17 week old started wanting night feeds again

[crazycatbaby]

Hi, I'm a first time mum and I'm mostly winging it and wondered if anyone could help my baby is nearly 18 weeks and normally was a bit of a night owl, feeding (formula) every two hours of an evening, falling asleep around 11-12 and sleeping to about 7-8ish.
I think he has started teething as has been very dribbly, unsettled, whiny etc but have been giving him calpol when he looks like he needs it and he has lots to chew.
He has started (the past 3-4 nights) getting tired much earlier and has been asleep anywhere between 7.45 and 9ish. I have either dream fed him around 11ish or he's woken up for a feed. Last night he woke for a feed around 11.45, fed, back to sleep, and woke up crying and screaming around 2.45. He's not normally a baby who cries much so it's really hard seeing him wake up so inconsolable. He had about 3 or 4 ounces and back down till 8. I know most people are going to say this is totally normal and aware I'm very lucky to just have one night feed but it's just that he is so upset when he wakes
I'm back at work next week and my partner goes away to work for 3 weeks so I'm just panicking a bit! I don't really know what I'm asking really. Possibly time to start weaning? He's tried baby porridge (licked the spoon) but if he's ready to start I'd rather do it with puréed veg etc. Thanks in advance

[crazycatbaby]

I forgot to add he's been more fussy with feeding, used to take 6-7 ounces in one go every 2.5-3 hours and now will take anything from 3-6 or 7 rarely and is fiddling with the bottle, pushing it away, pulling it back, moving his head from side to side etc

[FATEdestiny]

It's way too early to start weaning. Your baby is 4 months old.

Plus the most calorie dense foodstuff baby can have is milk. If you give 1oz of "other food", your baby would have gained more from 1oz of milk. So far from solving night feeds, early weaninh usually sees the reappearance of extra night feeds.

Among other things, baby needs to be sitting staight backed, unaided, for sustained periods of time before being ready to wean.

I would suggest you focus on 2 hourly daytime feeds.

Then adjust your expectations.

Sleep development isn't linear.

[Heirhelp]

Don't wean until 6 months it can cause a whole host of life long health problems for your child.

It is totally normal for your baby to still be waking during the night for milk and for a lot longer too. It is also totally normal for your baby to wake because if their sleep pattern, pain or discomfort or because they need you.

[crazycatbaby]

I understand that 4 months is early, I'm just getting a big baffled by it all I see my friends babies who are the same age trying purée/porridge etc and have people asking if he's weaning yet (he's quite a big baby so probably looks older, he's 17lb 5) and saying if he had some food it will help him sleep etc. It's so confusing! My head says to keep him just on milk and he's still little, but I'm struggling to get enough in him at the moment and he's going longer between feeds and is being fussy when actually feeding. Thanks for all the advice so far. I don't mind him waking in the night but it's just that he is just so upset! Breaks my heart, I need to toughen up

[FATEdestiny]

How big he is makes zero difference to weaning. It will also make no difference to sleep - more milk is what will get him sleeping better.

I'm just getting a big baffled by it all

I'm sure someone here can help you with that.

You mention going longer between feeds - that is probably the cause of your problem. As baby grows, you want less time between daytime feeds, not more.

The more milk baby has during the daytime, the less she needs at night.

The way to get more milk into baby is not by giving bigger feeds. Baby's stomach isn't big enough for this, so baby will get "full" once their stomach is full, so you won't get baby to take any more.

The way to do it is feed more frequently.

My big (91st centile) baby fed every 2h throughout the daytime. I would make 8 bottles per day. For example:

7am feed
9am feed then nap
11am feed then nap
1pm feed then nap
3pm feed then nap
5pm feed
7pm feed then bedtime
11pm dreamfeed

[QforCucumber]

At 4 months you dont need to wean.

My ds was also a 'big baby' no solids until 6 months though (or purees, or anything other than milk) its so much easier to just give milk believe me.

A lot of babies will get fussy on bottles/boob when teething, mine certainly messes about when hes got teeth coming through. Just offer more often through the day.

Oh and at 11 months we still have a wake or 2 in the night now and then.

[crazycatbaby]

Thank you Fate, I'm not trying to get him to go longer, I mean he's not hungry as often anymore and if I try and tempt him he totally kicks off He normally feeds similar to your baby, about 5-6 ounces every time and sometimes 7 (I make up 7 and let him have what he wants) but recently he hasn't wanted as much. I'm going to try and get more in him today, little and often and see how he goes

[holidaysaregreat]

I started giving both mine small amounts of baby rice or porridge around 16/17 weeks because they were hungry. I was back at work around then too and needed them to stay in their routine. Also gave hungry baby milk for bedtime feed.
On mumsnet this will be slated, but both mine seem fine 😉

[FATEdestiny]

They will be fine holidaysaregreat, I'm not suggesting otherwise.

But starting on solids is the least effective way of getting baby to sleep through.

A baby "eating" 4oz of rice or whatever will get fewer calories than a baby getting an extra 4oz of milk. By a long way.

So the solids-eating baby will be hungrier than the baby who is getting extra milk.

Kinda defeats the purpose of hoping solids will somehow make your baby less hungry and maybe sleep more. More milk over 24h does that.

[holidaysaregreat]

Never knew that. Mine always loved milk and thankfully still do. It's so hard to know what to do for the best.