Night Awakenings From Feeding Until Asleep (Trained Night Feeder) PDF

N IGH T A WAKENINGS FROM FEEDING UNTIL ASLEEP ( TRAINED NIGHT FEEDER I D E FIN ITION protest any change and may cry for hours. However,. Your child is over 4 monrhs old an...

N IGH T A WAKENINGS FROM FEEDING UNTIL ASLEEP ( TRAINED NIGHT FEEDER I D E FIN ITION protest any change and may cry for hours. However,. Your child is over 4 monrhs old and wakes up and if you don't take these steps, your child won't start cries one or more times at night to be fed. sleeping through the night until 3 or 4 years of age, o Your child wakes up to be fed most nights. when busy daltime schedules finally exhaust your o Your child is bottle-fed or breast-fed until asleep. child. r Your child has awakened to be fed at night since birth. HE L P I NGA T RA I NE DNI G HTF E E DE R o The child's parenrs are tired, but the child is not. 1. Gradually lengthen the tirne between daytime Note.' From birth to the age of 2 months, most feedings to 3 or 4 hours. you can'r lengthen babies awaken twice each night for feedings. Between the time between nighttime feedings if the time the ages of 2 and 3 months, most babi€s need one between daltime feedings is short. If a baby is used feeding in the middle of the night. By 4 months of to frequent feedings during the day, she will get age, most bottle-fed babies sleep more than 7 hours hungry during the night. Grazing often happens to without feeding. Most breast-fed babies can sleep mothers who don't separateholding from nursing. through by 5 months of age. Normal children of this For every time you nurse your baby, there should age do not need calories during the night to stay be four or five times that you snuggle your baby healthy. uitbout nursing. Gradually postpone daltime feeding times until Causes they are more normal for your baby's age. If you currently feed your baby hourly, increase the time l. Nursing or bottle-feeding the baby until between feedings to 11/zhours. When your baby asleep. If the last memory before sleep is sucking accepts the new schedule, go to 2 hours between the breast or bottle, the bottle or breast becomes feedings. When your baby cries, cuddle her or give the baby's security obiect. The child cloesnot learn her a pacifier. Your goal for a formula-fed baby is to comfort herself and fall asleep without the breast to give her four bottles a day by 4 months of age. or bottle. Therefore, when the child normally Breast-fed babies often need live feedings each day wakes up at night, she has the habit of not being until they are 6 months old, when solid foods are able to go back to sleep without feeding. Being added to their diet. If your child is over 6 monrhs brought to rhe parents' bed for a feeding makes the old, also introduce cup feedings. problem far worse 2. At naps and bedtirne, place your baby in tJle 2. Leaving a bottle in the bed. periodically during crib drowsy but awake. When your baby starts the night the child sucks on a bottle. When ir to act sleepy, place her in the crib. If your baby is becomes empry the child awakens fully and cries very fussy, rock her until she settles down or is for a refill. Bottles in bed, unless they contain only almost asleep, but stop before she's fully asleep. If water, also can lead to severe tooth decay. your baby falls asleep at the breast or bottle, it is 3. Feeding ofiten during the day. Some mothers best to wake her up. To help your baby not think misinterpret "demand feedings" to mean that they of feeding at bedtime, consider feeding her t hour should feed the baby every time she cries. This before bedtime or before a nap. your baby,s last misunderstanding can lead to feeding the baby ev_ waking memory needs to be of the crib and mat- ery 30 to 60 minutes. The baby becomes used to tress, not of the breast or bottle. She needs to learn being fed small amounts often instead of waiting at to put herself to sleep. Your baby needs to develop least 2 hours between feedings following birth and this skill so she can put herself to sleep when she at least 4 hours between feedings at the age of 4 wakes up at night. months. A pattern of feeding every hour or so is 3. If your baby is crying at bedtime or naptirne, called "grazing." This problem occurs more often visit your baby briefly every 5 to 15 minutes. in breast-fed babies if nursing is used as a pacifier. Visit your baby before she becomes too upset. you Bottle dependency leads to the bad habit of car- may need to check babies younger than 1 year or rying a bottle around during the day. Also, giving a more sensitive babies every 5 minutes. Gradually child a lot of tiquid at night means your chilcl will Iengthen the time between your visits. Make your wake up more often because her cliapcrs are visits brief and boring but supportive. Don,t stay in soaked. the room longer than 1 minute. Don,t turn on the lights. Act sleepy. rWhispeq "Shhh, everyone s Expected Outcome sleeping." Do not remove your child from the crib. Do not feed, rock, or play with your baby, or bring If you try the following recommendations, your her to your bed. This brief contact will not reward child's behavior will probably improve in 2 weeks. your baby enough for her to want to continue the The older your child is, the harder it will be to change behavior your child's habits. Children over 1 year old will flght 4. For crying during the middle of the oight, sleep even when they are tired. They will vigorouily temporarily hold your baby until asleep. Until Instmctlons jfor pedlatr-lc petlents, 2nd Edltion, 01999 by \LB Saundere wfitten by Barton D. schmitt, MD, pediatrician and author of Your ctritcl's Healtll, Company. r53 Ban:tm Books, a book for pafents. N IG HT A W A K E N IN GS F R O M F EE D IN G U N TIL A S LE E P (TRA | NE D NI G H T F E ED ER ) C o trti ttu e d vorlr child learns how to pl-lt herself to sleep at to three nights. After 1 to 2 weeks, your baby will naps and bedtime, make the middle-of-the-night no longer crave food at night and should be able to awakenings as easy as possible. If she doesn't fuss go back to sleep without holding or rocking. ftrr more than 5 or 10 minutes, respond as you do 8. Other helpfut hints for sleep problems. at bedtime. Otherwise, take yotlr crying chilcl ottt. Move the crib to another roorn. If the crib is of the crib ancl holcl her Llntil she falls asleep. in your bedroom, move it to a separate room. If However, clon't turn on the lights or take her otlt this is impossible, cover one of the side rails with of the room. Try not to talk to her verl' mr-lch. a blanket so yollr baby can't s€e yotl when she Often this goes better if Dad goes in. wakes up. After the last feeding of the day at 9 to 10 prl,. Avoid long naps during the day- If your babv feed vour babv only once during the night. Provide has napped for more than 2 hours, wake her up' this nighttime feeding only if 4 or more hours have If she has the habit of taking three naps during passedsince the last feeding. Make this nighttime the day, try to change the habit to two naps f'eeding boring and brief (no longer than 2('' each day. minutes). Stop it befbre your chilcl falls asleep, and r Don't change wet diapers during the night. replace it with holding onlY. Change the diaper only if it is soiled or you are Stop giving your baby any bottle in bed. If yott treating a bad diaper rash. If you must change f-eedvour child at bedtime, don't let her hold the your child's diaper, Lrseas little light as possible bottle. Also feed vour child in a different room (e.g., a flashlight), do it quickly, and don't provide than the bedroom. Try to separate mealtime and rny entertal nmenl. becltime.If your baby needs to slrck on something r If your child is standing up in the crib at to help her go to sleep, offer a pacifler or help irer bedtime, you can leave her in that position' find l.rerthumb. r Try to get your child to settle down and lie Help your child attach to a security obiect. A down. If she refuses or pulls herself back ttp, securiw (transitional)obiect is s