any tips to help ds drink more of his bottle?

[pandapuss]

my ds is 4 months old and has started waking multiple times during the night, each time he has a little, 2 or 3 oz, then drops off to sleep, i think he's waking more because each time he's not taking enough. how can i encourage him to drink more in the first place so he doesnt wake so soon?

Hi Panda, how often does your DS eat during the day? With ours I think it was about 4 months that we had to increase the feeds during waking hours. Also when they did wake up we tried to sooth them to either fall back asleep or at least wait a little more before feeding, and gradually the time inbetween the wake-ups got better and better. Also I remember that dropping the temperature a little in their room seemed to help, it was too warm they woke more easily.

Sadly there is no fixed answer for these little guys but hope this helps.

he's been eating less than he should during the day also, its the same story as during the night but he has a little more, say 5 to 6 oz if im lucky!

From what you say it sounds like he's snacking little and often. You want to change this to fewer and bigger meals. The only way I know to do this is to increase the time between meals so DS is hungrier at each meal and eats more and then can last longer until the next one. I would suggest this: when he cries and it hasn't been that long since the last meal, first check that it isn't something apart from hunger that will make him settle (perhaps he's tired, or bored, or cold/hot, or hurting somewhere, or uncomfortable, or...) if those things don't work, at least you've extended the start of the meal 15-20 mins. Keep track of when you do feed him and try pace the meals out more and more to get into a rhythm where he is hungry enough to have a proper feed each time.

Does he cry during or after the feeds? The other possibility is that he has a digestive issue which makes it uncomfortable for him to eat properly. If he isn't gaining weight properly this might be the case. Otherwise I'd try pacing out the meals.

sometimes i can hear his stomach gurguling away and wonder if its keeping him from settling properly as he's developing into a bad sleeper, i try to wind him but often he is asleep and it just doesnt come up. i'm hoping all this will pass as he has no kind of routine with the erratic feeding, apart from the fact that he has been going to bed at a fairly regular time of around half 6! eek its so fustrating when you feel you should know exactly what to do and what little ds wants!