Breast feeding at 11 months old ?

Question

My son had cut out his night feedings, but the past month or so he's waking 1 to 3 times a night to feed...his pedi says he doesn't need to feed at night as long as he's nursing well AT LEAST 5 times a day. He nurses more like 8 times a day. Anyway...is this normal..just a phase...how can I help him sleep through the night?

*no thumbs down please*

Answer 1

la leche league is a very reliable source. keep the night feedings... especially if he's not eating solids yet. at 11 months he may be going through a growth spurt and need those extra times. try nursing him right before bed, and if he is eating solids then the bowl of cereal before bed is a good idea.  

Answer 2

He might be going through a growth spurt have you started him on some cereal or baby foods yet ?? Maybe feed him solids & nurse right before bedtime & then just comfort him & lay him back down to sleep assuring him that he is Ok. He shouldn't need to nurse through the night if he is getting full enough during the day.

Is he teething ? that might be another reason for the frequent nursing it feels good on his gums so numbing them up  a bit before bedtime might do the trick.

Answer 3

its for comfort  

Answer 4

He may be adjusting to rejecting the paci.  He probably still finds sucking soothing and has no pacifier..so you are responding to that cry by soothing him with nursing.  I suggest you try to reintroduce the pacifier or sooth him with soft music rather than feeding him each time he wakes up.  

Answer 5

actually it is normal and your ped is wrong (talk to someone that is trained to deal with breastfeeding)

many breastfed babys require night feedings, in fact cutting out night feeds can reduce your milk supply

talking to le leche league members in your are would be really helpful I think www.llli.org

around one year its normal to hit another growth spurt, and baby will feed more often until your supply increases, give it a few weeks and things will be back to normal

Answer 6

At 11 months, your son should be eating solid food, not just nursing.  If he's not, then start him on that right away.  At 11 months he should be eating several different cereals, several different fruits and vegetables and at least one meat, on top of his breast milk.  Feed him a bowl of cereal before you give him his last nursing before bedtime, and then if he cries in the night, just ignore him.  Right now he's probably just wanting attention and knows that you'll respond to his cries of hunger ... if you can get through three nights of not answering when he cries, but feed him well during the day, he should settle down by the end of the first week.  

Answer 7

You mentioned teething...the renewed night nursing you describe is EXACTLY what my daughter does when she teeths!!!!!!!!  :)  It's VERY normal, and it'll pass; keep comforting him and nursing him.  Your dr is wrong, and obviously not trained in lactation.  

Answer 8

I would try giving him rice cereal at bedtime to fill him up a little more. Good luck!

Answer 9

His in the middle of the night feeds are for comfort. This can be normal if he feels like he needs more time with you.Try just cuddling him at night and not feeding him, or if he is nursing for 10 minutes only nurse him for 5 minutes then lay him back down and slowly decrease the time spend nursing.

Answer 10

Do you give him a bottle at all? I started giving my baby a bottle of water at night because she would wake up and just needed to suckle to go back to sleep. (She never took a paci) If your son never has a bottle that might not work.

He may just be going through a growth spurt and need to eat more right now.

Trial and error! Good luck!

Answer 11

I'm still nursing my 10 month old.  My pediatrician said pretty much the same thing about not needing to eat during the night.  You might want to try other techniques to get him back to sleep.  I'm not talking about letting him cry it out either.   But it could be he's learning new things and getting wound up and then not able to put himself back to sleep.  But if he's truly hungry, by all means feed him.   But you might want to give the pediatrician a call to ask if something else might be going on.  Is he having nightmares?  

I find her more wakeful in the night, if she doesn't get a full 2.5 oz baby food of some sort before nursing before bed.

Good luck.