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Night Weaning
By Kelly Bonyata, IBCLC, Becky Flora, IBCLC and
Paula Yount
Breastfeeding is not an all-or-nothing process. Night weaning is
a workable alternative for many moms, and baby continues to receive
the many nutritional
and immunilogical benefits of breastmilk.
Remember that sleeping
through the night is a developmental milestone (like walking
or toilet training) that different babies will reach at different
times. At some point, your child will sleep through the night -
even if you do nothing to encourage it.
If night weaning is not going well, then consider backing off and
trying again a little later. The closer your child is to reaching
this milestone on his own, the easier it will be for both child
and parents.
Getting your baby to sleep is not a battle to be won, as
it is so often portrayed in books and the media. The real goal should
be for your family to get the sleep they need, while respecting
the needs of the youngest family member(s).
Gentle methods for encouraging less night
nursing
Following are suggestions for easing your baby into less night
nursing...
Eliminate discomfort
- Teething.
If you suspect teething
at all, it may help to give baby a pain reliever before bedtime
(check with baby's doctor for suggestions). Some babies nurse
more often to try to relieve gum pain. Teething pain is often
worse at night.
- Room temperature.
Find your baby's temperature comfort level: some babies will wake
if they get too hot or too cold.
- Solid foods.
Has baby recently started
solids? Many babies (particularly those under six months)
start or increase night waking after the introduction of solids,
due to problems digesting the food. Try avoiding solids in the
evening, or consider decreasing or eliminating the solids until
baby's digestive system matures more. Several studies have shown
that adding
solids to a baby's diet does not help baby to sleep more at night.
- Allergy.
Babies with food
allergies, environmental allergies or eczema may wake more
at night due to discomfort.
- Reflux.
Discomfort from reflux
may also keep baby up at night.
- Illness.
Illnesses like ear
infections and colds
can interrupt baby's sleep, and result in increased night nursing.
A bad diaper rash or other rash might also affect baby's sleep.
Anytime baby suddenly increases night waking, keep an eye out
for illness.
Maximize baby's nursing during
the day and during any night wakings
- Nurse more during the day.
Encourage baby to nurse more often during the day (perhaps every
2 hours instead of every 3), so that she takes in more milk during
the daytime hours.
- Minimize distractions.
During the day, nurse in a room that is as free of distractions
as possible. Turn off the light, close the door, pull the blinds,
etc. Get your older
children busy doing something before you start nursing. Try
nursing while lying
down. Sometimes babies can become so distracted during daytime
feedings that they don't take in enough milk and then have to
make up for it with more frequent night feedings. One study showed
that older babies can consume as much as 25% of their total daily
intake of mother's milk during the night, probably partly because
of daytime distractibility.
- Tank up before bedtime.
Nurse often in the hours leading up to bedtime (at least every
1-2 hours). Some moms nurse on one breast only during this
time period so that baby gets more of the higher fat milk available
at the end of a feeding (this helps baby go longer between feedings).
When baby wakes at night, try nursing on the other breast
for all or most of the night, again so that baby gets more of
the higher-fat milk.
- Listen to your child.
Only your child knows if she's really
hungry - don't automatically assume that your child is not hungry
or thirsty. Many adults wake at night for a drink of water or
even to get a snack.
Maximize sleep for the entire family
- Dream feed.
Nurse baby right before you go to bed (even if baby has already
gone to bed), so that you get a longer period of sleep before
she wakes again. Many babies barely wake at this time, even though
they may get a good nursing in.
- Try to begin settling baby before he's overtired.
Some babies have a hard time going to sleep when they're overtired,
so keep an eye out for signs of sleepiness.
- Try different sleep arrangements.
Find out what sleeping arrangement work best for the entire family
while continuing to meet baby's needs.
- Full-time co-sleeping.
Many babies sleep better when they are close to mom. Consider
sleeping
with your baby - many families have found that baby and
the rest of the family gets more sleep this way. Sleeping with
your baby and nursing
baby to sleep will not teach bad sleep habits. All
the co-sleeping babies/toddlers who I know have begun to sleep
through the night at some point without any type of training
or encouragement or change in sleep location.
- Part-time co-sleeping.
Part-time co-sleeping works for many families, where baby sleeps
in her crib until the first night waking and then joins mom
and dad for the rest of the night.
- Separate beds.
If you're not comfortable with baby in your bed or if you are
currently sleeping with baby and no one is getting any sleep,
then try other options. Consider placing baby on a pallet on
the floor beside the bed, or place baby's crib with the rail
down beside your bed. That way, baby will be close enough that
nursing won't interrupt sleep quite so much (such as when you
get up each time and go to baby's room). Another option that
works for some families is putting a bed for just mom and baby
in baby's room for awhile, or Dad might instead choose to sleep
in another location himself.
Gentle methods of night weaning
for toddlers
- Limit Access.
After you nurse, place the baby back in her area, or slide her
away from you so that close proximity doesn't encourage more frequent
nursing. Wear clothing that makes it harder for baby to access
your breast at night.
- Get Dad in on the nighttime routine!
If your baby appears to be waking only for comfort during the
night, she may accept Dad as the comforter (and won't expect Dad
to nurse her). Dad can comfort baby in other ways, such as offering
a drink, just lying next to her, holding her, etc. Dad may even
be able to sleep with baby in another room or on the couch with
less interruption than if baby were sleeping near mom. The links
below to articles by Bill & Martha Sears have many great suggestions
along these lines.
- Increase daytime contact.
Allow baby unlimited nursing and cuddling during the day. Sometimes
toddlers will seek out the breast more at night when they aren't
getting enough close cuddling during the day. Sometimes we as
busy mothers, especially if we have other children, forget to
pick these little ones up often during the day and just sit and
cuddle with them. If you can increase this close contact during
the day, she may need it less at night. If you work, night nursing
may be her way of trying to reconnect with you.
- Talk to your child.
With an older child, you may be able to explain something like
this, "When the sun goes down, or when we go night-night, num
nums (or whatever she calls them) go night-night, too. She probably
won't accept or understand this completely at first, but if you
say it before bed each night and repeat it each time she awakens,
in time she'll "get it".
- Just say "no"... or "later."
With an older child (over 18 months), feel secure enough to say
"no" (at least some of the time) while staying sensitive to your
child's needs. At night, you might say, "not now, but we will
later." She may - or may not - awaken again to nurse later.
- Substitute other comfort measures.
You also may try other things to settle her, such as a back rub,
just holding and cuddling, getting her a drink of water, humming
softly, etc.
Is night weaning necessary to get baby
to sleep through the night?
People may tell you something to the effect of "If you nurse
your child at night (or sleep near your child, or a zillion other
things), you won't be able to discontinue it in the future."
This sells books, but it isn't true at all!
Remember that night waking in babies and
young children is temporary!
Children grow out of night waking, even when we do nothing to discourage
it. This period of time will be a very tiny part of your
child's years with you.
A child's internal timetable for sleeping through the night can
vary greatly. Some parents are comfortable with letting the child
lead when it comes to night weaning, but for others night nursing
truly interferes with their quality of life. If night nursing is
not working for you, then encourage changes while taking into account
the needs of your child.
Your goal is to maximize sleep for everyone,
and if what you're doing works, then you've met your goal. If it's
not working (or stops working) then you can always do things
differently. All parents find that they change the way they do things
as their child grows older and reaches different developmental stages
- sleep is just another thing that changes as your child grows.
Page last modified:
05/19/2006
Written: 01/27/2004
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