Hee hee! I think she is talking through her backside...sorry! I had a bub who was always nudging the 70 - 80 th percentile .....she woke CONSTANTLY!!! She didn't have her first "sleep through" until nearly 18 months. Some bubs are sleepers and some are not!! Mine was a definate NOT!!! I was always told that she needed more solids, that I needed to put her on formula, that I needed to get her to take a dummy, yadah, yadah!!! You know your bub best. If you are not happy with this womans opinion, seek other advice! It sounds as if your beautiful boy is doing well! ( I know what you mean..my apparently deprived of sleep and food  bub was mobile by 5 months and well and truly talking by 10 months, walking and with an attitude by 11 months! She has very rarely been ill.) Don't stress over one persons opinion, if he is within the guidelines, don't worry in the least!!! You are giving him a great start in life. Remember too that when bubs are having a growth spurt they up the ante on feeding ( night and day!) to up your supply so that it keeps up with their needs! THey may seem really settled for a few weeks, then wake often to get your supply to where they need it!! Good luck and don't rely on this woman to give you good advice...every one has an opinion but it is u to you how it affects your decision. You are the one that knows your bub best!!

Oh your health nurse either doesn't know what she is talking about or is just plain nasty! Most babies still wake at night for feeds at this age - I know both mine did, the oldest until 9 months & the youngest until 11-12 months. All babies are different, but you cannot starve a breastfed baby or they will scream constantly and not gain weight! You are doing everything right & he sounds very happy and healthy!

I've heard that most breastfeed babies wake in the night to feed, I think to help keep up the supply. It's like they can sense when to wake to allow you from becoming engorged and thus losing your supply.  My son is 8m and he often wakes in the middle of the night, at least 3-4 times to eat only quickly to fall back to sleep.  I was told that this can go one for over a year, or until you stop nursing.  But how mean for you nurse to say that you are starving him and that's why he wakes.  Unless he is really low in weight, my son is, then you can try to let him cry out or comfort him to sleep without feeding over a period of a few weeks.  If you can handle the crying you can try that at night.   Let him cry more and more each time until he is sleeping thru the night.  Good luck!

My first is 3 year old and it's still pretty rare that he sleeps without waking up at least once - like my 11 month old twins!

As far as sleeping through the night, there is no solution as sometimes it just depends on the  baby.

THANKYOU GUYS SO MUCH,

What great advice you have given me.  This Health nurse was the same one that I had with both my girls and i had both on a bottle by 6 weeks and so I was determined not to do that again.  I don't think I am starving him and neither does anyone else.  She really scared me saying that she would intervene by next appointment if he wasn't putting on more weight.  He has always put on weight but he was a big baby born and went down and is sitting nicely now.  Needless to say I am not going back which is dissappointing but I am not being harrassed my doctor will be seeing him from now on.  Sometimes I feel like a zombie but I can't stand him crying at night as i don't want him waking house up.  I will be doing your thoughts though and seeing if they work but its great to know that i am not alone.  Thanks again.

Luv Nikki

To be honest i think what your health nurse is saying is a load of rubbish . My daughter never slept through the night most nights while being breast fed  my SIL s were the same too so i think it is pretty normal i would not worry about it too much Is there any chance of you grabbing a nap with bubs in the day.

Emz xx

I think you need to change health nurses.  What a cow!

It is normal for breastfed babies to keep waking through the night for a feed.  Breastmilk is digested a lot quicker than formula so is less satisfying.  I would say you are going to have to keep doing what you are already doing and just ride it all out.

Wow!  6months and crawling already!  Look out!  Not safe at your place now! lol.

That's horrible that anyone would tell you you were starving him! Don't listen to that kind of talk. Breastfed babies generally need to feed more often than formula fed babies, but that's because they digest breastmilk a lot faster than formula. It has nothing to do with starving.

Now, if he happens to be going through a growth spurt, he might be waking up hungry. Is he feeding more during the day right now? That's usually a sign.

I'm sure he is normal. Every child is different. My daughter, who is 5, continues to get up during the night and come to our room, whereas my son, who's 3, has told us when he wants to go to bed and slept on his own, through the night, from the moment he could talk. If you don't want to have a daughter like mine, you may need to try letting him cry it out. If you've checked him and know there's nothing really wrong–he's not hot or cold or that sort of thing–you may just need to let him cry, or try and find a comforter for him. Instead of a pacifier you might try a stuffed animal. The trick is to get him to fall asleep at the start of the night with it. That way, if he wakes up, it'll be right there and the fact that he falls asleep with it will kick in and he'll go back to sleep on his own. I have heard this works. I tried it with my daughter when she was still a baby to no avail, although now that she's 5 it does work on occasion. I just need to push it more.

The problem is, if you do like I did, which was to bring my daughter into bed with me and my husband until she fell back asleep (I could never stand the crying!) your son will probly get used to you being his go to sleep device and you'll have the same issue I do. That's why putting him to bed in the first place with a stuffed animal is something to consider.

