6 month old, been weaned for 2 weeks and now waking every night at 4am!! Help!

[Willowwisp]

My DD is just over 6 months and I waited the 6 months to wean her (despite constant nagging from other people that I was cruel)!!

Anyway, we have been at it for nearly two weeks, she has 7oz formula at 7am, 9am porridge, 11am 7oz F, 12.30 veggies or fruit (homemade), 3pm 7oz F and then 7oz before bed at 7pm.

Since we started weaning she has been waking between 3am and 4am and won't settle , she doesn't cry but wants to talk and play, I usually have to give her a 7oz bottle which she drains in 10 mins flat!! Then goes back to sleep but it takes over an hour and half to settle her again. She used to sleep 12 hours straight through since she was 5 weeks (I know I have been spoilt)!! I can't get her to drink more milk in the day as she just refuses it?

Am I doing something wrong?
Is it too soon to put her on three meals a day?
I'm worried about giving her too much solids in case it puts her off her next milk feed? Or do I just give her more and she will stop when she is full?

This weaning business is so confusing, so maybe someone can point me in the right direction?

[BreeVanDerCampLGJ]

OH God, too long ago for me to remember, but she sounds hungry.

Try giving her a larger bottle at night.

Also, you are feeding her at two hourly intervals more or less throughout the day, then she goes from 3 until 7 p.m (four hours on 7ozs) then at 7.00 you are giving her another 7ozs and expecting that to last all night.

LGJ sits back and waits to be flamed for not knowing the current thinking is X Y &Z.

[BreeVanDerCampLGJ]

Bump in case I am wrong.
wrong

AH balls to it incorrect.

[BreeVanDerCampLGJ]

Come on................

[BreeVanDerCampLGJ]

bump

[PotPourri]

Maybe give her an extra meal jsut before bed. Nothing acidic though. Something like a rusk, or weetabix/baby rice. Or if she is old enough, a biscuit. I remember the health visitor telling me that if you wait til 6 months, the baby needs 3 full meals a day almost immediately.

[soph28]

My dc 1 did this. He had started sleeping through but after I weaned him he woke every night at about 4am and nothing but a bottle of formula would settle him! He was starving- he didn't want hugs or any kind of interaction, he just screamed until bottle was ready, drained it and went back to bed happily. We took to having a thermos of hot water and a bottle with 8 scoops of formula beside our bed so we could make it instantly!

We gradually diluted it so that we would do 6 scoops formula/8oz water
4 scoops/8oz
2 scoops/6oz
until just water at 9mths and he stopped waking up.

Think I would have just switched to water sooner if he wasn't my first!

[TiddlerTiddler]

Not an expert, but just thought I would share our experience because i am in awe of your LO milk consumption! Seems to be taking lots, so I wouldn't stress about that. I am stressed cos my LO takes some milk before breakfast, sometimes only tiny amount at 3pm and then 5oz pre going to bed and then dream feed of 4-5oz. So I am definitely worried about lack of milk with him! He is 7 months.

I would say based on our experience that like PP said, I would be trying him with a little bit of food at tea time (say 5.30? so doesn't spoil the pre bed feed)

[Willowwisp]

Hi

Thanks so much for your replies, I had read somewhere that if you wait the 6 months they may need to go on 3 meals a day quite quickly, so I will give her extra today and see how we go??

LGJ - Not sure why you expected to be flamed, you were the first to answer and what you said makes sense!! So thanks x

I will keep you updated!

[AitchTwoOh]

i don't think that's true about the 3 meals a day, tbh, it seems very fast to me. milk is the main thing at the moment, in fact, until they are one.
what i found, oddly enough, was that moving dd's food back to 4pm at the latest helped her sleep more. it's not surprising, really, it must be a real shock to their systems to suddenly start digesting food last thing at night. it was like she was filling up with food when what she really needed to fill up on was high-calorie milk.

[lizziemun]

DD2 is 6months and what i have been doing is the following.

6.30 - 3oz milk (ff)
7.30 - 2oz Milk
10.30 - 5oz Milk
12pm Dinner Veg (and some BLW)
2.30pm - 5oz Milk
4.30pm - Porridge
6.30pm - 5oz Milk
11.30pm - 5oz Milk.

I know it not a lot of milk but DD2 doesn't like milk (can take her an hour to drink a bottle). SHe also doesn't do food in the morning.

She goes to bed about 6.30pm and sleeps through to 6.30am.

[cantseemyfeet]

Have you considered she might be teething? My Ds is nearly 7 months and slept great untill 3 weeks ago, he only wants a cold drink but its because he has 2 teeth comming through and I think it helps him. He too wakes about 4 am but I weaned him at 4 months and it never made him wake up, Im hoping it is just a teething thing anyway!! Was just getting used to getting proper sleep again.

[justme27]

Was searching for answer as to why my 6.5mo dd wakes at 4am (have started a seperate post in sleep section) and interested in Aitch's comment that later meals may cause digestion probs - never thought of that!

Have had same prob as many posters here though!

Could it be that last meal at 6pm and them bedtime by 8pm is causing probs??