When is the best time to wean your baby from night feeding?

Question 1: My baby girl is one year and three months old. She is fed a mixture of breast milk and milk powder. Her weight is only 17 and a half pounds. She is now taking vitamin AD. She still eats normally, but she eats less. I wake up almost every 3 hours at night. Every time I wake up, I cry. I cry all the time when I am not allowed to feed. I go to sleep after feeding and peeing… I want to ask, why does the baby wake up frequently every night? What should I do if I need to stop breastfeeding at night? Dr. Xu Lijuan’s answer: Excluding factors such as being hot, cold, or having urination, the baby’s frequent waking may be related to night feeding. The baby\’s underweight may be related to eating less food, because after the baby is 1 year old, milk can gradually withdraw from the \”dominant position\” of the staple food, and it is time to \”make way\” for normal meals. Otherwise, breast milk and milk powder alone cannot meet the nutritional needs of the baby. As for \”quitting night feeding\”, you can try the following methods: 1. Adjust the feeding time. Try to postpone the baby\’s night feeding time to 3 to 4 a.m., and arrange a feeding at 11 p.m. This method should be carried out gradually, each time It is advisable to delay for half an hour. After the baby is able to feed at 4 to 5 a.m., the milk at 11 a.m. in the first half of the night will be gradually moved up to around 10 o\’clock in the middle of the night. In this way, you can gradually break the baby\’s habit of feeding at night. 2. I would rather squeeze it out than feed it. Many mothers will be reluctant to breastfeed their babies when they hear their babies moaning and wailing at night. In fact, this is a taboo for night weaning. The mother should have the attitude of saying she would rather squeeze it out than to be soft-hearted. If she is really reluctant, she can squeeze it out and save it for the next day. If you feed the baby again after being silent for a long time, it actually strengthens the baby\’s behavior of taking night feeds, and then the baby will not be able to stop having night feeds. 3. Complementary food before going to bed will stop hunger. There is no need to add complementary food that can satiate one hour before going to bed. For example, eating rice noodles can help reduce the baby\’s hunger during sleep. In addition, the interval between feedings during the day can be appropriately extended, and the amount of milk powder can be increased according to the baby\’s personal situation, so as to increase the amount of milk and extend the interval between feedings. Question 2: My baby is about six months old. He caught a cold recently. For three days in a row, he had yellow and very thin stools. He pooped once a day, but he pooped a lot at one time and was a little snoozy. Other than that, he had no other abnormal symptoms. Now, do I need to see a doctor? Dr. Wang Yanli’s answer: Frequent bowel movements can lead to dehydration. It is recommended that children take Smecta and rehydration salts and apply hot compresses to their stomachs for 30 minutes each time, three times a day. Question 3: Hello, doctor, my baby is more than 6 months old. The fontanelle is about 5cm wide on the left and right, 6cm long from front to back, and slightly bulging upward. Is this normal? Do I need to go to the hospital for further examination? Dr. Cui Lixia answered: If the child has a normal head circumference, no hydrocephalus, and normal development, then the problem is not big and it is recommended to continue observation.