But can that healthy appetite ever be a problem? Can a baby actually eat too much solid food?

In a word, yes.

Remember, for the first year of life, a baby’s primary source of nutrition should be breastmilk and/or formula. It’s just fine to offer solid foods (starting around 5 or 6 months), but solid foods shouldn’t replace breastmilk or formula as a source of nourishment.

In this article, we’ll explore two signs that you may be feeding your baby too much solid food and two easy ways to fix the problem.

2 Signs You’re Feeding Your Baby Too Much Solid Food

1. Your baby regularly eats more food than is recommended.

   There’s no formula for exactly how much food you should be offering your baby at each meal; rather, its best if you use your baby’s own hunger cues and appetite as a guide.

   But if you find that your baby is routinely eating more than is recommended, you may want to consider offering a bit less food at each sitting. A healthy appetite is a good thing, but not if your baby ends up overeating every day! Check out our Amounts of Solid Food By Age chart to determine appropriate serving sizes for your baby.

2. Your baby regularly drinks less breastmilk or formula than is recommended.

   This is another sign that you may be offering too much solid food. If you find that your baby is regularly nursing less, or taking less formula during feedings, then you’ll want to take a careful look at how much solid food you’re offering.

   Sometimes, babies who fill up on solids don’t have much room left for breastmilk or formula. And since breastmilk and/or formula is a key part of your baby’s nutrition, it’s vital that they drink plenty of it. Our Amounts of Solid Food By Age chart (referenced above) also includes recommended amounts of breastmilk and formula; check that to see if your baby’s getting enough.

Remember, if your baby has a good appetite for solid foods and eats quite a bit, that’s not necessarily a problem; as long as he’s also nursing or formula-feeding well, and taking in the recommended amounts of breastmilk or formula, all is well.

In addition, if you find that your baby isn’t getting the amounts of breastmilk or formula that she needs, it might not be due to her solids intake. If you know that she’s eating normal amounts of solid foods, then you’ll want to think about other reasons that could be causing her to drink less breastmilk or formula (like illness, or teething).

However, if the two signs listed above seem to go hand-in-hand, then you can be pretty certain that you’re feeding your baby more solid food than is good for her, and it’s causing her to take in less breastmilk or formula than she needs.

Too Much Solid Food and Not Enough Breastmilk/Formula? Ways to Solve the Problem

If you suspect your baby’s consuming too much solid food and not enough breastmilk or formula, there are a two simple steps you can take to fix the situation.

1. Offer breastmilk or formula before offering solids.

   This one just makes sense, right? When your baby’s at his hungriest, offer him the breast (or the bottle) before you give him a handful of cheerios or a dish of mashed bananas. That‘ll help ensure that he drinks plenty of breastmilk or formula. It’ll also help take the edge off his appetite for solids.

2. Offer (a little) less solid food.

   Some people suggest stopping solids altogether, and going back to a breastmilk/formula only diet. We generally don’t recommend this strategy, since it’s not a good method for striking a balance between solids and breastmilk or formula.

   Instead, if you suspect you’re offering too much solid food, we recommend cutting back on serving sizes a bit. Simply offer your baby a little less solid food than you normally would. That (in combination with nursing or bottle feeding before you offer solids) should ensure that your baby isn’t eating too much solid food.

Everything You Need To Know About Starting Solids – All In One e-Book!

What if you could find everything you needed to know about starting your baby on solid foods – when it’s best to start solids, how to introduce solids, complications, food allergies, etc. – in one easy-reference guide? Now you can! Your Baby’s Start To Solid Foods: A Comprehensive Guide will walk you through every step of starting solids. Plus, your e-Book package includes several bonus materials, designed to maximize your success in starting solids. You’ll get a thorough guide to treating constipation, a dietitian’s advice on how to avoid 5 common solid-foods mistakes, and a weekly meal plan for your baby’s first year. Grab your e-Book today, and ensure your baby has the healthiest possible start to solid foods!

Was your baby a big solids eater? How did you strike a balance between solid food and breastmilk/formula? Share your tips below!

The post Are You Feeding Your Baby Too Much Solid Food? appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

Lots of parents assume that a night light is one of those baby essentials that every nursery requires. After all, a well-placed night light can reduce the fumbling usually associated with middle-of-the-night diaper changes and feedings. But is a night light distracting to your baby? Do you really need one? What kind of night light should you buy? Keep reading for our baby night light do’s and don’ts, as well as a list of our top 5 favorite baby night lights!

