Six month olds - dropping night feedings

My boys are six months old and I am having issues getting them to drop their night feedings (they are primarily breastfed). They fall asleep on the or own and we rarely have crying at bedtime, but they are up to eat every 3 hours - they eat briefly and fall back to sleep. I know that broken sleep is not the best for older infants, so what is the best method to get them to sleep through the night? They naturally did it for a month between 4 and 5 months, but have regressed.

Should I be letting them CIO?

 

Ugh, it's hard when they regress from STTN. A lot will depend on whether they are growing well and how much they are eating during the day. Many babies do need a night feeding until up to 10 months, so you might not be able to cut out night feedings entirely. Personally, I would do CIO for one of the feedings if you feel that they're just waking for comfort and out of habit vs. actually needing to eat. Then eventually you can gradually cut out the other night feedings. Try to squeeze in an extra feeding before bedtime and see if that helps.

 

Firstly, if teeth are coming, you may be stuck with interrupted sleep for a few more weeks. Are they getting enough sleep during the day? Right around then, mine got the 2 bottom teeth AND went from 3 naps to 2...finally about 6 1/2 mo got to one feeding, then regressed with vacations and visitors...and another tooth...only last week back to one feeding (although I had to move bedtime forward to 5:45 :blink.

Instead of straight CIO, you may want to let them fuss 5 or 6 min before going in...to see if they will go back to sleep on their own. I also had to make sure to go to bed myself BEFORE her fussy time (about 10:30) or she would hear me and wake up!

Good luck.

 

You could try feeding them more frequently during the day and see if that makes a difference. But if they are only eating briefly, it sounds like more of a habit than an actual need to eat. I don't believe in hard-core CIO, but I would let them fuss for a bit and see if they will go back to sleep. If they take a pacifier, you could also try the pacifier.

 

I agree with trying to increase the feeding during the day. That worked for Annabella. When I decided to do CIO with the boys, they were waking around the same time every night. And they were not finishing their bottles. It was becoming habit. We were lucky in that it took one night of CIO and we were done. But every kid is different too. Annabella-never did CIO with really. I just couldn't. She finished her bottles whenever she got them at night. The boys-nope.

I would definitely let them fuss, or maybe give them the pacifier. Or go in and shush them or pat their back. If they are only eating for a bit, it's sounding more like comfort than actual need. Good luck! I know it stinks going from STTN to waking. Drives me bonkers! LOL!

 

Yeah, if they STTN before, but don't now. It could be teeth or reaching a new developmental milestone that is interrupting their sleep. I also wondered if you started solids? Because there could be a problem with taking in too many solids, which are generally lower in calories than breastmilk. It also may be a growth spurt; many babies have a 6 month growth spurt.

Not to scare you too much, but I know my boys ate every 3 hours around the clock until 8 months old, and then I did CIO, which got them down to one waking a night, which they did until 13 months old.

 

Some great advice! One of the boys did cut a tooth last week and the other did have a growth spurt, but it is hard going from STTN babies to those who wake every 3 hours. We also just started solids, however the wake up started prior. I think we will experiment with CIO and look to drop one of the feedings, I can totally handle one wake up a night on a regular basis!