Today, I want to talk about a topic that all mothers have been waiting for for a long time-[night milk].
Many babies want to drink milk after waking up at night, Some mothers are used to it or are too lazy to find a way to solve it. Even self-righteous fully meet the needs of children, direct feeding. But in fact, whether breast-feeding or milk powder feeding, it will definitely affect the mother’s sleep. If she doesn’t sleep well at night, she will be listless the next day, especially the mother who starts to work at the end of maternity leave, which will seriously affect her work efficiency.
Therefore, many novice mothers want to know:
[Only when the baby is in what can he sleep all night without feeding night milk? ]
Sleep till dawn? Actually, it’s only five hours
Every novice mother is looking forward to the day when the baby will be able to [sleep until dawn], but in fact, the baby’s sleep is very different from that of adults, the cycle is very short, it is easy to wake up, and it is difficult to fall asleep again when it wakes up.
Therefore, it is generally said that the baby’s [sleep until dawn] refers to sleeping for 5 hours in a row, not 8 hours.
Because each baby’s work and rest situation is different, so night milk also has no strict definition. Generally speaking, it refers to the milk from the last meal of milk that the baby drinks when he wakes up before sleep to 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning, and the milk that he wakes up in the middle is collectively referred to as night milk.
Some babies will wake up at 4 or 5 o’clock to have a drink and then go back to sleep. This is [morning milk], not [night milk].
Baby, why do you wake up at night and drink milk?
Apart from the influence of environmental factors such as wet diapers, too cold and too hot, the reasons why babies wake up at night and want to drink milk may include:
STEP 1 Hungry
If the amount of milk you drink at night is basically the same as that during the day, then your baby is hungry. How can you fall asleep when hungry?
Step 2: Ask for comfort
If you take two sips at a time and drink a small amount, it means that you are only [seeking comfort] and can fall asleep after drinking.
This may be related to some mothers often give their babies [milk sleep] (referring to drinking milk to sleep). As long as the baby wakes up at night, even if he is not hungry, he will immediately give him milk, which makes him get into the habit. Of course, there are also babies who wake up frequently because they cannot see their mother during the day and want to be close to her at night.
If the baby needs more comforting milk, the mother can pat the baby at night to reassure him, or other family members can coax the baby, especially for the mother who has already gone to work, which will be much easier. In this case, you can consider abstaining from night milk!
Why do you want to wean the night milk?
At the end of the day, it is only the baby and the mother who are directly affected by night milk.
1. Affect baby’s sleep
Adequate sleep is very important for the growth of the baby. The younger the child, the more sleep he needs. Newborns have no difference between day and night. They can sleep 16-20 hours a day, after which the sleep time will gradually shorten. After the age of 1, sleep 13-14 hours a day and 11 hours at night.
If you wake up frequently at night, it is likely to lead to insufficient sleep for your baby, affect the development of brain and nervous system, and affect your baby’s mental state, appetite, mood, etc.
2. Affect Mother’s Sleep
Babies frequently wake up at night is bound to affect the mother’s sleep quality. Mothers who are awakened 3-4 times at night usually feel exhausted if they have to go to work the next day. At this time, mothers may have some negative thoughts on their emotions. If they are still breast-feeding mothers, lack of sleep may also affect breast-feeding production, further aggravating anxiety.
3. Increased risk of dental caries
For infants, Breast milk or formula milk is an important source of nutrition, However, frequent night milk may increase the risk of dental caries. In particular, bottle feeding formula milk may cause [bottle caries]. Although there is no evidence that breast milk directly causes dental caries in young children, it does not mean that breast-fed children will not have dental caries. Therefore, frequent night milk after the age of 1 is not encouraged.
4. For better breast milk
Weaning at night does not mean weaning. Weaning at night is for better breast milk. If the mother can have a good rest at night, the parent-child relationship can be more harmonious, and it is easier to prolong breast-feeding time.
