly breastfed and we both read Hogg's book. Good luck!

I have been blessed with seven children and I breastfed them all, not as long as you, but I've gone through the sleep deprivation part, because of my child needing to suck more, or being just plain old hungry. I sure hope you have started introducing foods to him. He is old enough to have cereal and some solid baby foods(those first foods). So try to mix your breast milk with cereal(about 1/16 or 1/8 cup of cereal) spoon feed that to him, with some veggies and fruit. Don't mix the foods just spoon feed him those things separately and make sure he's full, then you will get some sleep. I went through this at six months of nursing and it really worked. God bless amd take care of yourself and the rest of the family needs you too, don't forget. Also he can begin drinking from a sippie cup if you begin pumping your breast and storing your milk.

I breastfed 4 kids past the age of 2. I night weaned them all at different ages depending on the circumstances. I would offer them water or dilluted juices at night in a bottle or sippy cup. Or maybe at first I replaced 2 night feedings with water and them slowly increased the number of times I offered water instead of nursing. In my opinion when they realized that it was a choice between water or sleep they decided to sleep. I was able to continue nursing until they weaned themselves. I also co-slept but I understaned that is not for everybody.

Good luck

Debra

Wow, I bet you are tired! I know all kiddos have different temperments but here is what I do. My little man is eight months as well and is a good sleeper. I don't know your schedule for feeding but I make sure mine eats about 5 to six times before bedtime. I also give him three meals of solids. A lot of things I read say to feed a baby this age every three to four hours, but if I need to feed him in 2.5 hours to get make sure I get in a 5th feeding I will do it. That way he is nice and full and will sleep all night. If you are sure he is getting enough to eat, then maybe he is just needing to learn to quiet himself. I was reading and the site I was on said it is common for babies this age to wake up a little even cry out and then calm back down. My boy went through that for about a week or so and I would just wait instead or going in right away. It passed and he no longer wakes up at all during the night. Anyway, I hope that helps! Hang in there and take a nap today if you can :)

Is he eating cereal and/or baby food yet? That I believe is one key. I have 6 children and I always had to have a routine and feed them a hearty meal right before bed. The bedtime routine is so important, so is what you do throughout the day. If you are consistent with feedings, naps, and some physical exercise and activity (even at 8 months) and what you feed he will look forward to it.

I have a 6 month old right now and he looks forward to his warm bath and a meal of rice cereal and baby food until he is full followed by a bottle in the evening and he is out for the count! Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night depending on his schedule that day or it he just wants to eat again, but not 3-4 times definitely not.

The key is to get him down as late as possible (depending on when you are ready for bed) when you can along with these other ideas. I personally put mine down between 9-10pm because that is usually when my husband and I settle down and the later they go to bed the longer they will sleep through the night and will be full.

Another key is to make sure he is very active during the day. Wear him out a little towards the end of the day and don't let him sleep so long naps during the day and I believe all of these things will help. Please don't think he is not normal. We pretty much can control their days most times if we just take control and implement some effective changes until one works! Try it! God bless you.

Hi F.,

I almost completely agree with Heather below. Yes, breastfed mothers really do get judged. I am still nursing my 3rd baby (she will be 14 months old tomorrow)!! However, she has mostly weaned herself and we are down to 2 feeding per day :(
Those times go soooo fast, enjoy. However, if you are feeling just completely exhausted, try a sleep schedule. Be very consistent and loving. Bath, teeth, cuddle, story, bed...same time EVERY night without fail. Talk to your Pediatricia also about the "need to feed", your baby is probably getting plenty of nourishment and wants to just be close to you or is waking due to habit. Ferber says (and I have done it and it worked wonderful), "let them cry a little". Some babies are simply waking out of habit and not out of hunger. This was truly the case in all of mine. I slowly let them cry out the feeding that I found was the least important (12am), especially after going to bed at 8pm. When they wake around that feeding you are trying to quit, simply wait 5 minutes before going in there. When you go in, don't pick him up, assure him that you are there, tell him you love him quickly and leave the room. Repeat the same pattern at 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes and so on. He WILL cry but I can tell you, after a couple of days, you will have a baby sleeping through that feeding. When you are ready to eliminate the other night time feedings, do the same thing. Wait a few weeks before taking the next one away though. Be strong...it DOES work!!

