baby sleeping through night...

spaghetti_monster

clearingout wrote: »

until a few years ago, weaning was recommended at around 4 months. It sounds to me like he needs some solid food although if there are allergies in the family, you might want to weigh up the inconvience of being woken up several times a night for the next month or so with the potential to do harm allergy-wise. A good google would probably help you weigh up those risks logically!

Wow, google is not helping! Lots of conflicting opinion, inconclusive evidence etc I'm gonna keep reading....

KiKi

spaghetti_monster wrote: »

Wow, google is not helping! Lots of conflicting opinion, inconclusive evidence etc I'm gonna keep reading....

To be honest, although the advice is there to be read, I think you have to go with your own instinct about what your child needs. No one way is right for all kids.

If your son is hungry, he needs food, and if he's ready for rice, he should have it. But no one internet site, HV, friend or report will tell you what your son actually needs - only what their studies show, or what they personally believe.

Try the baby rice, and if it doesn't work, stop.

KiKi

pigpen

I wouldn't bother with any food at all.. his tummy needs milk not food. food doesn't fill them up or make them sleep longer until they are older and actually need the food, if they are given food befor they can properly digest it they wake MORE!! as they still need the milk.. plus, 6 month guidelines and all that.. He will also be having a growth spurt about now so might need the middle of the night feed to boost your milk supply.. the hormones for milk production are produced in greater quantities 12-2am ish so needing a feed then is usually for this reason alone!

Guidelines for weanng etc changed after more research went into it and it was discovered it was safer.. so just because 'I was weaned at a wweek old on rusks and steaks and I'm ok' doesn't mean that is correct today.. guidelines/recommendations are changed for a reason.. and if that reason is keeping babies healthy it isn't going to be done lightly when so much profit is made from it. Car seats & seat belts weren't recommended years ago.. now it is law.. because research shows it saves lives and keeps people safe!

If he is settled during the day after a feed he isn't hungry. Could you maybe make the 11pm feed a bit earlier see if that helps? If he wants it earlier then sleeps through surely that is better.

I would be more inclined to think he is teething and invest in anbesol.

gonzo127

i believe that allergies are not genetic, the only thing genetic about allergies is the predisposition to having them,

for example I am massively allergic to aspirin and ibuprofen, however little one is fine with them

Pisces

KiKi wrote: »

To be honest, although the advice is there to be read, I think you have to go with your own instinct about what your child needs. No one way is right for all kids.

If your son is hungry, he needs food, and if he's ready for rice, he should have it. But no one internet site, HV, friend or report will tell you what your son actually needs - only what their studies show, or what they personally believe.

Try the baby rice, and if it doesn't work, stop.

KiKi

This is the most sensible advice I have read for some time !

londonlass001

Agree completely with Pigpen, weaning does not always solve the waking in the night problem. The advice around weaning suggests waiting until a baby is showing specific signs that their body, more specifically the gut, is able to tolerate food. Not sure if you are planning on puree weaning or baby led weaning but baby needs to be able to sit up for blw to reduce risk of choking.

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Babies-weaning/Pages/Introduction%20old.aspx

Also instinct is important yes, but I would tend to try to rule out other things such as the possibility of teething/growth spurt/developmental stuff (is baby currently learning to roll/sit etc) as they interfere with sleep.

spaghetti_monster

Thanks again for replies!
This is what I was reading:
http://blogs.food.gov.uk/science/entry/what_s_behind_the_development
My jury is still out about the weaning thing, but OH is quite a stickler for gov. guidelines. I was also planning on trying a bit of a combination of weaning methods, but definitely want to try baby-led, so maybe I will have to wait as LO can't really properly sit for a good length of time.
I'm not totally convinced that it's hunger - it's often quite easy to persuade him to get back to sleep, but maybe a tootipeg (I like that one!)...there is plenty of drool going on.

He is indeed rolling around a bit, that started a couple of weeks, so maybe a growth spurt...

aligerdie

If there's plenty of drool going on I'd say tootipegs (I love that too!) are on the way.

If he wakes tonight try the teething gel and see if it makes a difference. If my little man is particularly grizzly then he gets a spoon of calpol - it must be very painful for them, the poor things.

I have read about teething powders too, they're not something I've used before, but some people swear by them.

Hope you get a better night tonight. x

sulkisu

I may get slapped down for this but 7pm seems early for a final feed, especially as he barely wakes for the 11pm bottle. My son is 6 months old and his final feed is at 9pm followed by bed at 9.30 ish. It sounds late compared to other posters childrens bedtimes but he sleeps through the night (until at least 7.00a.m) and has done since he was 10 weeks old (and long may it continue). Where necessary I adjust his earlier feed times to ensure that he is hungry enough at 9pm to have the whole bottle. It might be worth a try if you don't want to wean him early. Either way, I hope that you get a better night sleep tonight.

liney

Teething powders were great. Anson and Parsons I think they were called.

If he's not teething then he's probably just having a growth spurt which would last around a week then go back to normal feeding, but at 5 months i'd put my money on teething.

Another thing could be that it's been reasonably warm at night recently. Perhaps he's too hot.