Advice on How to Stop Night Feedings

Hi J.~

My son is 13 months and was still waking up 2-3 times at night to have a bottle also. His doc told me that I could try giving him a cup of Carnation Instant Breakfast right before bed (in a sippy cup. I heat it up because he doesnt like cold milk) and that night he slept through the night and has not once woke up for a bottle. Its been 2 weeks now and the sleep is great. I hope that if you try this it works for you as well as it did me because those sleepless nights are rough! Good luck

~A.

HI J.,

WELL *FIRST OF ALL THE SLEEPING IN YOUR BED MUST STOP NOW!, *SECOND TRY TO GIVE HER SOMETHING TO EAT BEFORE SHE GOES TO BED OF COURSE NOT NO BIG, LIKE A HALF OF SANDWICH OR OATMEAL, STUFF LIKE THAT SO HER TUMMY WILL BE FULL AND SHE WON'T WAKE UP AT NIGTH, ALSO PLEASE FOR YOUR OWN GOOD A HERS BE CONSISTANT, I KNOW YOU ARE WORKING AND YOU NEED TO SLEEP BUT IF YOU DON'T KEEP UP WITH A ROUTINE YOUR DAUGHTER WILL BE THE ONLY ONE WITH BAD TEETH AND SHE IS GOING TO END UP WITH VERY EXPENSIVE DENTIST TREATMENTS THAT I'M SURE YOU CAN AFFORD.

ANOTHER ADVICE GET HER OUT OFF THE CRIB SHE IS NOW OLD AND BIG ENOUGH TO SLEEP IN A TODDLERS BED, MY SON IS NOW 2 YEARS AND 4 1/2 MONTHS OLD AND HE IS BEEN SLEEPING IN THIS KIND OF BED SINCE HE TURN A YEAR OLD AND THANK GOD WE DID IT BECAUSE HE IS SO COMFORTABLE LIKE THAT AND NEVER WAKES UP AT NIGTH, SO PLEASE DO IT NOW OR YOU'LL REGRET IT LATER.

ABOUT ME: I HAVE 2 KIDS ONE IS LIKE I TOLD YOU 2 YEARS OLD AND MY LITTLE GIRL THAT IS NOW ALMOST 2 MONTHS OLD, I'M A STAY HOME MOM, BUT BELIEVE IT OR NOT I ALSO WORK HERE AND WITH NO PAY(he,he,he) AND J. REALLY STOP SLEEPING WITH HER IN YOUR BED IT IS NOT GOOD FOR HER OR YOU TRUST ME, WELL GOOD LUCK AND TRY THIS ADVICE IF YOU WANT TO OF COURSE AND IF YOU WANT YOUR SLEEP BACK, DOING THIS WON'T GET HER TRAUMATIZED OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT IS ALL FALSE. BYE.

The first thing that I noticed was that you said you put the baby in the bed with you at night. One of the reasons that the baby is waking up is because she no longer thinks that her place is in her own bed. I have an 8 month old girl and a 2 1/2 year old boy and neither of them ever slept in the bed with me. Even when I nursed, I nursed and then they went back to bed. As far as feeding, one of the main reasons that babies wake in the night to eat is because they are hungry. My daughter drinks a 6oz formula bottle mixed with more than 2oz of single grain rice cereal before she goes to bed at 7:15. The rice cereal makes the formula almost like outmeal and she passes out all night long.
If the baby is in your room at night, it is going to make it harder to let her know that things are changing because she knows that if she cries long enough that you will get up. My son did the same thing. Putting him in his own room made it 100% easier. Just a few tips.

I have two little girls who were both bottle fed....Im sorry to say they were bottle fed until the were 2 (but only one at night) they both drank out of sippy cups all day...not problem but at night they wanted there bottles (they are 12 months apart so this happend 12 months apart) With my first I just said...."we are done with the bottle" and took her off them cold turkey. Although she was a litte older than your daughter she did understand. The first few nights were tough but then she got it. She doesnt drink near as much milk...she perfered the nasty tasting formula...so once the bottle was gone....no more formual either. Besides by two they should be on milk. My second daughter was not that easy. She transferred from formula to milk like champ. She downs some 30 oz of milk a day. BUt...she still perfers the bottle (newly 2) sometimes I cave which makes my husband angry...but like you I do what gets me the fastest results. Try a nubbie. Its a brand of sippy cup you can buy anywhere but the tip is soft and mimics a nipple feel. Try to sneak that in on her one night...if that fails I would recommned have a bye bye bottle party with her. And toss them out where she can see them then offer her only water in a sippy cup at night....eventually she will get it. But since you work do it on a Friday so you will have a few days to work on no sleep with out having to go back to your day job.

Good Luck!

Maybe you could try giving her more at dinner time? My son is 15 months and I always make sure he's really full. Then he gets a sippy cup of milk at bedtime and I rock him for a little bit, and he goes to sleep. I agree with Sarah, she needs to be in her own room to sleep. It sounds like you just have to work on breaking habits. It might get worse before it gets better, but you should hang in there. You're helping her as much as you'll be helping yourself.

You may ask your pediatrician for more advice on how to cut these night feedings. But you're right, she doesn't "need" them anymore and you don't want her teeth to rot!! You just need to find what works. Good luck!! Let us know what happens.

Here is a website that our pediatrician uses. I found a section on "nighttime feeders" hope it helps.

http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/pa/pa_nightfd_hhg.htm

~ t

Not exactly the same, but with my older 2, I stopped night nursings around 14-15 months. First I would cut the nursing sessions short, then I'd help them get back to sleep by holding, rocking, patting, soothing any way I could other than nursing. Within a week or so, they stopped waking to nurse.

Maybe you could try less in the bottle each night, which would be similar to how I cut the nursing short. I've also heard some moms dilute the milk/formula with water more and more until they end up giving just water.

it is going to be hard work!!! nothing is easy with children... my advice is dont make so easy for her at nights... you might want to get a week off from work and retrain her!!! "the secrets of the baby whisperer" by tracy hogg helped me and guided me on how to make my child sleep through the night, and by 4 months he was sleeping from 7 to 7 with one bottle at 10 pm. now he is 12 months old and sleeps 12 hours at night with no bottles!!! dont think that she'll grow out of it cause she wont!!!!

My daughter stopped waking up at night to eat when she was 6 mths old and started solid foods. At 18mths your daughter should not need to get up at night to eat, it has just become a habit that is going to be difficult to break. What I would suggest is making sure she eats a good dinner before bed and then when she wakes up at night do whatever you can to get her back to sleep but do NOT give her a bottle. I would try rocking her, giving her a pacifier, walking with her, taking her for a stroller ride etc. I know it will definitely take more time to get her to sleep and your nights will be hard but in the end she will start to sleep through the night and stop wanting those feedings. It will be difficult at first but in the end things will get a lot easier for you. So stop the night time bottles and find other ways to get her back to sleep. Good luck!

You're not going to like my advice but it's the only way I know how. You just have to stop. The only reason she is still waking up is because she knows she can get that comfort from you and the bottle. You probably don't want to go cold turkey but 2 or 3 times a night has to be killing you. My suggestion is to start on Fri(if you have the weekends off) and be sure to inlist your hubby for some help. When she wakes up the first time try to give her water in her crib, don't give in and just take her to bed and give her a bottle, if she is really upset, sit next to her crib but don't pick her up. It's going to be torture and you are going to be exhausted but I think it will work. The next time let your husband do the same thing. She will get tired and fall asleep. My daughter does the same thing with the whole gagging when she's upset, just try to rub her back or her tummy. Hope this helps and good luck!!!
H.--married mother of 4 yr old boy and 16mth old daughter