Baby Night Light Do’s and Don’ts

1. DO place the light close the areas of the room that you’ll need to use at night, but DON’T place the light too close to your child’s sleeping area.
2. DO ensure that the light is low-wattage and dim enough that it won’t disturb your child’s sleep.
3. DON’T use a night light that casts cool, blue-toned light, but DO use one that casts warm, red- or yellow-toned light.
4. DON’T assume you or your baby will need a night light; you might not!
5. DO try a night light as your baby grows, if he suddenly develops nighttime fears or separation anxiety.

1. DO place the light near areas you’ll use, but DON’T place it too close to your child’s sleeping area.

When your baby is young, the night light is really more for you than for him; it can really help facilitate middle-of-the-night diaper changes and night feedings. So place the night light near the areas of your baby’s nursery that YOU will use, like the changing table or the glider. But be sure not to place it too close to your baby’s sleeping area, as even dim, soft light can be distracting for some babies and can interfere with sleep.

2. DO ensure the light is low-wattage and dim.

This probably goes without saying, but you don’t want your night light to be too bright! 4-7 watts is typical for most night lights. You’ll also want to be sure that the light itself is shaded and diffuse, so that your baby isn’t disturbed by any harsh glare.

3. DON’T use a light that has blue tones, but DO use one that casts warm red or yellow tones.

Fun fact: did you know that blue light is bad for sleep? It’s true! Blue light interferes with the body’s production of melatonin, a natural, sleep-inducing hormone. This is one huge reason why we never recommend keeping a TV in your child’s room, and why many experts advise that children should stop all screen time a few hours before bed. So avoid blue-toned night lights; instead, opt for night lights that give off warm, red- or yellow-toned light.

4. DON’T assume you and your baby need a night light.

It’s interesting – a lot of parents assume that a night light is necessary, but this isn’t always the case. For one thing, some babies really are distracted by night lights and have trouble falling asleep in a room that has any light at all (baby temperament has a lot to do with this). And if the light turns on and off by itself (when it senses daylight, for example, or when it senses motion), that might be doubly-distracting for your child. And don’t assume you need one, either; lots of parents have told us that leaving the nursery door cracked open and using the light from the hallway for diaper changes and feedings works just fine.

5. DO try a night light as your baby grows, especially if he develops nighttime fears.

You may find you can do without a night light at first, but as your baby grows, a night light might become useful. Some parents find, for instance, their children get anxious about being left alone in the dark as they grow older; this is probably natural nighttime fears mixed with some separation anxiety. A night light can really help in instances like this; it can provide a little reassurance and comfort in the middle of the night. Nighttime fears can become a real problem during the toddler years, too, so even if you manage without a nightlight for a while, don’t hesitate to try one out if your two-year old is suddenly afraid of the dark.

Our Top 5 Night Light Recommendations

Greenic Dusk-to-Dawn LED Nightlight (in Amber)

This night light is super basic, but also super effective! It casts just enough diffuse light to help you find your way around for diaper changes and feedings, but not so much that it’ll make it hard for your baby to sleep. Just be sure to buy one in a warm color; we like the amber-colored one best.

Albrillo Baby Night Light

  The Albrillo Night Light is a customizable light with a rechargeable battery that lasts 200 or 6 hours in dimmest or brightest settings, respectively. And, the bottom button disables touch control and boosts brightness by 30% for outdoor visibility, if you like to go camping and the like. What we really love is that you can touch the top for half a second to enter night light mode for breastfeeding at night, for example, or you can tap the logo twice to set a 1-hour timer to comfort your toddler to sleep. This way, your toddler has a night light as he goes to sleep, but it won’t wake him in the middle of the night.

Bubzi Co. Penguin Plush & Projector

This adorable little elephant doubles as a night light and a lullaby player; it plays 10 different lullabies and projects a beautiful, soft starlight scene for a total of 30 minutes before automatically shutting off. This could work as a great bedtime routine tool; to signal to your baby that your routine is over and that it’s time to go to sleep, simply turn on this little plush owl. Note that some babies might find the starlight scene distracting; however, the projected image doesn’t move, so it should work for most babies. The added benefit here is that this little plush owl is portable; it runs on batteries, meaning you can easily move it around your home (from pack-n-play to crib, perhaps), or take it on the go. Best of all – by purchasing this Bubzi Co. product, you’re giving back! A percentage of every Bubzi Co. purchase is donated to Postpartum Support International, an organization that helps new moms look after their perinatal mental health.

Space / Animal Projector Night Light

This may or may not make a good baby night light; the moving stars or animals and multi-colored lights might prove too distracting. However, your toddler might really love it! This projector offers soft light that’ll keep your toddler feeling comfortable and secure, and it also projects a rotating scene that could be just the thing to keep an antsy toddler interested (and in bed!). If you have a jack-in-the-box toddler who is constantly popping out of bed or who finds bedtime boring, this nightlight might be a great choice. In addition, this could be another great bedtime routine ender – if you consistently end your routine by turning on the projector, it could send a strong signal to your toddler that it’s time to settle in and go to sleep.

