We just got home from visiting my family in Edmonton and while we were there Petra was constantly waking up during the night. When we're away I nurse her during the night for two reasons: to keep her from waking up the whole house and to comfort her. I noticed that she had a major growth spurt while we were there and I think it's partially attributable to all her night feedings.
I'm going to continue nursing her when she wakes up at night until I'm too tired to handle it any more. Should I really be dictating to her when she should be hungry? It's too bad because my opinion was so clear about it a month ago. I was sure she was just manipulating me and that I needed to cut her off and now I face a conundrum.
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hi gina, you're doing the right thing: you're following your mommy's intuition. go with the flow. you'll know when it's time to change things again.
ReplyDeleteSonia just had a bit of a growth spurt too. Once she got over being sick she started eating like a piglet and waking up screaming for food in the middle of the night. She's now noticeably plumper. Sounds like your intuition is just fine.
ReplyDeleteLee
A great piece of advice I received as a new mom: Remember that a baby's wants are the exact same as a baby's needs. If she wants something, it's because she needs it. Granted, At this point I think we start to deviate a bit from this. Just because Owen wants to grab my laptop cord and pull my computer onto the floor, does not mean that he needs to do that. But on the basics - food, sleep, hunger, I still stick to this philosophy. Don't stress about it - like Daniela said, just go with the flow...
ReplyDeleteSo, I think I'm going to go a bit against the flow here. Regardless, bottom line is you need to do what you think is best, but I'll share my experience.
ReplyDeleteIsabella was bottle feed and she typically didn't wake up at night so it's a bit different. However, when she did, I never feed her only cuddled her and coaxed her back to bed. Sleeping is a learned behaviour and if we learn to wake up to eat, then that's what we do. If you do feel there's a growth spurt, you could compensate with an extra feeding during the day.
Now - I am breastfeeding with Noah so this could completely not work this time and I'll be coming back here for advice ;-)
Hi Mary - it is quite a bit different with breastfeeding. Breastmilk is digested VERY quickly, so that's why babies, especially really little ones, need to eat so often. There is research that says that cutting out all night feedings in bf'd babies prior to nine months can interfere with their growth and development. Granted, from 5-6 months, until 9 months, most babies only NEED to eat once in the night. My little one eats much more frequently than that, so some of it is definitely a need for comfort. But it's not something I mind too much. Having him in bed beside me really helps to make things easier, and nursing him is just such an easy way to get him back to sleep when he wakes! I'm basically a lazy parent at heart, especially at night :)
ReplyDeleteMy philosophy is, to do something until it starts not working for one of us, so I expect I'll get annoyed with the arrangement before him, and then we'll have to figure out something else!!
I hope the nursing continues to go well for you. It is so worth it!