As much as I’m in love with my little cherub baby, I am sitting here groggy and baggy eyed to say I have no idea how to parent a bottle feeder through the night. With my other infants if they woke up in the night I just brought them to my warm cozy bed and nursed them back to sleep all snuggily-wuggily. I hardly had to crack open my little eyeballs and all was well. This guy gave up nursing on me a week ago. Won’t latch on. Refuses. He finds it inefficient and confining; he’d rather be looking around. (This is sad for me as I am the lady who nurses her babies for a full year).
But bottle feeding is nice for sharing the work load.
That said, all week I’ve found my self stumbling around, walking upstairs in the night, bumping into walls and corners like a brainless zombie trying to get the squawker a bottle at 2:30 a.m. (Let’s see if we can turn that sentence into a hit Country and Western song). I am tired, people! Tell me this. . .how do we parent non nursers through the night? I am currently clueless and await your advice.
8 comments:
I say, time to let him learn to sleep through the night. Easier said than done, but he doesn't actually need the nourishment at this stage. Steve is a big fan of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, aka Let Him Cry Himself Back to Sleep. Good luck! You need your sleep!
I agree that he can probably go through the night without eating. If you aren't ready for that, here are my suggestions. I am a true believer in the dream feed around 10 or 11 pm. Don't wake him up just give him a bottle to make it until morning. And I always keep a bottle full of water and a container full of the exact amount of formula I need, right next to my bed. I can pour the formula in the bottle and be mixing it up while I go to get the baby. Good luck.
Patrick wouldn't nurse either. After a while gave him some cereal and a bottle right before bed--he was able to make it through the night then. Good luck.
I agree with Becky. Hopefully that will work with your little darling...
Are you sleeping in the basement? And I agree with Mandy, keep a bottle next to your bed!
Gigantor wouldn't nurse after 6 weeks so we did bottles for a long time! Once he was old enough we did cereal at night. We also did the "keeping the bottle right by the bed routine" which was quite convenient because Gigantor slept in our bed (still does)...ahhh the things we do to ruin our children. :) DH is thinking we need to change that bad habit very very soon. Good luck! No sleep is no fun!
He is totally is waking out of habit. Give him some snuggle time, put him in his swing, pacifier, blanket NO LIGHT OR TALKING. He'll start eating more during the day to compensate. I have a firm -no breakfast before 6am rule.
Looks like you've already gotten some great advice here. I nurse my babies forever, so I haven't really done nights without the option of the human milking machine. I love Elizabeth Pantley's "No-Cry Sleep Solution for Babies". She's got great ideas and lots of options. That's what I like about her. She puts out lots of ideas and possibilities, no prescriptions since what we're comfortable with as moms is different and all babies are different. Jared would probably be laughing right now if he knew I was posting any advice whatsoever since we really have done a horrible job with our twins and sleeping (run on sentence! sorry). I am a firm believer in praying and praying when I come up against one of these parenting road blocks. So sorry that you've been struggling with sleepless nights. They can be brutal to deal with. When I'm exhausted and up many times during the night, that's when I start swearing like a sailor and snapping at the kids. So, I hope your little guy will start sleeping soon!
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