Munchkin Light My Way Nightlight

Oh my GOSH, is this thing adorable! This portable little nightlight (another owl!) could work well for babies and for toddlers. It casts a nice warm glow, and it’s also small and portable, meaning it’ll travel well. What’s more, this light automatically shuts off after 15 minutes – but if your toddler wakes in the night and wants her night light on, she can simply press a button for another 15 minutes of light. Extra bonus – your toddler can carry this with her for middle-of-the-night trips to the potty! And you can easily move it around your baby’s room as needed.

The post Baby Night Lights Do’s and Don’ts (And Our Top 5 Night Light Recommendations) appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

Getting your baby to sleep well at night can be challenging enough without factoring feedings into the mix. But what about when your baby’s feeding schedule is the root cause of the constant nighttime wakings? What about when your baby feeds constantly at night and not much during the day – how are you supposed to solve THAT problem?

Never fear – we can help. Read on for details!

Reverse Cycling: What It Is, and Why Some Babies Do It

Speaking of ‘baby breastfeeds constantly at night and not much during the day’ – there’s a term for that. It’s called reverse cycling. Pretty simple, right? Well, the “why” behind why some babies reverse cycle is a little more varied. Babies may reverse cycle for the following reasons:

How Reverse Cycling Affects Your Baby’s Sleep

Obviously, if your baby is breastfeeding every hour or two at night, then she’s not doing much sleeping…and neither are you! Now, some babies are pretty efficient “reverse cyclers” – they will wake often to eat, but they’ll generally nurse and then go right back to sleep. This is especially true for babies who know how to self-soothe and fall asleep independently – these babies generally don’t have strong sleep associations with nursing, and so will sleep well between feedings.

However, other babies are fairly awake between feedings and spend far more of their nighttime hours awake and alert. This is especially true for babies who are napping too much during the day, in addition to not nursing frequently. It is also true for newborns who are struggling with day/night confusion and who sleep much of the day.

Reverse Cycling Isn’t All Bad – How Reverse Cycling Can Actually Benefit Working Moms

Now, obviously, many of us find reverse cycling absolutely exhausting and are looking for ways to correct it (more on that in the next section). But there are situations in which reverse cycling actually works in your favor, and makes a lot of sense to continue.

Specifically, we have found that for moms who are working full-time outside the home and who are pumping benefit from reverse cycling – it helps to keep their milk supplies up, and allows for that special, cuddly bonding time with baby that those moms miss during the day. Moms in this situation often tell us that they make up for lost sleep by going to bed fairly early, and napping on the weekends.

Miriam Chickering, a Baby Sleep Site^® sleep consultant who also has a background in lactation consulting, summarizes the pros and cons of reverse cycling this way:

“Reverse cycling is great for moms who enjoy sharing a room or bed and aren’t disturbed by night feeding. Some moms can sleep through most of a feed and report feeling more rested when sharing a bed and reverse cycling. Other moms don’t sleep well at all when bed-sharing, and for moms who get out of bed for every feeding, well – reverse cycling can be brutal!”

How To “Reverse” Reverse Cycling And Reclaim Your Nighttime Sleep

While it’s true that some parents can really benefit from reverse cycling, and may prefer to keep it going for a period of time, we know most of you likely see reverse cycling as a problem and are looking for ways to solve it. Not to worry – we can help with that and help you night wean! Check out our suggestions below for coping with and gently solving your baby’s reverse cycling:

Personalized Solutions To Gently End Reverse Cycling – Yeah, We’ve Got Those!

Truth be told, reverse cycling can be tough to “reverse” if your baby is doing it out of a strong nursing association. That’s because you have the double difficulty of trying to sleep coach (and that’s tough enough by itself), plus you have to make sure you’re not compromising your breastfeeding relationship with your little one. Tricky indeed! Tough situations like these are best handled with the help of a sleep consultant. Your sleep consultant will craft a Personalized Sleep Plan^® that not only lays out sleep coaching recommendations and a step-by-step plan that are breastfeeding-friendly.

Browse your options here.

Once you select your package, you’ll immediately receive an email with your Helpdesk login credentials. From there, you can set up your account, complete a profile of each child in your family, outline your sleep issues as well as any particulars about breastfeeding, and send them straight to your consultant. Within a few days, you’ll receive your Personalized Sleep Plan™, and will work closely with your consultant to implement it.

Have sleep coaching and breastfeeding questions? Ask below – we’ll answer!

 
Our VIP Members Area is packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! As a VIP member, you’ll also enjoy a weekly chat with an expert sleep consultant.
 
