Does my 9 month old need night feeds?

[laulea82]

Hello

Super tired mummy and daddy here. Our 9 month old ds has slept though a total of 4 times (til 5am). Weaning has been a bumpy road with days ranging from zero solids to huge meals. The last three weeks he has found his hunger and eats everything offered and more.
He's had a night feed every night and more recently now has two 8-9oz bottles overnight.
He has food about 630pm followed by 12oz of milk before bed. Then he's up 12 ish and 4 ish for a full bottle each time. He will kick off if we try to comfort him any other way.
We both have demanding jobs and a 3 year old little firecracker. The lack of sleep is getting to us. One get up we can cope with (just).
So - should we stop night feeds? How?
Thanks in advance

[FifiFerusha]

Wow he guzzles a lot of milk. I am thinking if he has a 12 oz bottle(wow sers) before bed then he shouldn't need another two 8oz bottle overnight. It seems a lot. I started night weaning by comforting/ soothing back to sleep, any which way I could when I felt he shouldn't need a feed. Perhaps try with the 12ish feed maybe. He may wake again earlier than four but if will hopefully see him through a longer stretch in the long run. Then after a while work on the second night feed. I did this with mine and it helped him eventually stop expecting of needing feeds at night. I also offered loads of dairy/ and milk in the day, and plenty of food, porridge for supper etc...to help see him through. It took a while but worked eventually. Hope at helps x

Ps just thought, there is the water trick where you dilute the milk with water gradually more and more until you just offer water. You could try that x x mine was bf but I just went for it and didn't feed x x

[laulea82]

Thanks for the reply. He only took 8oz before bed tonight. The 12oz thing is relatively new (two bottles).
He was combi fed until last month when I returned to work. He's now on aptimal Pepti for a milk allergy. Which is pretty crappy thin stuff.
Dunno if you're supposed to dilute formula? Might try smaller bottles in the night? Would that have the same effect?

[laulea82]

So last night he went down after 8oz. Only woke once! At 230am. Tried to give him 5oz but he was distraught when it finished. So gave him another 5 which he downed them seemed satisfied so I left him to whinge then he fell asleep til 7! Best night in a while. Maybe he is hungry if he drank 10oz in the night? Still better than 16 though.

[Heirhelp]

Until 1 yrs milk should be the main source of nutrition.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

I would feed until a year then start dropping feeds, until then I'd ride it out,9 months is still little.

Google watering down formula- basically don't do it! Can't believe how many people recommend it. It was an absolute no no 15 years ago when my ds was tiny and a quick Google suggests the advice hasn't changed.

[laulea82]

Thank you for your replies. I am aware milk is the main source of nutrition til one. He has about 35oz sometimes more over 24 hours plus lots of food. Most of his milk is drank in the night. I had wanted to stop bottles at 1 (as his advised) and can't see how that could be possible with his current intake. I guess a lot can change in 3 months. A month ago he would rarely eat solids.

[dementedpixie]

I would gradually decrease the amounts in the night bottles by an ounce every few nights so it is not a drastic decrease. This hopefully makes him increase his daytime milk/food intake. How much does he take during the day?

[lozengeoflove]

Meh, those are only guidelines. He's clearly a hungry baby. Give him as much milk as he wants and don't worry about stopping bottles at 1.

My DD was breastfed til 13 months and had cow's milk in a bottle from 1 year til around 18-20 months. Wasn't an issue at all. She sort of started having milk from a sippy cup and eventually we just stopped offering bottles.

I'd say just take the lead from your babe. I know the lack of sleeping is an utter killer but in my experience they do 'get better' at night feeds when they are ready. Sorry it's not much help really.

[BastardBernie]

Hi! Im in the same(ish) situation; my baby is chunky and healthy and the last week or so I have wondered if they really need the bottle at night.
I'm not watering down the powder, I think that's a crazy idea and like a pp has said, it's never been and still isn't being recommended.
I may offer water at 9m and see how they get on. As you're already at that mark (and 2 bottles at night! What a little milk monster ) I would give it a go, I did this with my other DC and I don't remember any problems.
Good luck and let us know how you get on!

