A parent asks, “My baby is already 9 months old, but he still keeps taking milk at night, is this really good? How can I help him to stop breastfeeding at night?” I have experienced countless nights of getting up to breastfeed, especially for mothers who are still working during breastfeeding period, they can’t sleep well at night and have to work during the day. Giving up night feedings seems to be only a “dream”. Some mothers are so determined to give up night feedings that they often fail when their babies cry. Why should I give up nighttime milk? As a mother, you have to give your baby everything that is good for him or her, even if you are tired. This is the case with quitting night milk. Some parents feel that their babies are growing up, so they don’t let them have enough to eat, even if they are tired, they are willing to let them eat. In fact, when the baby reaches a certain age, most of the nighttime milk is for comfort, not for real hunger. At this time, if you insist on giving your baby night milk, it may also affect your baby’s health. It affects the baby’s sleep. Nighttime is a period of high growth hormone secretion, so a good night’s sleep will help your baby’s growth needs. Increase the baby’s gastrointestinal burden. The digestive function is weakened in the evening, plus the baby’s digestive system is not very mature, so drinking night milk many times will easily increase the burden on the stomach and intestines. Increase the risk of tooth decay. Parents need to pay attention to the problem of oral care when baby’s first tooth erupts. Night milk remains in the baby’s mouth, increasing the probability of dental caries. When can I wean my baby from night milk? For babies in infancy, there is no clear rule on when it is best to wean them from night milk, some babies can be weaned from night milk around 4 months old, while some babies are 10 months old and have to eat once a night. If your baby only wants to eat a few bites at a time, is inattentive and stops eating, parents can consider weaning your baby off nighttime milk slowly. How to properly wean your baby from night milk? 1. Eat well before bedtime and add supplemental food reasonably 1-2 hours before bedtime, mom can add a meal for baby, such as breast milk or supplemental food (for babies after 6 months), but each feeding is recommended to feed breast milk first and then supplemental food, which can effectively reduce the number of times baby wakes up at night. Parents can try to change the complementary food to easily satiated food, such as rice flour burnt, egg yolk burnt, etc., so as to prolong the baby’s hunger time and improve the quality of sleep. 2, give enough baby security during the day Many times, babies just want to seek solace and find the security of sleep. In addition to nighttime milk, some babies still touch the breast to fall asleep. In this case, mothers and fathers should increase the time they spend with their babies during the day and communicate more with them. 3, regular work and rest, wake up at night more soothing Reduce the amount of sleep during the day, the baby sleeps more during the day, the night is naturally not sleepy. For example, three naps during the day, changed to two, during which it is recommended to let the child more lying down, large exercise practice, parents more teasing baby, let the baby smile more, and talk to the baby. Not only conducive to the baby’s emotional and cognitive development, the relative can increase the consumption of movement, so that the baby is tired and sleep a little more solidly at night. Even if the baby wakes up at night, parents should be more soothing, you can pat the baby, humming children’s songs. 4, bedtime rituals Want to wake up at night baby soothing useful, must establish bedtime rituals. Before going to bed, mom and dad can work together to give the baby a hot bath, change into pajamas, tell a story, sing bedtime songs, etc. to help the child relax and get ready for bedtime. Be sure to start these activities before your child is overworked. After a period of time, your baby will associate these activities with sleep and fall asleep relaxed and comfortable. Generally babies will sleep for a relatively long time and also indirectly reduce the number of night feedings. 5. Be firm and gradual The basic principle of nighttime weaning is gradual, and an effective weaning method for both baby and mother is natural weaning. The time interval between breastfeeding at night should be extended appropriately, originally 3 hours, gradually become 3.5 hours, and the next day become 4 hours, gradually quit night milk. However, some mothers sleep in separate rooms with their babies at night in order to wean their babies from nighttime milk, which is very unfavorable to the establishment of babies’ psychological security. In the matter of quitting night milk, mothers and fathers should unify their opinions and be firm in their attitude, not because of the baby’s crying and intermittent. The effect will be obvious after a week or so. It’s a long way to go and it won’t happen overnight. In the process of quitting breastfeeding, you can’t avoid your baby crying. You have to insist on your own determination, there is no 100% mild solution.