Monday, June 2, 2014

Toddler Milestone: No More Nighttime Feeding

 I am a mom who believes on letting children take their own pace in learning and developing. 

When Neo was almost a year, everyone was telling us (Leo and me) that Neo should be walking already.  I would always answer “let Neo learn in his own pace, after all, if he learned to walk, you won’t be the one who’ll get tired of running after him”.  He learned to walk when he reached one year old.

When Neo was a year and a half, everyone was telling us that Neo should be talking already.  I would answer in the same manner “let Neo learn in his own pace, after all, if he learned to talk, you won’t be the one who’ll get tired of listening to his endless chatter”.  He is starting to converse at age two.

Now, at the age of 2 years old, Neo still drinks milk at night time.  Following my philosophy, I should be saying “let Neo wean at his own pace, after all, we will surely miss preparing milk when we weans”.  But that is not the case.  At age two years and four months, Neo weighs 20 kilos.  He is borderline overweight and obese.  We should be doing something.


So after 2 weeks, I am proud to say that Neo is no longer drinking milk during night time.  He sleeps soundly from night to day.

How did we do it?

·      Establish rules – these rules are for Ate Espie, Leo, and me.  No one will give Neo the milk during nighttime.  We have to control our pity when Neo cries during the night for his milk bottle.

·         No starving before bedtime – normally, we allow Neo to drink milk during the time he wants.  We don’t force him to eat dinner because he doesn’t like the food.  But now, we let him join us at dinner table a so he can eat dinner too.  This way he won’t be hungry at night.

·         Let Neo on the game – establishing rules for Neo is a must too.  We have to explain to him that he will no longer drink milk at night because there is no milk prepared for him. 

·   Praise for a job well done – we always ensure that Neo gets all the appreciation he deserve for any job he has done well, this is no exception. 

How about you?  Can you share some tips on helping your child have a good night sleep through stopping night feeding?

8 comments:

  1. Ang cute naman talaga ni Neo. Ang lusog lusog. Hehe. Pero as you said, if it's too much, we have to do something. Those rules are really helpful. I'll take that in mind kasi I wanted James to follow certain rules din when he grows old. =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. there are limits talaga. I think establishing rules while they are young helps them din when they grow old.

      Delete
  2. Every child meets their milestones at the time when they're really ready. I think you did a good job for waiting for his own time because every child is different when it comes to this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks, Gladys. It's true. They have their own time at learning. no pressure.

      Delete
  3. Wow congrats Neo! I'm having trouble weaning Gwen... she's still doesn't sleep throughout the night.

    High-five to you and the team :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I couldn't have found your post at a better time! My Ethan turned one last month and I'm worried that he might be consuming to much milk and he especially wants it at bed time. His pedia said he should only be drinking a few bottles a day, but with Ethan even when I feed him three times a day he still looks for milk all the time. I guess it will take a while before we can reduce his intake then eventually wean him from milk, that means more sleepless nights for me! Thanks for posting this, you helped me put things into perspective.

    PS. Neo is so cute! :)

    Nicole
    http://thecluelessmomph.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh, if Ethan is just turning one, let him consume as much milk as he wants. siguro, when he turns two, that's the time to slow down his milk intake na lang. thanks for dropping by Clueless Mom :)

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...