Essential Keys to Your Newborn’s Sleep is THE newborn sleep book that will help you to not only improve your newborn’s sleep using gentle, sleep-inducing routines – it will also answer your feeding and newborn care questions. You can even buy a bundle package that includes the e-book AND a Personalized Sleep Plan™ PLUS a follow-up email to use for further support!
 
For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night.
 
 
If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 45 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style.
 
For those persistent toddler sleep struggles, check out The 5 Step System to Help Your Toddler Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your toddler sleep through the night and enjoy a better daytime schedule.
 

The post Reverse Cycling: Why Your Baby Is Breastfeeding All Night (And What To Do About It) appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

Let’s talk about menstrual cycles.

Now don’t feel awkward. We’re not going into detail here! Instead, we’re going to take a look at how your menstrual cycle may impact your baby’s sleep. You wouldn’t imagine there would be a connection, would you?

Turns out there is!

Your Menstrual Cycle Can Affect Your Breastmilk

Many of you already know (from first-hand experience or otherwise) that nursing a baby delays the return of a woman’s period after she gives birth. For some women, the delay is a matter of weeks; for others, their period is delayed the entire time they nurse (even if they nurse for years!).

Most of us fall somewhere in the middle of that spectrum. It’s typical for a woman’s period to be delayed when her baby is young and is nursing frequently and regularly. Then, as her baby begins eating solid food and nursing less, her period gradually returns.

Here’s what’s interesting: once your period returns, it can have a big impact on your “nursing rhythm”. We can chalk this up to hormones; a few days before our periods start, our blood calcium levels drop. This drop in blood calcium can cause two things to happen:

• It can cause a drop in milk supply. This doesn’t happen for every woman, but some women notice that starting a few days before their periods, their milk supply drops a bit. This lasts until a few days after the period has started.
• It can slightly change the flavor of your milk. Again, this isn’t true for everyone. But menstruation can slightly alter your milk’s taste, making it less palatable for your baby. This alteration starts a few days before your period and lasts until a few days after your period has begun.

The result? If your milk supply is low, you can expect your baby to nurse more frequently. And if your breastmilk tastes “off” to your baby, you might find that she drinks less than usual and doesn’t nurse as eagerly. For a rare few, there may appear to be a sudden nursing strike, but should be temporary.

Nicole’s Note:
“I was extremely fortunate that my period didn’t return until I weaned my eldest son right around a year old. It didn’t return even when we night-weaned! I do work with some families, though, who see a noticeable drop in milk supply once they night-wean and around their menstrual cycle every month. It can be extremely stressful for mom, which doesn’t help!”

Your Menstrual Cycle Can Affect Your Baby’s Sleep

The logical conclusion of all the information above is pretty simple — if you aren’t making as much breastmilk as you normally do, or if your baby isn’t drinking much because it tastes different, then it’s likely that your baby make feel hungrier than usual. And hunger is often bad for sleep.

You might find that starting a few days before your period, your baby begins waking more frequently at night, demanding a feeding. Or you might find that naps are shorter than usual because hunger is waking your baby.

Of course, this is assuming your baby was sleeping fairly well to begin with; if your baby has never slept through the night, or is a chronically bad napper, or has a dozen different sleep associations, then you might not notice a difference (in a bad way)!

What If You’re Formula Feeding?

Naturally, moms who formula feed won’t feel the same effects from their menstrual cycles as breastfeeding moms. But that doesn’t mean that formula-feeding moms are exempt from menstrual symptoms, does it? PMS doesn’t play favorites, after all — mood swings, cramps, bloating, and fatigue affect most women, regardless of whether they’re breastfeeding.

If you’re a formula-feeding mom who has an especially sensitive baby, you may notice that when your PMS symptoms set in, your baby becomes crankier and more restless. Her sleep may even be disrupted. This happens because babies (especially sensitive ones) tend to pick up on their parents’ moods and stress levels. So if your PMS is sending your stress level soaring, or if it’s making you extremely irritable and cranky, it’s likely your baby’s going to notice.

Preventing Your Menstrual Cycle From Affecting Your Baby’s Sleep

This news isn’t especially great, especially if you’re already struggling with sleep. You can’t exactly prevent your period. But there are steps you can take to make your menstrual cycles have less of an effect on your baby’s sleep.

Specifically, you can take a combination calcium/magnesium supplement. Remember how I mentioned that it’s the drop in blood calcium levels that causes the low milk supply, and the altered taste to your breastmilk? Well, if you start taking a calcium/magnesium supplement a few days before your period starts, you may be able to prevent those complications.

