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Original poster

12 month old still has 1-3 night feeds

39 replies

mycupcakes · 08/05/2023 21:21

I just can't find a way to get him back to sleep without it. On a good night, he'll need just the one. On a bad night, it will be 3.

Sometimes I'll be lucky and he'll wake up at 5 and need one then.

If I don't give milk, he'll just keep crying for ages and ages. Even if he settles for a few minutes / half an hour, he'll wake up again. He always downs the whole bottle.

Any advice? Trying to feed him lots during the day. His diet is quite good:

1 breakfast of toast / porridge / fruit / egg

2 sometimes a small bottle before his nap at 11

3 lunch of pasta / chicken / rice / veggies / etc and fruit or yoghurt for desert

4 baby biscuits or fruit as a snack

5 dinner of protein / veg eatables etc / plus yoghurt or biscuit for desert

6 bottle before bed

I switched him to cows milk, but he got terribly constipated, so back on formula for now.

OP posts:
Original poster
mycupcakes · 08/05/2023 21:51

@Sissynova I agree. 4 is too much. It should be max 2 at this age. He usually naps 11-1 or so. He's been unwell this week, so the naps have been longer.

It's a few hard nights for me. But it will be worth it.

OP posts:
Wannabedisneyprincess · 08/05/2023 21:50

My 13m DS is the same, very similar routine to yours, transitioning away from the mid morning bottle, just done his 1st full week without it replacing with a snack

But come the evening, he has tea a similar size to 4yr DD then sometime under an hour later (due to finishing work, nursery pick up, get home and cook tea) has a massive 9oz bottle for bed then wakes up hysterical and the only way to soothe him is either a bottle (tried a dummy for ages but wasn’t having it) or watch Zog on the TV, he’s actually getting worse the older he gets, we are trying to reduce the bottle but everytime we think we are getting somewhere he gets ill or teething and we give in just to get some sleep as we both work FT.

DD slept through from 5m when she moved into her own room and also had a dummy so on the occasion she did wake up it was a pop back in and she would be asleep again in seconds

Sissynova · 08/05/2023 21:46

mycupcakes · 08/05/2023 21:38

He has max 4 in 24 hours. ( but that's very rare now ). It depends on the day. I usually cut out the one during the day entirely. So he has one before bed and then 1 at night.

On a bad night he will have two more- so 3. Never 6.

Show quote history

I still think 4 bottles of formula is way too much! And a 3 hour nap probably isn’t helping night wakes either.
Feed him lunch, put him down for a nap slightly later and wake him at 2pm.
When he wakes at night don’t offer a bottle. It’s an easy way to get him back to sleep but it’s not helping him with learning to settle himself in the night when he stirs.

FuckoffeeBeforeCoffee · 08/05/2023 21:43

Try offering water instead?

Or slowly reduce the amount of formula you're giving him in each bottle.

Original poster
mycupcakes · 08/05/2023 21:43

shakeitoffsis · 08/05/2023 21:39

That's a hell of a lot of formula! My 8 month old has 3 bottles a day and hasn't had a night feed since 10 weeks. Might be time to go cold Turkey.

I think two bottles at 12 months is probably fine. That's what I did with my daughter. I'm trying to get there with him and succeed some days. Then other days he keeps waking up and I just Chuck a bottle at him and he downs it and goes back to sleep.

OP posts:
DahliaRose · 08/05/2023 21:43

At 12 months it's probably not hunger and Just a habit/sleep association.

My son was the same. He was still waking for milk up till he was 14 months.

My HV advised watering down the milk and just not giving him any but he would just cry and cry. Giving him the milk was easy as I knew he wild for back to sleep.

Eventually we had to use controlled crying and then he stopped waking up. It's not easy.

MissyB1 · 08/05/2023 21:42

Any milk in the night should be offered in a beaker, if he drinks it then he really wanted it. If he refuses because he wants it in a bottle then it was the comfort of sucking he was after I suspect. If he continues to wake for a beaker of milk then switch it to water.
Don’t be afraid to give extra milk in the day - from a beaker.

Original poster
mycupcakes · 08/05/2023 21:40

Sissynova · 08/05/2023 21:36

Also is he just having breakfast then a bottle before his lunchtime nap and lunch when he wakes?
Try following a nursery schedule, breakfast, snack, lunch 11:30 or 12 and then nap. There’s probably not enough time to do lunch, snacks and dinner all post nap.

He rarely has the bottle before his nap now. In fact he probably hasn't had one for a couple of weeks before the nap, not sure why I included it. He has a snack instead most of the time now. He sleeps from around 11-1 or even 11-2 some days recently. He has lunch then usually. He's always hungry and always interested in food. Never says no to anything. Be eats so much more than my 3 year old !

OP posts:
shakeitoffsis · 08/05/2023 21:39

That's a hell of a lot of formula! My 8 month old has 3 bottles a day and hasn't had a night feed since 10 weeks. Might be time to go cold Turkey.

Original poster
mycupcakes · 08/05/2023 21:38

Sissynova · 08/05/2023 21:32

I would just cut it out altogether. It’ll be worst for a handful of nights and then he will be fine.
3-6 bottles of formula at 12 months is a lot!

He has max 4 in 24 hours. ( but that's very rare now ). It depends on the day. I usually cut out the one during the day entirely. So he has one before bed and then 1 at night.

On a bad night he will have two more- so 3. Never 6.

OP posts:
Whatabouteverything · 08/05/2023 21:36

He needs more food. Are the portions small? My 16 month old boy eats more in a day than my 5 year old girl.

Sissynova · 08/05/2023 21:36

Also is he just having breakfast then a bottle before his lunchtime nap and lunch when he wakes?
Try following a nursery schedule, breakfast, snack, lunch 11:30 or 12 and then nap. There’s probably not enough time to do lunch, snacks and dinner all post nap.

Iminthemoneylife · 08/05/2023 21:34

Give a morning snack and supper before bed.

Sissynova · 08/05/2023 21:32

I would just cut it out altogether. It’ll be worst for a handful of nights and then he will be fine.
3-6 bottles of formula at 12 months is a lot!