Try not to worry so much about your son's age and what he is supposed to be doing at that age as kids are all different. He may get over it on his own, too. Even my daughter had long periods where she slept through the night on her own, but now she's back to waking up (monsters), so he may get over it on his own, too.

What a silly Health Nurse - bet she doesnt have kids!

Neither of mine were sleeping all the way through at that age. By 6 months DD1 was waking for one feed a night and I thought that was bad! She started teething at 10 months, just after she'd slept through for 5 weeks, and when she had 7 teeth, I managed to help her learn to sleep through with the help of the No Cry Sleep Solution. DD2 has slept longer than the magical 5 hours (definition of Sleeping Through) about 6 times in 18 months. So Im co-sleeping - it's the only way to survive 2-6 wakings! As they are/were both B/F, night waking isnt too disturbing for me, so I am just about able to function.

People dont often admit their baby is waking as it seems to equate to bad mothering, but actually loads of them dont sleep through, even as toddlers! So IMO, your son is perfectly normal. If you cant handle it, there are things you can do, but be warned, it has to get worse before it gets better, so first be sure you REALLY want to change things, or you'll give in instead of changing anything!

Hi Nikki,

When I had to establish a day/night routine for my 11 month old daughter, her paediatrician suggested that I do this routine before she went to bed:

1. Solids
2. Bath
3. Breastfeed (Formula, if it is applicable to you)

So, every night, I do the exact same routine, so she will go to bed by 7pm :)
( I was told by the Child Health Nurse that we should be striving for a "Wake up at 7am and asleep by 7pm" routine.. but dont worry, Alisha doesn't wake up at 7am everyday, it just depends on the day :) )

This is what I do with Alisha:

5.30pm - Solids
6pm - Get Bath ready
6.10pm - Bath
6.30pm - Breastfeed (Both sides)
6.45pm - Final Nappy Change (This is so that Alisha doesn't wake up in the middle of the night with a wet or pooey nappy)
7pm - (Hopefully) Asleep

After the nappy change, I'll put her down and walk away from the room...
And she'll cry a little... for a maximum of 10 minutes..
Then her cries will soften... and she will eventually put herself to sleep
And she is usually asleep by 7pm or sometimes maximum 7.30pm :)

In our house, we say that if Alisha isn't "crazy crying" (that is, constantly crying) then we must let her calm herself down..
If, however, she keeps crying and at a very loud volume, then we must go in to check up on her :)

I would definitely say that it's worth giving your son a bath before bed...
The paediatrician told me that it helps babies to sleep better :)

On the first night that we tried bathing Alisha straight before bed, she slept through the WHOLE night !!!!
Now Alisha NEVER wakes up during the night.. she sleeps for at least 12 hours, sometimes 15 ! :)

Good luck with it all !!!
I hope I helped :)

Love Thuy xox

Oh I have been through all of this.

My health nurse said that if they wake at the same time it is a habit...She also said that some bubs need the feed. Not a case of you "starving him"..how horrible of her to say that. My first  was a smaller bub. My second..who is 15 weeks is huge and sleeps much better. I have also given both mine formula for last feed at night...i used to think it helped them to sleep. I find the waking at night seems to just vary on their needs that day. To get my son to sleep that bit longer each night i would hold him and try to put of the feed. The first night did it by 15 mins..the next 30 etc...so that he was then out of the habit. I also offered water too. It is just trying diff things. I think when my first reached the 8kg mark...i stretched him out at night. My first is already 7.5kg at 15weeks!! He sleeps through some nights...last night woke every 4 hours. I tried controlled crying my first just got so upset so quick was not worth it...and certainly won't do it for my second.

Other things to look at is: is he warm enough? Too hot? etc....How much solids is he on? Maybe you need to increase them.

Another thing i did with my first was cluster feed..so a b'feed at 8ish or when he was due...then a formula top up at 11. You could b'feed to top up. Do the feeds about 2-3hours apart.

Oh the joys.

Hang in there.....try to see a diff health nurse...the advise you were given was not supportive.Oh also some of the other bubs in my mothers group only b'fed...and tiny...health nurse would say that is just the way the child is, as long as they were eating/b'feeding ok then not to worry. Trust yourself.

I think you would know if you were starving him, what a thing to say...lol....if you think it is hunger you could top him up before bedtime, but it's not good for their teeth to have milk during the night or to fall asleep with a bottle or boob.

My kids have always woken up too and i think it is pretty normal.  If you are finding it a problem there is techniques you can try to try and get him to sleep through the night.  Things like control crying or waking him up before he wakes first - depends what you want to do.  I can't handle the crying so i'm ok just to cuddle them!

Have a look in the parenting advice section, i'm sure you'll find heaps there.

hello nikki

do you give him a meal before he goes to bed he maybe wanting food instead of milk alll the time . other than that he maybe teething more otherwise i am not sure sorry

belxx