Good news for formula-feeding moms, too — calcium and magnesium are two minerals that have been shown to naturally alleviate some common PMS symptoms, like fatigue and appetite changes. So a calcium/magnesium supplement can help you as well.

Why a calcium/magnesium supplement, and not just a calcium pill? Magnesium helps your body absorb calcium; without the magnesium, your body would only absorb a fraction of the supplement’s total calcium.

We’re not going to give specific dosages here; that’s something you should talk to your doctor about. But for more information on how a calcium/magnesium supplement can help (and for additional information about how your menstrual cycle affects your breastmilk), check out this article, on The La Leche League website.

References:

Prosser CG, Hartmann PE.(1983). Saliva and breast milk composition during the menstrual cycle of women. The Australian journal of experimental biology and medical science, 61 (pt 3):265-75

Does your menstrual cycle affect your baby’s sleep?

Please be sure to pick up your FREE copy of 5 (tear-free) Ways to Help Your Child Sleep Through the Night, our e-Book with tear-free tips to help your baby sleep better. For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3-Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep (babies) or The 5-Step System to Better Toddler Sleep (toddlers). Using a unique approach and practical tools for success, our e-books help you and your baby sleep through the night and nap better. For those looking for a more customized solution for your unique situation with support along the way, please consider one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultations, where you will receive a Personalized Sleep Plan™ you can feel good about! Sometimes it’s not that you can’t make a plan. Sometimes you’re just too tired to.

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In general, breastfeeding moms do not need to limit their diet. Most babies will not be sensitive to anything in your diet and some sources even say one glass of wine or alcohol in small quantities is OK. I am a nervous mom, so I really did not drink when I was breastfeeding, but some do say it’s okay. What is okay for one mom to eat may not be right for you and your baby, so there really isn’t a list of regular foods that breastfeeding moms have to stay away from, including “gassy foods.” Breast milk is made up of what is in your blood, not what you eat.

The AAP does recommend to limit caffeine, but you can drink it. Basically, consume anything in moderation. No throwing back shots or drinking five cups of coffee (limit to 1 maybe 2 cups per day). Even if you are drinking caffeine in moderation, if your baby is unusually fussy or difficult to settle for sleep, try cutting back (or out) caffeine to rule it out as a culprit. I gave up caffeine in pregnancy (the first time, not the second) and didn’t start drinking it until I went back to work and just couldn’t keep up with my son’s sleep problems and work (this was around 8-10 weeks). So, caffeine most definitely was not the source of our sleep problems. I do know that! One thing to keep in mind is that newborns *are* fussy for the first 6-8 weeks and just when you think about cutting out dairy and all kinds of things in your diet (like I considered but thankfully didn’t do because I love cheese!), their fussiness starts to go away, so be patient.

All in all, your diet has little influence on your breast milk and your breastfeeding baby will get the nutrition she needs. So, just when you think that spicy food affected your baby’s sleep, keep in mind that there are areas in the world where spicy food is the daily norm and they breastfeed just fine. Please read more about the effect of mom’s diet on breast milk to put your mind at ease. Having said that, it’s important to eat enough calories to keep up your milk supply, so going on a diet while nursing is not advisable and that includes taking diet pills. Breastfeeding usually burns more calories and actually makes it easier to lose weight (though not for everyone) and it may take up to a year to lose all that baby weight, but your baby’s health will be well worth it.

If you’re a breastfeeding mom, you do have to be careful about some medications you might take. Always talk to your doctor about the medication he wants to prescribe and make sure you remind him that you are breastfeeding. Search the LactMed database for approved medications for breastfeeding mothers.

Some cold medications are not advised when you are breastfeeding. Sudafed and Actifed are okay to take as well as some allergy medications such as Claritin, Zyrtec, Allegra, and Benadryl. Keep in mind any cold or allergy medication can affect your milk supply, so if you notice a dip, once you stop using it, your milk supply should go back up. Advil and Tylenol are both deemed as safe for you to take without an effect on your milk supply. This is different than when you are pregnant and should NOT take Advil. You can also review natural cold remedies that might help without adding to your stress or worry.

Anti-anxiety and anti-depressants have not been proven to cause a problem in a nursing infant, but the AAP puts them on a list of “Unknown, but could be of concern.” You should also make sure you review the list of medication with significant effects on infants, such as aspirin.

Any particular medication may or may not cause any sleep issues (none specifically that I know of — remember, I am not a doctor), and if you need medication for any given problem, I’d recommend working around it rather than trying to stop your medication. If medication is temporary, always keep in mind that you can “pump and dump.” I know of one mom who weaned at around 8 weeks because she had to take a certain unsafe medication for a week or two. She later realized she could have pumped and given her baby formula for a couple of weeks and then gone back to breastfeeding, so I try to remind people that weaning to fix a temporary problem is unnecessary and we can work around it. If you need ongoing medication, don’t assume your sleep struggles are due to the medication and definitely talk to your doctor about it.