I am still breastfeeding my 15-month-old son, and sometimes he sleeps great and other times he's up 5-6 times a night (he just had his 15-month vaccines and isn't feeling well, so he nursed a lot last night). My only advice, which I know isn't for everyone, is to bring him to bed with you either from the beginning or after he wakes up the first time. I work full-time and only get to sleep until 6am, so my sleep is important to me. With him in bed with me I'm able to just roll him over and latch him on.

From a different perspective, I have a friend who used to co-sleep but decided to move her baby to a crib so she'd get more sleep and her baby actually started sleeping for longer stretches, so it could go either way.

Does he eat actual food before bedtime? Also, do you try to wait and let him really cry before you nrse him, or is he just making little noises. I let mine cry for a little bit before I tend to them and see if they go back to sleep. It really works in a few days or less. My 1 year old got up a little while ago but usually she will sleep all night.
S., mom to 4 girls ages 1-5

Hi! I'm still waiting for my little bundle of joy but a friend of mine with a 4 month old daughter gave me a book she used with hers (who has been sleeping through the night since a few weeks old, by the way). Its called Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. Good luck...I hope you get some sleep soon!

Does your son sleep with you or in his own crib? With both my son and daughter I would put them to bed in the crib then when midnight - midmorning feeding came I put them in bed with me, as they ate they fell asleep quicker closer to me, I wouldn't move them just make sure they were safe and fall asleep as well ( I have a very large bed) ... he may be needing the comfort of you more than the night feeding! I quickly became a "nap when they nap mom", or "take a relaxing hot bath when they nap mom". I breast fed both my son and daughter until they were a year old... a very tired year with both of them! Hang in there! :)

i learned early on that cereal is the answer to sleep problems for little ones. If you are still strictly nursing, stir up some cereal mixed with breast milk and spoon feed it to him right before you nurse the last time before he goes to bed. it worked like a charm for all of my babies. good luck and God bless. Have a wonderful Easter!!

D. Mattern-Muck
The MOM Team
Raise your income and your rugrats at the same time!
www.formyrugrats.com

I wish I could say it will get better, but my son is 9 months old and breast fed and does the same thing! He still nurses every 2 hours plus eats 2-3 jars of baby food and whatever I have on my plate throughout the day. This is my second child but I cant remember if my first was like this because it was 7 years ago. Have you tried spoon feeding him cereal before bed to see if that helps?
Good luck!

honestly, i'm responding more to some of the advice you got before....

It is not time to wean until YOU decide it is time to wean. Do NOT listen to anyone who says "8 months is old enough to wean." cow milk and vanilla wafers is inappropriate for a baby of 8 months.

Babies of 8 months who are breastfed do not need much water. water is not going to help him sleep more.

More solids during the day is not necessary unless you feel he needs more, as breastmilk should be primary nutrition until 12 months at least.

Cereal to make a baby STTN is a myth.

If a baby STTN at 2 months old, yay for that baby. But that is not normal. it's actually ok if your baby is still waking.

More nursing during the day may help, but be aware that it is perfectly normal for an 8 month old to want to nurse during the night.

The book Babywise has been shown to be detrimental to the breastfeeding relationship. I can not for the life of me understand why people still push this book.

Tracy Hogg (the "baby whisperer") is on the fence about many things, but i found her "toddler whisperer" book to be offensive, when she said that toddlers who are still nursing are only doing so because the mom wants to continue babying the toddler. (WHAT?!?!?!) When I read this I knew that she was not very supportive of breastfeeding. I wouldn't be fond of the advice she would give.

A true pro-breastfeeding, non-sleep-training (because these aren't puppies we are talking about) author is Elizabeth Pantley, who wrote The No Cry Sleep Solution. She gives nice advice about nursing at night. Her book is one to look into. She also has a website with lots of support (just do a search for her name).

Co-sleeping really is wonderful for allowing the family to sleep. These days don't really last that long in the scheme of things, and will be over before you know it. If you are planning to breastfeed until 1 year (the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 1 year, and then until both mother and baby still want, and the World Health Organization recommends 2 years) then a lot of the advice given is not going to help, and indeed will hurt, your breastfeeding relationship.

Good luck with the sleeping. It is hard, but filling your baby up on things that lack the nutrition of breastmilk is NOT the answer. WOrking in more feedings (or cluster feeding in the evening on demand) will work much better than filling his tummy with filler like cereal and water, which he doesn't need.