Early weaning.

There’s actually no evidence that weaning stops night waking, regardless of the age. If anything it could do the opposite as it’s something heavier and unusual in their stomachs and can cause more discomfort. Could it be a growth spurt? I know it’s really hard but hopefully it’s just a phase.

I’m so sorry mama! I know how difficult this is. We weaned our baby at 5m so absolutely no judgement here! The only thing I’d say is the food they have when starting to wean doesn’t actually fill them coz they’re mostly tasting and learning how to eat and you don’t wanna offer too much as it’d cause upset tummy. Do you think she’s going through a growth spurt? Has she slept well before this? If you do decide to start definitely take it easy with like half a teaspoon the first day and slowly build up every few days. Sending hugs x

Like other comment says, weaning them won't make them sleep. It could end up doing more harm then good there tummies aren't mature enough to handle food until 6 months and when u start weaning it also makes them constipated for a bit until there tummies get use to it so could actually make it worse for you right now. Unless medically advised its recommended to not wean before 6 months it can give them more issues in the long run. And they also need to meet developmental criteria before it's even safe to feed them eg sitting up independently otherwise it's so easy for them to choke. This won't be forever and as much as it sucks there isn't an easy solution that will make all this stop, I'm sorry ur going through this x

I'm sorry, but there is no reason to put your baby's health at risk. You only have a few more weeks & then you can wean her anyway.

We started at 5.5m, however not with the intention to stop night feeds, just as LO showed a genuine interest and we needed to up her weight after being on 0.4th centile. HVs disagreed with this but it helped her jump two centiles. She’s a little piggy and loves her food but despite that she still has 2 wakes on average most nights up until very recently at 10m where she’s down to 1 most nights now. Also EBF and refused bottles up until a month ago, so I know how you must feel with tiredness being the only one who can help with feeds. I know my LO actually wakes for comfort more than hunger tbh, but it blurs with BF. Every baby is different but early weaning might not give the outcome you’re after as it doesn’t necessarily correlate to night wakes unfortunately… It’s tough, really tough. But everything is just a season that passes, you’re doing a great job x

Yes, I did, I told you not to do it yet. That is advice. Everyone else said the same thing. Before 6 months is bad for their health. Their health comes before yours.

Thank you all. It’s helpful to have advice and comments from people with experience with weaning already. I wasn’t sure whether it would help the night times but from reading the comments it’s best I don’t cause I won’t have any benefit from doing so early. I guess I’ll just have to power through and just try and survive the days for now 😴

Just a thought but is she actually waking hungry? We got in the habit of waking and going straight on the boob because it was the most effective way to get him back to sleep but a lot of the time it became mostly for comfort. Does your little one use a dummy? Could help to provide some comfort without her needing to be on the boob every time and give you a slight break

Weaning won't necessarily help sleep. Wait to wean until all signs of readiness are present. Age is just 1 piece of the puzzle. MOST babies aren't fully ready until about 6 months. Solidstarts.com (and Instagram) is a great resource for weaning. This reel shows what readiness looks like: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CctYihwFmAP/?igsh=d2s0bDNmc3Y1ZTI=

Aww I’m so sorry. I remember that time at 5 months I was going though it just like you describe. If you feel she ready to start taking some food it’s about that time anyway.. i was surprised when my son just had a bit lol I don’t know why I was expecting him to just start wolfing down meals but I did! It took him some time. It gets easy and tough at times. I suggest having a little break from baby even if you’re in the same house couple hours peace if you can. It’s something. Hang in there. When my son was 2 years old. I cut him off the milk at night. I was blessed he fussed for 1 whole night we dident sleep. i didn’t give in and we were done with milk at night.

We started purées at 4 months despite everyone on this app with their pitchforks out about it but we never reduced his milk intake. He still breastfeeds every 1-2 hours for about 15-20 minutes at a time but he’s been login it

Just here to say, this will not last forever. Try to see the good even in the hard moments. They will not be this little and dependent again.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed shorter feeds more frequently but that’s about the time my son became very easily distracted so his feeds would be like that and I found him waking and eating more at night. I have to go into a quiet distraction free environment to feed, even my husbands voice distracts my son! Also I saw someone else comment that the waking might not be hunger related which is true. They might be using it to soothe themselves and I too take that route often because I feel like it’s easiest. My LO is 6 months and I feel like I should start teaching him to self soothe because feeding throughout the night is hard😂 That being said I understand your frustration but personally I think the benefits of breastfeeding are too important to stop but only you know what you can handle

Mix formula with breast milk if you want. It’s a good way to slowly get her off the boob and used to the taste of the formula . Idk my pediatrician suggested it because i was overly exhausted too. He’s formula and breastfed and he’s doing great! It’s difficult at first but the little ones are gonna be ok. You got this momma.

Are you waking up everytime to feed her then put her back in her cot? If so have u considered safe co sleeping? There are a lot of resources out there. Look up happycosleeper on instagram. Make sure u know how to do it safely first. But once u do, that should help. You wont be getting up all night and trying to get her down. She will drink all she needs while u are sleeping next to her. You might wake when you feel her drinking but thats literally it. Ur still warm in bed, sleepy or sleeping, no disturbance, baby will drink in their sleep too so no putting back to sleep.... you will feel less tired and more rested. Just an option incase this is the situation. Good luck x

They may be going through a growth spert. My daughter grew a lot suddenly around 5 months

I am in the same situation sleepwise and am so exhausted. I haven’t slept longer than four hours in a row since mid august and now baby is waking up every 2 hours for a feed at night. And it’s definitely for a feed not comfort as he’s drinking. We are no where near weaning though - he can’t hold his head fully yet and has shown no interest in food so it’s not an option for us. I have seen on here though other people have started weaning before six months but think it depends on how they hold themselves etc. Some say it makes no difference to sleep but like you I believe if he was fuller for longer I’d get longer sleep stints. That said though friends have had difficulties with weaning with constipation and not sleeping etc. He’s also refused the bottle for the last month so I can’t share the feed or do one formula feed at night either. It’s taking it’s toll on my relationship too as I am snappy and my partner says “you’re in another mood”. No. I’m exhausted 😬 Solidarity with you x

@Rachel you might not mean to sound it but I think less judging and more kindness is needed here - perhaps you’re very fortunate to not have experienced any sleep or feeding difficulties and if so maybe sharing how you did that would be more useful!