Whether it’s diet or medication, there are many things breastfeeding moms have to worry about. When there are so many variables, it’s easy to blame breastfeeding and wonder whether if you stopped breastfeeding if all your sleep troubles would disappear. My mother-in-law was convinced that would have been true for me, but the pros definitely outweighed the cons and given I get just as many bottle-feeding moms to the site, I’m sure that, once again, all babies are different. Don’t wean. I breastfed for a year with both boys and we can work on the sleep troubles!

Need Breastfeeding-Friendly Baby Sleep Help?

We know that, as a breastfeeding mom, your breastfeeding relationship with your little one matters to you. But remember, the fact that you are breastfeeding does not mean you have to suffer through sleep deprivation for months on end! You really can help your little one build healthy sleep habits in a gentle, breastfeeding-friendly way, with one of our sleep coaching packages.

Browse sleep coaching packages here.

Once you have chosen your sleep package, you will immediately receive an email with your Helpdesk login credentials. From there, you will be able to complete your family profile and connect with your sleep consultant, who will craft a Personalized Sleep Plan^® that is always breastfeeding-friendly just for you and your family.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON BREASTFEEDING AND BABY SLEEP:

Breastfeeding and Baby Sleep Training: Can They Really Go Together?

Breast Milk Storage Capacity: What It Is and How To Measure It

The post Baby Sleep and Breastfeeding Series: Part 3 appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

Night Feedings

One of the more important things I would like to stress in this series is that when some websites or even some doctors talk about when a baby can sleep through the night without a feeding, you can’t really put breastfeeding babies into the same camp as formula-fed babies. This only has to do with one thing and that’s the fact that breast milk digests faster than formula.

As I’ve said several times, there are adults who can’t go 12 hours without eating, so I certainly don’t expect all babies to be able to go all night without a feeding all at the same age or weight. I try to be realistic and what makes the most sense to me is that all babies react differently to being hungry and it’s a developmental milestone for your inner clock to sleep all night without feedings. If you ask a variety of different pediatricians when a baby can go all night without a feeding, the answer will vary a lot. That tells me that there are no hard and fast rules that you can apply to all babies.

Formula-fed babies are more likely to start sleeping all night without a feeding, but there are breast-fed babies who do it early, too, just like there are formula-fed babies who won’t. Some of us are just lucky or unlucky, depending on how you look at it (some working moms enjoy the night snuggles, for example).

Breastfeeding moms can expect the following night-feedings, on average:

• Your newborn will breastfeed every 2-3 hours in the early days and this is also when your milk supply is established. Newborns sleep more than anything in the beginning, but that changes quickly.

• When your baby is 3-4 months old, she will probably still be breastfeeding at night 2-3 times per night and sleeping 10-12 hours, but remember that sleep does change around 4 months old.

• At 5-7 months old, your baby will begin to move to 2 feedings per night fairly regularly and still sleep 11-12 hours, typically.

• An 8-9 month old will usually transition to just one feeding per night and sleep 11-12 hours at night.

• At 10-12 months, many babies will be able to go all night without a feeding, but some will still need one through a year or beyond.

I was one of the (un)fortunate ones that had to feed my babies at night for a full year. It was hard getting up even once a night for that long, but thankfully (and sadly at the same time), it goes very fast and it’s a relatively short time in our lives.

Teething

Teething babies often want to breastfeed more often because it feels good on their gums. Often, this can be difficult because if your baby is older and eating solids, they commonly will stop eating solids almost all together. It can be frustrating (but she just ate this yesterday! what happened?) and they will offset the lack of solids with more breastfeeding. This can mean more night-feedings and more breastfeeding during the day. So, breastfeeding moms have to be prepared for more breastfeeding during growth spurts as well as the height of teething episodes. It’s good to come up with a strategy on how to handle teething sleep problems.

Weaning

When to night-wean and when to wean all together is a highly personal choice and I have no strong recommendations one way or another. I do know it’s recommended to breastfeed for at least the first year of life, but any amount of breast milk is beneficial for your baby, so we all must do what feels right for our families. While breastfeeding can be a very bonding experience for most of us, for some it’s not, or even if it is, some moms feel a certain level of “tied down” needing to be home at a certain time or making sure you have somewhere to pump, if you’re not. Although I pumped a lot, being a working mom, I tried with all my might not to pump more than I had to. 😀

Some breastfeeding moms find that letting Dad or another caretaker give a bottle during the night can help her get more sleep. Imagine if the breastfeeding mom goes to sleep at 10, baby wakes at 2 a.m. and Dad gives a bottle, and the baby doesn’t wake again until 5 a.m. That’s 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep for Mom! A good strategy. Keep in mind in the early days, this can affect your milk supply and if you were to do this every night, it will affect your supply at that time of the night, which may or may not be okay with you. Doing it one night, the most that might happen is you get engorged (which can lead to other complications if done too often) but after weeks of sleep deprivation, a good night’s sleep might be just what the doctor ordered and could be worth it!