When what weaned night milk?
At present, there is no unified answer to this question.
The view of the American Academy of Pediatrics is:
The 3-month-old baby gradually began to have the ability to [sleep for a long time] at night. After 6 months, most babies have added supplementary foods and can eat various semi-liquid or solid foods, which are much fuller than drinking milk alone. On the other hand, after 6 months can start to cultivate the baby’s sleep habits, let him learn to sleep, is conducive to the baby to establish a good eating and sleep rules. So this time can try to start weaning night milk. About 10 months, the baby should completely quit the habit of night milk.
How does the night milk break?
It is not so much [weaning at night] as [cultivating good sleep habits]. I think the following methods can be tried by ordinary mothers:
1. Gradually reduce the number of night milk
Increase the amount of milk during the day, reduce the number and amount of milk at night, from 3 to 2 to 1, and finally quit, and at the same time quit the habit of milk sleep.
It is also possible to introduce other comforting methods, such as plush toys, blankets, pacifiers, etc. as empathy objects, so that the baby can slowly quit [Midnight Food Store].
Step 2 Fill your stomach before going to bed
Delay the feeding time at night appropriately, eat a little more at the last meal, ensure that it contains some solid or semi-solid food, plus a certain amount of breast milk, so that the baby will not wake up hungry in the middle of the night. However, it is not possible to blindly cram ducks and feed them too much to avoid aggravating the burden on the intestinal tract.
3. Establish a fixed [bedtime ceremony]
Take a hot bath, change into pajamas, tell a story, sing bedtime songs and so on to help your child relax and prepare for bed. Be sure to start these activities before your child is overworked. After a period of time, the child will associate these activities with sleep and fall asleep in a relaxed and comfortable way.
Step 4 Avoid excessive fatigue
Let the baby play heartily during the day, but as a mother, she should carefully observe the performance of the baby, such as rubbing her eyes, yawning, grasping her ears, and signs of poor mental state. She should arrange to fall asleep as soon as possible. Avoid missing the best time to fall asleep, leading to excessive fatigue, aggravating sleep anxiety and sleep instability.
Step 5 Give him a chance to fall asleep by himself
Don’t think he’s a newborn baby, just give him a chance to try to fall asleep by himself. When the baby isn’t fully asleep, put him in his own crib, say good night and leave. The advantage of learning to fall asleep by himself is that if the baby wakes up in the middle of the night, he can eventually go to sleep by himself.
6. Wake up at 1: 00? Beat and then sleep
If the baby is still [awake] in the process of trying to wean the night milk, The mother should pay attention to the signs that the baby is about to wake up in time, and pat him quickly to help him smoothly transition from one sleep cycle to the next. However, you should know that this time may be much longer than you expected, maybe 5 minutes, 10 minutes, even 20 minutes or more…
7. Allow occasional repetitions
Weaning milk at night is not a once-and-for-all thing. Babies will encounter various situations during their growth, such as tusks, illness, tired playing during the day, etc., which may need your comfort. At this time, we should respect the needs of our children and never refuse them thousands of miles away.
Don’t expect to succeed immediately.
Mothers all hope that their babies can sleep until dawn, but no matter what method, it must be determined according to the specific situation of their babies. There is no need to compare everything with the babies of the next door.
If the baby suddenly cries at night, besides hunger, there may also be colic or even incarcerated hernia, which requires the mother to distinguish carefully and seek help from a doctor when necessary. Generally speaking, it is impossible to generalize and stop night milk overnight.
Every baby is a different individual, and there is no uniform standard as to when you must start to sleep. If your baby can already sleep, then be glad that you have a baby who loves to sleep. If not, why not laugh and enjoy the hardships of being a parent? After all, the baby’s time as a baby is actually very short. Only when he grows up overnight and no longer needs us to take care of him day and night will he find out how wonderful it is for him to be so attached to you at this moment!
Growth is a separation that drifts away.
Come on, moms!