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Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler.

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler.

Sleep

Anyone not been successful in stopping night feeds by giving water?

17 replies

crayon · 18/05/2007 17:21

To be quite honest, I'm looking for an excuse not to have a repeat of the hideous time we had last night trying to replace DS3's night feeds with water.

Has anyone tried and failed? I don't want to go through this misery if there is a chance of it not being successful.

OP posts:

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purplemonkeydishwasher · 18/05/2007 17:29

how old is he?

crayon · 18/05/2007 17:43

9 months.

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feetheart · 18/05/2007 17:45

Worked with DD, failed with DS - he woke even more so I assumed he was hungry and still needed the milk.
Tried again at just over a year and still didn't work - by then he had learnt to sign and whenever we gave him water he signed for milk
He eventually learnt to sleep through at about 14mths but even now (at 18mths) he will wake at least one night a week and ask for milk. It gets him back to sleep quickly so we still give it to him!

HTH

Debbiethemum · 18/05/2007 17:49

Crayon, I couldn't go straight to water, but when I was on formula I used to dilute it.
So night 1-2, 6 scoops to 7fl oz of water
night 3-4, 5 scoops to 7fl oz water
etc
etc

eventually it was just water

BTW as the milk got more & more watery, they drank less.
Bad mummy here, I used to let them go to bed with a bottle of water.

crayon · 18/05/2007 17:58

Feetheart - thanks, that's just the sort of story I want to hear - sorry you are still waking at night though. I'd be quite happy with him waking once a week.

DebbietheMum - unfortunately he's not on a bottle and can't/won't take one. I did try and limit my breastfeed one night, but he got very cross. Maybe I will try again and put up with the crossness (this is what Dr Richard Ferber advises in his book on sleeping).

Glad it worked for you

OP posts:

feetheart · 18/05/2007 18:16

Both mine were bf but very different.
IKWYM about being happy to have him only waking once a week, I was on my knees with sleep deprivation until about 3 mths ago and would have killed for what I've got now!
Do you want to cut out/down milk to get him to sleep longer? We tried most things - weaning, less sleep in afternoon, formula last thing at night. Nothing worked, he slept through when he was ready to!!!

JimJammum · 19/05/2007 21:32

Not sure if this will help, but millpond book suggests cutting bf down by a minute each night, or less frequently if you hit a wall. So, if normal night time feeds are 10 mins long, then over 10 nights you can cut them out. If baby starts protesting then leave it for a couple of days and then start again. I haven't tried it yet as my ds still only 4.5 months, but may do the trick?

crayon · 19/05/2007 22:38

Thanks Jimjammum. Actually, that's what Dr Richard Ferber suggests too and I tried it for the first time last night. The first time he woke he settled without food, the second he had a few slurps twice, and then went down. I didn't think for one second that he would accept it, but it was really quite painfree. The only problem is, he had a lovely cuddle for an hour and a half until he went to sleep (I thought I would do it gradually and start putting him down asleep once I have got him used to not feeding in the night) so tonight he will probably wake just for the cuddle

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walbert · 19/05/2007 22:47

Hallo, i don't know if this is any help, I hope nobody thinks this is horrible, but my mum and auntie swore babyrice in eve feed got me my sis and cousins on a full night sleep. I was horrified and thought no way, then my friend did same but with half a farleys rusk really finely crushed and mixed in feed, and keeps dd asleep. dh wanted to try it (our dd wakes once night for feed between 110ml to 260ml), so last night put half rusk in feed. dd woke at 2 but not hungry, think she just woke out of habit, sat with her for couple of minutes in dark, then put her back in cot, didn't give any feed, and she slept while 6.30ish, am trying it again tonight...

soph28 · 19/05/2007 22:57

i did the same as debbiethemum with ds i.e. gradually made the milk more and more dilute- when he was 9mths. only took about a week and he stopped waking up.

dd refused a bottle and when she was 5 mths i witheld the breast until she took a bottle. She was taking it by the end of day 1 and by day 3 she was taking it every time no problem. It sounds a bit cruel, I am a bad mummy, but it was definitely worth it!

hunkermunker · 19/05/2007 22:58

Walbert, please don't put rusks in bottles - it's a choking risk.

hunkermunker · 19/05/2007 22:59

However finely crushed.

walbert · 19/05/2007 23:02

I just never thought it was great idea... thanks, I'm def standing ground with dh over this coz i was never comfortable with idea. Anyway, it's me tha gets up to do feed so don't know why dh tha bothered!

Nightynight · 19/05/2007 23:36

ha ha ha ha....I failed miserably at this.

forget it for now and try again in 4 weeks time. Repeat if necessary. It will work eventually.

Nightynight · 19/05/2007 23:37

the OP, I mean, not the rusks

crayon · 20/05/2007 00:56

Thanks all. Introducing a bottle is a good idea (if only to involve DH !) At the mo he has just nodded off while I have been on here, without a feed ...

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crayon · 20/05/2007 00:57

Nightynight - we had a bit more success last night, so am trying again

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