Feeding and sleeping through - please help!

[stocks]

I am seeking any advice on how to get to the magic 7 till 7! Have had big problems but seem to have improved things with new formula and have introduced some solids. Good sleeper but wakes about mid night to 1 am for feed and stirs about 5 ish. Tried to follow dream feed idea at 10.30 pm for weeks but made no difference and at least she takes the full bottle now at 1am. Am I destined to a life of this feed or can anyone suggest how to get rid of it?!

[chocolatekimmy]

How old is baby?

[stocks]

She's now 19 weeks - early days I know and should consider myself lucky I guess! Pleased she's eating following several weeks of no food intake. Any advice gratefully received!

[lulumama]

i would persoanally give less solids and more milk !! milk is more filling and the age recommeneded for introduction of solids is 26 weeks...

i would look at increasing the milk feeds again, and drop some solids'

if she takes the full bottle at one, why not drop the dream feed entirely..?

solids do not make a baby sleep through ! they do that when they are ready to do it !

when she stirs at five does she take another milk feed?

[Enid]

completely agree with lulumama

too early for solids at 19 weeks

give her more milk

also 19 weeks is early for sleeping through...probably not what you wanted to hear though!

[Ali5]

Introducing solids made no difference to our ds's sleeping pattern (we introudced solids about 22 weeks I think). He woke for a feed at 4/5 ish until he was 24 weeks old. We had a bedtime routine of bath, feed, bed which started at 11pm, then moved forwards over a period of about 3 months until 7pm. He would then sleep til about 4 in the morning and need a feed. We had a really awful night with him when he was just 24 weeks when he woke every 2 hours. The following night he was so tired he slept from bedtime til 8am! With the occasional blip, he's done 7pm to 7am ever since. Just stick with it, you'll get there!

[frenchleave]

IME solids don't make any difference to whether a baby sleeps through or not. Two of mine started sleeping through before they were weaned, and one didn't sleep through until she was 8/9 months.

I'm just weaning DS now at 7.5 months and he started sleeping 12 hours (out of the blue!) about a month ago. It just sounds like your baby isn't quite ready to do 12 solid hours yet. She'll get there eventually, but in the meantime she needs that milk.

[chocolatekimmy]

Too early for solids, guidelines are 26 weeks and to be honest that won't make much differnce anyway. Main source of food is milk up to a year.

Baby is just doing what babies do, some sleep through earlier than others (some take years!) - not alot you can do to influence that. Don't have too high expectations, its just one of those things you have to put up with.

Can you get some rest in the day?

[stocks]

Thanks for replies - appreciate it. Will just carry on till she's ready then though our problem is she just won't take milk. The solids have come about because at least she'll guzzle those and it means that mixing rice or veg with the extra formula at least gets her to take in a few extra oz. Milk and bottles are just not popular apart from this bizarre one in the middle of the night when she'll take the whole 6 - 7 oz. On all the other feeds she'll take 3 or 4 maybe! Can't add in feeds as she refuses. Fed 3am today so she refused more than 3 oz at 7am. Still will keep going and hope as you say we get somewhere eventually! Just worried everyone else has sleeping through babies. Whole thing is sent to try us I'm sure!

[winniepoo]

Mine is 19 months and still not slept through - we have read every book possible on the subject and tried all the advice - nothing works for us! We are not alone I have friends that have not slept for six years Apparently one day it will all sort itself out

[clairemow]

stocks, is it possible that she's drinking so much in the night that she is losing interest in the day? What happens if you dilute the night one a bit - i.e. prepare 7 oz water but only add 4 scoops of powder? does that make her more hungry for her first feed in the morning? How far apart are her feeds in the day? At this age both my DSs were having 5 bottles, 7oz at 7, 11ish, 3ish and bedtime (every 4 hours I suppose), and a dream feed of about 5 oz at 10 or 11 pm. One of the ways I could tell that both were ready to start dropping the dream feed was that they were losing interest, big time, in the first feed of the day.

I agree it's too young for solids really - her gut may not be able to cope yet properly.

[lulumama]

you might find that if you stop offering food, she will be more interested in milk....19 weeks is really early to get a little one sleeping through

i personally would not dilute the middle of the night milk, just make the formula up as it should be, maybe drop the dream feed and wait for her to feed fully in the night ..

could try splitting her last bottle or adding an extra feed , one before and one after her bath, for example

you are not the only one who does not have a baby who sleeps through !!

[stocks]

Again thanks - I am feeding at 7am, 11 ish, 2.30 ish and 6.30 ish then leaving her and letting her have the bottle when she asks for it in the night.
I am at least reassured that all those locally who are telling me they get full nights sleep are either incredibly lucky or lying!
Health visitors and hospital consultant advised trying the food/solids and have said to stick with it. I am concerned it is early but guess I trust the 'professionals'!

[CarGirl]

somehow you have to stop her feeding during the night so she is hungry enough in the day to want it. It could be hard - either refusing to feed her during the night (potentially cruel) but watering down milk or just letting her guzzle water should help. it will probably make feeds irratic for a few days until it settles back down?