Let me know if any of this works for you as my friend is always on my case about my 7 half month old and doing the control crying but i am just sooo tired always i can't do it.  i am also scared if the neighbours hear him crying they think i am not a good mum to him.  I am just a worry wart they prob can't even hear him lol.  Ever since kaleb was sick he wakes every 2 hours and not for boobie but just wakes and cries until i go in and pat him and he's fine and I am like a zombie so please let me know if anything you try works.

Thanks
nikki

ok first of all hes probley not hungry but maybe give him some bigger meals through out the day. and as for the waking up during the night its just a little bad habbit hes got him self into the thing that you need to do is when he wakes up during the night and you want him to go to sleep go into the room and say to him "no bed time go to sleep" in a firm voices but not to firm that hes going to get upset. then tuck him into bed and give him a kiss and then say good night and walk away without saying any more to him. Now we both no hes probley going to stay awake but just leave him and if hes still calling out to you or what ever he does go back in 10min and repeat the process over and over again and maybe even try to give him a bottle and if he doesnt take it then just leave it in with him. now this is going to go on for about 3wks but remember be consitient about it and dont back down or your letting him win.

good luck

i hope this helps you out

Your trying to tackle 2 very big changes at the same time. I would first do the weaning because if you get him settled into a sleep routine then take the boobie awake he might start waking again then you are back to the begining. I have just weaned my boy off the breast and I did it cold turky. after 3 feeds where he cried and i didn't give him the breast just a bottle he realized that i wasn't going to put him on the breast and he took the bottle. it is a battle of wills at that age and you have to just keep offering the bottle and refusing the breast. once you have him drinking from a bottle then you should tackle the night waking. with this i also had a problem. my boy is a little younger than yours but he now sleeps a solid 7-8 hours at night. when he woke i would let him cry and eventually he would stop and go back to sleep once he knew i wasn't coming to comfort him. at 8 months he shouldn't be hungry in the night if he is having 3 meals. i would probably give him a supper meal at 8. just something small like banana but this also depends on what he usually eats. then a bottle and bed. that should eliminate the is he hungry question. it will be hard but stick to it because you will make progress eventually and if you go back even once and settle him then you are back to the beginning. i wish you all the best

You could try increasing the time of his bedtime feed so that his tummy is fuller.  If the milk is thicker and creamier, then it will satisfy him for longer.

Waking up like that could be the house is too quiet or there are other noises around that are disturbing him.  Having a radio on where he can here it might help with this.

As for weaning, do it.  Just give him the bottles and ignore his wanting the breast.  Like everything to do with parenting, it takes time.

It's really hard to hear them cry, but sometimes you just need to let them cry (the is if you know that there is nothing wrong). I did this with my boy and it only took him 2-3 nights to stop waking. I did the dream feed thing for a while which helped too. I also agree about waiting till 12 months if you can before weaning. At least then you know that they can get all that they need from their normal nutrition without having to pay the expense of formula or having to make up bottles etc. If he is having good feeds through the day of solids & BM he shouldn't need anything extra through the night.

Both Tresillian & Kartiane (Australian support centres for parents where you go and stay and teach your kids to feed, sleep etc) say that it's fine to let your child cry and support that. I really looked forward to a good night sleep so that was motivation enough for me to let my boy cry but I know of plenty of people that don't like letting their children cry, so it's a decision you are going to have to make for yourself.

My son went cold turkey on the breast feeding.. He was eating three mushy meals a day, and the boob.. Then he bit me and I bled and I said thats it... He refused to take the first two bottles, but when he realized no more boob was on offer, he started taking the bottle.

During the night I can't be 100% sure as to if your baby is actually hungry (but it sounds like he eats well) my son how ever I believe was waking up during the night due to habit, and did so for quite some time... Until I was able to figure out a way to break it... 

All I did was give less milk in the bottle every two days.  So that eventually he got used to not having any at all... The less he drank the quicker he went back to sleep until eventually the bottles were down to one ounce and then nothing....

Good luck...

I never breast fed but my daughter did feed alot at night around that age. It was a growth spurt. The best thing we found was infant cereal before bedtime. Also I have read that sometimes the transition between breast to bottle is hard because the bottle will drip no matter if the baby is ready or not. There are bottles that act like a boob, where they must do the same movements before any milk will release.

If you think hes not really hungrey, and you get him on the bottle, give him water...instead

It's actually perfectly normal for a baby to wake every 3-4hrs up until 12mths of age and beyond. Doesn't help you from feeling tired but LOL

If you want to stop the night waking a better alternative would be to help him self settle so he is not waking for any reason. If you wean him onto a bottle then you are just going to have to wake for that, or when he loses it etc and the you have to wean him off the bottle.

Perhaps you could give him a BIG dinner and then lots of BF before bed. then around the time you go to bed (930pm or thereabouts) pop him on for a dream feed. usually you just have to tease their mouth with your nipple and they latch on to feed without really waking.

How does he sleep during the day? Sometimes there is a direct link between good sleep during the day and good sleep at night. I found this to be true with my youngest. If he doesn't sleep well at nap time then he wakes at night.

Also make sure everything during the night is the same as when he goes to sleep. Some babies respond well to having white noise or music on all night. If bub goes to sleep with a light on make sure it's still on when they wake etc.

You can also just use other methods of getting bub back to sleep instead of feeding. Some mums find it helpful to sit next to the cot and pat bub and then slowly work their way out of the room.

And perhaps wait a few mths before weaning him completely. If you can BF until 12mths it means you can wean without having to wean to a bottle which save time and money. Also weaning an older child can be easier because you have other foods you can offer plus the health benefits for you and bub are enormous.

Hope this helps

He could be going through a growth spurt. If so, I would wait until he is over this to wean.

Hi,

Your son could be waking up because he knows that he is going to get a feed. If he is getting 3 meals a day and breast. You could try and give him water if he wakes up. It will be hard the first few nights because he is going to expect the breast.

Just keep trying with the bottle and only offer breast if you know that you are not going to be able to calm him down. You can give him a bottle of formula at night, I know with my daughter it made her sleep longer because formula is heavier.

Hope this all helps xoxo