Night Time Bottle

I'm not sure why you're considering this a problem? I think it's normal. You can either deal with his needs, or let him cry it out. My 6 mo. old (who is now 17 mos.) woke more than 2x per night. We did the cry it out and then got lazy... she currently still wakes 2x per night to nurse. I don't think it's a problem, I think it's completely normal. But... if you don't want to deal with it, I think the only way is the cry out. (I've tried lots of things - water, obviously she's eating solids, comforting through words - no picking up comfort, etc. etc.) and that's the only one that worked, although temporarily)

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HI Lynelle-
If he just started doing this, it might be a growth spurt. I do not believe in the cry it out method either. I tried it and found that it just didn't work for us. But I also learned not to get up at the first wimper. If my daughter woke up, which she did, I usually let her fuss for about 10-15 mins. Just fuss, not full on cry. If it lasted more than 10-15 mins, then I usually got up. She too would down a whole bottle. What I found was that it was the end of a sleep cycle and if I just left her alone for those few minutes, she learned to go back asleep.
Solids might help. It is a try and try and try again type thing. I heard you can put a little in their bottles, but I never tried that. Maybe at dinner time when he can watch you eat, try giving him a little cereal. Buy some plastic spoons, dip it in cereal and let him hold it. Eventually it will go in his mouth - babies just can resist putting stuff in their mouth. And you can sneak in a few bites in between. My daughter wasn't much for the cereal, so we started mixing in vegies or fruit a little at a time.
If nothing works, talk to your pediatrician. She/He might have some great ideas on how to help you get thru this time.
Good luck.

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Lynelle:
I raised 3 boys and had no problem with
their night time waking up. I also had a total
of 27 foster children with a program of emer-
gency foster home. I had no problem with them
either. All I did was cut a larger hole in the
nipple of the bottle - put in some cereal with
the warm milk. When their little tummies were
full they went to sleep and slept from 10 p.m.
until 7 or 8 a.m. They were happy and so was I.
Try this and see if it works. Good Luck, E.

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Lynelle,

At six months old, he is ready for solids. It usually takes at least 10 introductions of a new food before the child decides if s/he is going to like it or not. My kids are 4 1/2 years old and 15 months.

My son, the older one, loved any and all food we placed in front of him; as long as it was real food. He *would not* touch the Gerber single grain cereals with a 10 foot pole. He would eat any of the jars/plastic dishes of the Gerber baby food we offered him. The only issue we had was when he reacted to the sweet potatoes. We waited a month or two, tried again and had no problem.

My daughter on the other hand, refused the fruits until she was about a year old. Most of them she would up having a reaction to anyway, so I guess it was a good thing. She would scarf down a banana sliced into finger foods for her though. She just hated the pureed stuff.

I would pick something like peas or carrots and offer him a few bites at every meal. I would also let him play with some of it too. "Drop" a few spoonfuls onto his tray and let him make a mess with them. My daughter loved her cooked oatmeal that way, wonderful sensory experience for them.

Hope this helps,
M.

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I agree he is defentally ready for solids. When we started my Daughter on solids she did not like spoons, so we used a feeder bottle. It is made for baby food and cereals. I think it is made by sassy. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2793324
This might be easier for you to start out on. My daughter used it for about a month or so. I just gradually started useing spoons until she used one all the time. He just sounds like a hungry guy.

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Hi Lynelle,
My son was on every 4-5-hour night feeding schedule until 7 months. Then he just weaned himself off. There was a period when he was waking every 2 hours due to teething pain so I was adding Tylenol to the last bottle before bedtime. We did that for about 5 days and ever since that time he's been sleeping from 8:30-9 pm until 7-7:30 am. Now we just make sure he gets all the calories he needs during the day, which means he is eating 6-7 ounces every 3 hours. I don't follow a schedule & let him determine how much & how often he wants to eat. I am not a believer in cry-it-out method. I would not want to lose my child's trust in me as his primary caregiver. Every child is unique & achieves various milestones at his own pace, so don't feel like your son "should be doing__________" at this age.

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Dear Lynell..I feel sorry for you..This is frustrating..
Does he have any reflux with the formula hes on now?
I would certainly start trying him on some other formulas..and try mixing some Gerber Rice Cereal into a puree.
This will take a larger holed bottle..mix very well.. or give him a good feeding of the cereal by spoon at nite time feeding as close to tennish as possible..He should be sleeping thru the nite by now..and I think he is hungry when he wakes all hours..hes not getting enough nutrients for the growing little body..elevate Legs of headboard of the crib helps with re-flux also.

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That cry it out crap is for the birds. Maybe you could just slowly nudge him during the day to take his bottle a little earlier each time. My son still wakes up every three hours but's he's breastfed and I guess that's the way it goes. I'm just going to provide it for him until he's ready to sleep through the night. I think you should trust your instincts and listen to your son. You're a good mommy and you know what to do.

Technically, I guess he could start solids but at this point he really doesn't need it and the mythe that solids cause a baby to sleep through the night is just that, a mythe.

There's my two cents for what it's worth.

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He is still young and may want to feed at night still. I would let him eat if he wants. My 6 mos old still wakes up at 2am to feed. Good luck!

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Hi Lynelle, there is no need for a "cold turkey" methods here. Just start diluting the 1 am bottle with water until it is just water. He will figure out that there is no point waking up just to get water. You can do the same later with the 4.30 am bottle and he will start getting what he needs with the other feedings. With this method expect changes in his feeding and sleeping schedule. Follow your mother's instincts, you are the one who can tell when your baby is hungry or sleepy... Good luck!

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Have you tried increasing the amount he takes at his other feedings? Try giving him 9 oz each other feeding to see if he can feel more full through the night.

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