As the title say, I'm attempting to wean my 14 month of son from breastfeeding over a 7 hour block at night. Reading that back to myself, I sound terribly pessimistic & lacking in confidence. That would probably be from the fact my son is just like his father: if he could never take his face out of a set of boobs, he'd be one happy kid.
But the fault isn't entirely Jack's. I have my own part to play. I find night feeding exhausting, but convenient. I was never able to learn any other ways of settling my baby, and if I'm honest, I never wanted to. Breast feeding a baby to sleep is so natural and so right on even a hormonal level (breastfeeding releases 'sleepy' hormones into the baby), but more so on a nurturing level. But at some stage, it wears a little thin on a modern woman.
So, why night wean at all? Firstly, I'm exhausted. Jack wakes about every 1-2 hours at this stage. He hasn't always been like this. He used to be quite a good sleeper, waking only two to three times. And for 5 exceptional nights in November 2010, he slept all night. Not the 5 hour stint 'sleep through' definition they use in sleep studies (more on that later!), but the full monty. The details are hazy now, but it was at least 9 hours. Five nights. That's all I got. Since then, it has been getting progressively worse. So yeah, I'm a bit bloody tired.
The second reason is that we're hoping to start IVF again for baby v2.0. But I need to have Jack weaned, 100% for around a month. Actually, not even that long. Basically, wean, then start on the next cycle. But I think I can get away with 2 feeds a day. I think the milk will start to taste a bit funny when I start hormone treatment. I'd hate for Jack to grow boobs again. I say again, because when he was about 6 days old, I felt a bit of a boob on him. It's fairly common for the all hormones in early breastfeeding to transfer to the newborn & for them (boy or girl) to grow a small boob or two. Needless to say, I FREAKED. But Dr Google set me straight, for a change.
So IVF needs total weaning. I'm starting with nights because they seem the most superfluous. I suspect his frequent snacking at night may be a contributing factor to him scarcely eating solids. He's lucky to eat half a cup of food, some days - and that's only if I break bits off what I'm eating & feed him like a bird (okay... not quite like a bird. I don't vomit pre-chewed & swallowed food into his mouth). So, here's hoping, if I can sort out nights, he might eat more in the day, & then want to naturally wean. Maybe. Crossing fingers.
I've read through a whole bunch of advice on weaning. Rule 1) no cold turkey. Well, duh. Can you say, 'mastitis'? Not to mention a whole 14 month relationship of love & trust gone down the gurgler. Rule 2) offer water or solids before breast. LOL. You clearly haven't met my baby. He'll sip water into his mouth, then open his mouth & let it all run onto the floor to play with later. And solids... well, it's any one's guess as to what he wants to eat this week. For a while, yogurt was his staple food. And another time, it was cheese. This week: NFI. I've never seen anyone less interested in food. He'll always have a go at spaghetti, but I don't want to wear out it's novelty by serving it every meal. I'm sure there was a whole bunch of other rules... they all blend into the background. So if day weaning is a mystery - how are you going to do it at night?!
Enter Dr Jay Gordon. An American pediatrician that doesn't think Tizzy Hall is pin-up girl (yuck - I just retched on that & I wrote it). He's written an interesting article on changing sleep patterns in co-sleeping, breastfed babies. How refreshing! Not only that, but it actually makes an ounce of sense, and is seemingly achievable. Here's the page: Sleep, Changing Patterns In The Family Bed.
To fit my husband's roster of 4 days, 4 nights, 4 off, I adjusted the schedule he's offered. Tonight is night 4 of the first stage. How is it going? Well, Jack seems to be sleeping slightly better. He usually does 2hr stints until I bring him back to my bed. Then the milkbar opens, in his mind. I have been managing to put him back awake-ish (except last night, where I fell asleep for an unknown interval). But what does that mean anyway??? Awake. Eyes open? Nope. Moderately awake of himself? Possibly. Cries & protests for a short time before giving up & going back to sleep? Sometimes. Rolls over himself & snuggles back into me? yes. But is that what Dr Jay means by 'awake'? Did I skim over the definition somewhere in desperation to get the actual instructions on how to get a 3 hour sleep for the first time in a long long time? Please leave a comment if you know the actual answer, or something close to it.
mins up to an hour. I think Jack, unless he's choosing to surprise me, will be closer to, or further, than 1 hour. Coincidentally, my husband's boss has asked him to change crews... starting tomorrow night. He's doing 4 extra night shifts. I'm weaning Jack. Alone. Hmm... I can see who has the rough end of the stick here.
The third part of the weaning is so far away, I can't even see it. I read it, but I'm to tired to recall it, and it's so far off into the sunset, I'm not re-reading it now.
So... Night weaning... it continues. Wish me luck!
Oh, and I started a new blog. Ambitious, I know. Two blogs on the go. But as long as the TV keeps providing such value-adding baby-sitting, I will persist.
House Of Nom Food Blog
No comments:
Post a Comment