Another strategy is to have Dad (or another caretaker) get up, change your baby’s diaper, and takes the baby to Mom. If Mom has mastered the side-lying breastfeeding position, this can give Mom a much-needed break and disrupts her sleep the least.

In the next part in the series, explore how Mom’s diet and medication may impact your baby’s sleep: Baby Sleep and Breastfeeding Series: Part 3.

Need Breastfeeding-Friendly Baby Sleep Help?

We know that, as a breastfeeding mom, your breastfeeding relationship with your little one matters to you. But remember, the fact that you are breastfeeding does not mean you have to suffer through sleep deprivation for months on end! You really can help your little one build healthy sleep habits in a gentle, breastfeeding-friendly way, with one of our sleep coaching packages.

Browse sleep coaching packages here.

Once you have chosen your sleep package, you will immediately receive an email with your Helpdesk login credentials. From there, you will be able to complete your family profile and connect with your sleep consultant, who will craft a Personalized Sleep Plan^® that is always breastfeeding-friendly just for you and your family.

Share your tips about breastfeeding, teething, night-feedings and weaning!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON BREASTFEEDING AND BABY SLEEP:

Breastfeeding and Baby Sleep Training: Can They Really Go Together?

Breast Milk Storage Capacity: What It Is and How To Measure It

The post Baby Sleep and Breastfeeding Series: Part 2 appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

Breastfeeding moms are very loving and caring moms! And, so are formula feeding moms! Although I breastfed both my boys for their first year, I am also a firm believer in respecting a parent’s choice for how they choose to feed their baby, so I welcome all to my Baby Sleep and Breastfeeding Series! This series is going to discuss baby sleep and how it relates to breastfeeding, and not discuss anything to do with whether breastfeeding or bottle feeding or formula feeding is better, worse or indifferent. I try to keep this a judgment-free place and the way you feed your baby is a very personal choice and sometimes not a choice at all, for some. The goal of this series will tackle things like how breastfeeding relates to sleep, whether you need to co-sleep to succeed, how often you can expect to feed your baby at night, how your diet may affect sleep, and what methods of sleep training are open to you. So, let’s get started!

Does breastfeeding cause sleep problems? Should you wean?

I gave away this answer in my first paragraph that you CAN have a baby who sleeps and breastfeed, successfully. I did it for 12-13 months with both boys and successfully improved their sleep in the process. I did give them one night-feeding with both boys until they were one year, but many breastfeeding moms can night-wean before that. My boys were just slow to be able to go 12 hours without a feeding, even though I did try…at least with the first. I sort of just accepted it with the second having already gone through it once before.

My story might not be enough to convince you, though, so I will also tell you that I get a lot parents who have to give a bottle numerous times a night or replace a pacifier upwards of 10 times a night, too. I do NOT just get breastfeeding moms to this site and although my mother-in-law may have THOUGHT my son’s sleep problems were due to my breastfeeding (she thought he was just hungry every night), it wasn’t. He proved her wrong eventually when he was eating solids and we still had problems. 😀

Having said all of this, whether you wean or not is a very personal decision, but it does make me sad when moms wean simply because they hope it will improve their baby’s sleep. It simply doesn’t always work that way.

The human pacifier or use a pacifier?

If you are breastfeeding more than 2-3 times per night at 3 months or more than twice after 4-5 months, then you have become a human pacifier. Some people believe this is 100% what we should do as moms and are fine with it. I became a pacifier, too, and for awhile it was fine. Later on, it wasn’t…for me. These are all personal choices.

When your baby is first born, you should hold off using a real pacifier until your milk supply is fully established because your baby suckling stimulates milk production, so typically waiting 4-8 weeks is preferable. Just keep in mind what I said that using a pacifier does not guarantee your sleep won’t be interrupted because many people become “paci police” replacing it numerous times a night. Depending on the age of the baby, you can try to throw several into the crib and your baby might learn to replace it, but many babies even when they can replace it, don’t.