[laulea82]

Thanks. Well going from 8 to 5 oz last night was a disaster so maybe we will do 7oz for a week? Very gradual but I am the kind of person who feels good if I'm taking action rather than waiting for things to get better. With dd she stopped night feeds most nights from 3 months when she was still breastfed so I felt comfortable taking away the bottle at 1. With ds though he's never slept through so it's diffident.
He has 5+ 8oz bottles over 24 hours plus tonnes of food.
He is a hungry boy and has always had little and often. When I was ebf he would feed hourly. Hence combi feeding. He also has a tongue tie!
I should say too that all day long all he does is smile play and eat. He is a joy. Unlike dd who used to scream all day and sleep all night!

[tissuesosoft]

Does your DS drink water during the day? I offer my DD (8months) water with every meal and throughout the day if she's not due a feed. How is he with different solids?

[tissuesosoft]

Meant to add in about the water- might be worth trying? Could be thirst with your DS as opposed to hunger?

[Nan0second]

Just gradually cut down the amount of formula offered. They don't need milk at night at this age but you can gently decrease the amount they take. They'll still get plenty of milk in the day so you are not "removing nutrition". Once he's dropped a bottle, never go back! Best advice I received on the topic was here and it really helped our night waking at a similar age. (DD was bf but I just shortened feeds)

[laulea82]

Hello thanks again for the helpful replies. Yes he has water in the day. With meals. Uses the cup himself and has about half a beaker 3-4 times a day. I tried water in the night from a beaker and he drank it fast before realising it was water then spat it back out. Should I offer water in between meals too?
His diet is very varied and theres nothing he doesn't like. He enjoys feeding himself and finger food. He's allergic to milk so bad soya alternatives.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

You don't need to offer extra water in fact it's not a good idea until last the age of one according to Dr Google. More than 8oz a day and it can start to upset the salt balance.

[tissuesosoft]

Dame- so much conflicting advice out there! My HV and GP said water is fine during the day, my DD has 4-6 ounces out of her cup. I suppose it's whatever works for you.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

** at least

Google water toxicity ,makes interesting reading. ( I started googling as I am on another thread about watering down formula)

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

baby.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Infant_Water_Intoxication

Says the 8oz thing for under 6 months but no more than a few sips until up to a year

[tissuesosoft]

Very interesting reading thank you! Curious about the juice part though, I thought juice isn't recommended for babies because it encourages a sweet tooth and can cause teeth erosion? So sorry for semi hijacking your thread OP!

[laulea82]

Ha ha. No problem. There is so much conflicting advice out there. I've heard so many times that after 6m they don't need night feeds but how could I leave him hungry?? And how and when will he stop needing a night feed? How do I know he needs it?? It's so difficult.

[tissuesosoft]

Maybe it's a habit for him now? Could try offering water at night as it isn't as 'tasty' as milk so he may become bored of night feeds or reducing his night feeds by an ounce for a couple of nights then a further ounce the next couple of nights etc. Could be a growth spurt, especially if your DS has learned a new skill recently?

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

I think babies just need feeding at night until a year and that's that tbh. IF you're lucky your baby sleeps through but it's not due to anything parents specifically do. They are so little and growing at such a rate who's to say they don't need a night feed? After a year I would so my best to limit it as then it can be habit < thinks back to ds>

[dementedpixie]

I expected night feeds until 6 months and then gently encouraged ds to drop his last night feed by gradually offering less in the bottle. He dropped it by 8 months.

[laulea82]

Yes I expected night feeds til 6 months ish. But he's clearly hungry so don't think I can refuse milk in the night cold turkey. So think I will drop an ounce in each feed per week.
Reading online about the signs it's hunger rather than comfort and it defo seems like hunger. He will drink every drop offered him and won't be settled any other way.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Good plan but don't worry too much if he's having none of it