Do I need to man-up with my 11mo?

[KJchub]

My lo is 11mo and isn't terrible when it comes to sleep (apart from this week - god give me strength!) but wakes up between 3 and 5am every night. I can settle him back to sleep with his dummy for 10 minutes or so but he only really settles back to sleep for a good couple of hours if he has a bottle. My question is should I really just be strong and refuse him a night feed? I think he's wanting the milk out of habit and wanting it probably means he's more wakeful at that time than he should be. I'm back at work now and really need more sleep!

He does have a bedtime routine but falls asleep on the bottle between 6.30 and 7pm. He'll sleep well until about midnight, might be wakeful once or twice if he's stuck on his front, but will then sleep until the time indicated. I don't know whether to wake him after his last feed and try controlled crying to see if that makes him go through the night. Argghhh, so tired! What do I do???

[PennyHasNoSurname]

Could he be hungry? Does he have supper? If not a bowl of porridge before bed should keep him full enough so that you know you can skip the 3am bottle without guilt.

[icclemunchy]

I'm prob not he best person to comment as my just turned 1 year old is ebf and still wakes at least once at night and a 5am ish for a feed. But in my opinion if he wakes wanting a bottle give him one. I don't think babies really have a concept of habit only needs

[KJchub]

Thanks for the replies. He's having three meals a day but he has his tea about half four so maybe he is genuinely hungry... Porridge before bed is a good idea, thanks for that. When he has his bottle he chugs it down - a good 6-8 ounces - so it's not like he's having a sip and falling asleep. I only stopped bf mid-December and he never slept through while being bf so that supports the genuinely hungry idea.

[FATEdestiny]

falls asleep on the bottle

This is a problem. Can he only fall asleep properly while having a bottle? You need to move the bedtime bottle to before teeth brushing now, for the sake of oral hygiene. I would move it to the start of bedtime routine (ie before bath and PJs) rather than the end. This would break the milk to sleep habit.

Also remember that post-weaning babies still need good amounts of milk every day. NHS guidelines recommend children up to 2 years old have 1 pint of milk per day - that is 21oz. Is he having that amount of milk during the daytime? If not, this could be the reason for wanting more milk.

Also, what's his fluid intake like? As in water/squash/juice? He could well be thirsty. Consider how much water he used to drink before weaning. A well hydrated child has no reason to wake up thirsty in the night. But a child who is only getting just enough water to not be excessively thirsty through the daytime might be dehydrated during the night.

[KJchub]

He has been awake after being fed and we have either been able to put him straight in his cot and he sleeps or we put him in his cot and have to go back and forth a bit while he moans before falling asleep. He is definitely happier falling asleep on the bottle as he used to fall asleep on the breast.

Milk wise, he has 8oz in the morning, 5oz mid-morning, and 8oz for the last feed. He has water with his meals and is always offered water after snacks. This perhaps something we need to be more mindful of. Might start to keep a cup of water in his room and try that before feeding. I have to admit that I have thought about feeding him before his bath but have been too chicken as it's such an established routine and, don't shoot me, easy. Definitely need to man-up!

[MoreGilmoreGirls]

I would say 4.30 is too early for his last meal, definitely try some supper around 6 and hopefully he won't be hungry in the night. Good luck.