Neither of my boys had a pacifier (besides me when they were very young). My first simply would not take one even though several people tried very hard to give one to him and to this day inanimate items aren’t a good enough replacement for human contact. He did take to a lovey very well and still sleeps with it to this day. He never sucked his thumb, either. Because I enjoyed the fact I didn’t have to break a pacifier or thumb-sucking habit with my first, I purposely skipped the pacifier with my second and introduced the same lovey. He never sucked his thumb, either. Both played with finger sucking for a very short time, but it never took, thankfully. Maybe I just got lucky. I’d make sure I breastfed often during the day and give lots of affection. I can imagine we had more fussy moments in the car or out in public without a pacifier, but we made it through.

Pacifiers can make good solutions and they are especially good for babies with strong sucking needs. As long as the pacifier has not become a problem more than a solution, it is not a problem to use them.

Do you have to co-sleep to succeed in breastfeeding and get some sleep?

If you’ve been reading this site for awhile, you know that co-sleeping did not work for me, so my short answer is no you don’t have to co-sleep to succeed in breastfeeding and get some sleep. In the early days, it can be easier, though. Again, this is a personal choice. I have helped many breastfeeding families successfully help their baby learn to sleep and continue breastfeeding, so I urge any family to try, if that’s what you want for your family. It might not be easy, but with determination, we can solve your sleep problems without weaning.

In the next part of this series, explore night feedings, teething, and weaning: Baby Sleep and Breastfeeding Series: Part 2.

Need Breastfeeding-Friendly Baby Sleep Help?

We know that, as a breastfeeding mom, your breastfeeding relationship with your little one matters to you. But remember, the fact that you are breastfeeding does not mean you have to suffer through sleep deprivation for months on end! You really can help your little one build healthy sleep habits in a gentle, breastfeeding-friendly way, with one of our sleep coaching packages.

Browse sleep coaching packages here.

Once you have chosen your sleep package, you will immediately receive an email with your Helpdesk login credentials. From there, you will be able to complete your family profile and connect with your sleep consultant, who will craft a Personalized Sleep Plan^® that is always breastfeeding-friendly just for you and your family.

What have been your challenges as a breastfeeding family?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON BREASTFEEDING AND BABY SLEEP:

Breastfeeding and Baby Sleep Training: Can They Really Go Together?

Breast Milk Storage Capacity: What It Is and How To Measure It

The post Baby Sleep and Breastfeeding Series: Part 1 appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

Although I used a crying sleep training method for my first son, I was pretty turned off by an article I read that promoted crying it out to wean breastfeeding. Part of my philosophy is that we all must find a method of sleep training that works for our families.

Another part of my philosophy is that you need to be fair to your child. For example, I never recommend cry-it-out to families who have been co-sleeping for a lengthy amount of time. I believe you need to start slower. With my son, I made sure he could fall asleep unassisted before I expected him to do it alone. Some babies have more trouble self-soothing than others. Once my son knew how to fall asleep, it was more of a matter for us to set limits that he had to do it daily, without our “help” only because our “help” turned into a 3 hour marathon event.

Back to that article. She mentions going on a vacation, separating from baby abruptly, for a week or more and another method is to sabotage your breast milk so it doesn’t taste good. Her final method is to let your baby cry and increase the time before you nurse until you work your way up to letting your baby “cry itself out”. First of all, my baby is not an “it”.

Second of all, there is another method (and there are others!) that worked well for me and that is the “Don’t offer, don’t refuse” method. I had plenty of time, so I could take my time and we took 2 months to wean. Even going slow, my son showed signs of weaning too fast, so I can’t imagine if I had used any of the methods outlined in the article I read!

Granted, had my son taken “too long” (whatever that means to each of us) to wean, I do understand that sometimes you do have to set limits and yes, they might cry, but just like sleep training, there is a range of things you can try before you jump to cry-it-out. I was completely turned off that the article seemed to only list extreme methods. At least give a variety of methods like I have on this site about sleep training with my sleep training series, ya know?

I know this post isn’t really about sleep, per se, but when I read the article and it mentioned “cry it out” for weaning, I felt compelled to write. Cry it out gets such a bad rap, sometimes, and this doesn’t help. What I want to emphasize is that you let your baby cry-it-out to fix sleep problems, but only after your baby is fed, dry, comfortable, and any other needs are attended to. A baby’s cry is protesting the changes you are making when you are breaking sleep associations and other habits. But, breastfeeding is about more than just a mother’s milk as it’s a source of comfort and a connection between mom and baby, too. Even when you sleep train, you can (and should) breastfeed or bottle feed your baby. The idea is just not to do it until baby is all the way asleep. Easier said than done, unfortunately.

I hope this article lets you get to know me and my philosophy better. You may also want to read more about my definition of cry it out and at what age I recommend it. For more weaning techniques, please visit Kelly Mom.

What do you think about cry-it-out to wean?

The post Cry-it-Out to Wean from Breastfeeding? appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.