When is the best time to wean your baby from night feeding? It’s not all because you are raising your baby wrong…

Parents often think that the simplest and crudest way to cure a baby when it wakes up, makes trouble, or cries is to feed the baby. Over time, the problem develops that the baby is used to sleeping on the milk and has trouble weaning off the night milk. However, what seems to be a good way to \”cure\” the baby temporarily, actually lays hidden dangers for the baby\’s health. For example: babies with dental caries who sleep on milk for a long time or take night milk, especially those whose teeth have erupted, are prone to dental caries. Because many babies fall asleep after feeding, and parents do not have the habit of cleaning their babies\’ mouths after feeding, which causes bacteria to multiply and residual milk stains to stay in the mouth, causing the baby\’s teeth to gradually corrode, leading to dental caries. This is not only detrimental to the health of the baby\’s oral cavity, but also affects the baby\’s chewing, and even affects the development of permanent teeth, because damage and premature loss of deciduous teeth will cause overuse of the tooth roots, and the permanent teeth that grow on this basis will not be able to grow. Will be strong. Overfeeding Babies who frequently nurse to sleep or take night feeds are prone to overfeeding, because babies who cry are not always hungry. At night, when both the baby and the mother are asleep, it is even more difficult to control. Allowing the baby to eat non-stop will cause the baby to gain weight rapidly and cause obesity. You must know that obesity is not only a problem of weight, but also affects the baby\’s digestion and absorption, causes premature brain aging, and leads to mental retardation. It also increases the risk of other non-communicable diseases in the future, such as hypertension, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, etc. Of course, this is not only the baby\’s bad habit, but also the result of the parents\’ accommodation. Because whenever the baby cries, wakes up, or makes a fuss, the mother will not consciously feed the baby. As time goes by, the baby will naturally think that the baby cries, makes a fuss, or wakes up and then breastfeeds. Many times it is not that the baby is difficult to take care of, but that the parents do not know the correct way to take care of the baby. So, how can parents help their babies get rid of the bad habits of sleeping with breast milk and frequent night feeding? 1. Establish new soothing methods. The three most commonly used methods by parents are: breastfeeding, holding, and rocking, and these three methods are precisely the most tiring. Therefore, if you want to quit breastfeeding, you must first establish a new soothing method. For example: gently stroke the baby\’s back, touch the baby\’s little head, or hold the baby\’s little hand. Let your baby lie next to you and listen to your breathing and heartbeat. This will make your baby feel safe. As well as gently humming a lullaby and telling a short story are all good ways to soothe. 2. Cultivate the process of falling asleep. When the baby sees the bottle and picks up the small bowl, he will know that it is time to eat. This is a conditioned reflex. Therefore, parents should also cultivate the baby\’s sleep reflex, such as: closing the curtains, turning off the lights, lying on the bed, closing eyes, etc… to help the baby form a pattern, then when these \”signals\” for falling asleep appear, the baby\’s body will produce Corresponding reflex, tell him/her \”I\’m going to sleep!\” 3. Grasp the timing of falling asleep. When the baby just shows signs of being \”drowsy\”, such as: eyes dull, movement slowed down, suddenly quiet, no longer interested in the surrounding things. Interest and body softening are the best times to put you to sleep. At this time, using primary comfort methods can also achieve good results. But when the baby starts to yawn, wants to drink milk, and \”just wants mother\”, there are many cases.Getting up means that the baby is too sleepy. At this time, the baby not only has emotional problems, but his senses and body have reached a very tired level. It is difficult to help the baby relax and sleep, so it is important to grasp the time to fall asleep! 4. Wean off night milk. Generally speaking, babies can skip the night milk from 4 months old, that is, after feeding at 10 o\’clock in the evening, they sleep until 6 o\’clock in the morning the next day. Otherwise, it will not be helpful for children to develop good work and rest and eating habits. There is absolutely no need for parents to wake their children up to feed them. When a baby sleeps, his metabolism is slow, his consumption is low, and his growth hormone is relatively strong, which is very beneficial to his growth. There is no need to disturb the child\’s normal sleep just because he is worried about being hungry. From a physiological point of view, babies over 6 months old already have the appropriate conditions for night weaning, so after the baby is 6 months old, the mother can start weaning at night. However, if the baby is 6 months old and still wakes up on his own at night to ask for milk, parents need to make some judgments at this time to determine whether the baby is hungry or a habit. At the same time, parents need to take some measures to help their babies get rid of the habit of feeding at night and extend their sleep time at night. As for how to wean off night feeding? Parents can adjust the time for feeding their baby, half an hour earlier or later each time. For example: gradually delay the feeding from 3-4 am to 4-5 am. Then gradually advance the milk supply at 11 o\’clock in the evening to about 10 o\’clock in the evening, and so on. If the baby wakes up at night and is troublesome, you can give the baby some water instead of breastfeeding directly. Don’t worry, your baby won’t be hungry this way, as long as he eats well and is full during the day! Many parents complain that it is difficult for babies to stop breastfeeding at night and that babies are greedy for breast milk… In fact, when the baby grows up and has developed its ability to sleep and soothe, parents should start to guide the baby to change these bad habits, instead of Complaining and conniving at the same time.