When to drop the 11pm feed?

[theborrower]

My baby is 1 week short of 6 months and is mostly FF.

Her day at the moment goes a bit like this - (times approx)
7am mini BF
8am/9am FF
11am/12pm FF
2pm/3pm FF
5pm-ish mini BF, followed by bath
6pmish FF
Bed 6.30pm
11pm - FF (we wake her, she is sleeping soundly)

(note - those of you who know me from the Support for FF thread will know why I call them mini BFs - we never managed to establish BFing, this is what we can manage)

Anyway, I was wondering when we should be dropping the 11pm feed and if she still really needs it, given her age now. She started sleeping through at about 5 months, although it's not every night I have to say, but she seems to be back on track with it (fingers crossed!). We started weaning her yesterday too as she can now sit up unsupported and I just felt that she was.

She is teeny - was full term but was only 5lb 4oz at birth, and on her last weigh in about 2 weeks ago she was 11lb 1oz. She has tracked the 0.4 centile since birth and weight gain doesn't seem to be an issue - everyone that ever weighs her is happy with it - but I guess I'll worry that she doesn't get enough milk if we drop this feed too soon. We have been recommended to still get her weighed every month/6 weeks, I think just because

What do people think? Should we drop the 11pm feed and if so, when?

Oops missing word - meant to say "...just felt that she was ready" (to start weaning).

I diddnt drop it till Alf was well eastablished on solids, so about 7ish months. I then started to drop it an ounch a dy till I got about 4oz. Waking him up for 4oz made him MAD!!! So We dropped it then no problems at all. I know someone who has dropped the dreamfeed for thier 5mo so she is only on 4 bottles (4 hourly feeds) a day, then 12 hours at night - she goes through? :(

Hi Toddlerwrangler :)

Thanks. 12 hours seems like a long time to go without food, doesn't it? It's just that she seems to be sleeping so soundly when we go to get her at 11pm, sometimes we think "Shall we just leave her and see when she wakes?" But I guess it's that or we risk her waking up at some point in the middle of the night wanting a feed - I know what I'd rather do. I guess I'm worrying that she won't get her quota of milk if we drop it, but had no clue about when we should.

She doesn't sleep through every night though - I think she started doing it most nights since Christmas, but the past week she has been more unsettled (harder to get to sleep, normally she's so good) and has woken up at 3 or 4am wanting fed, as well as waking up with a huge cry about 8pm or so and needing settled back to bed - very unlike her. Growth spurt or teething?

Hummm, I suppose it depends how much your cherish a good nights kip! I KNEW with Alf that if he had a dreamfeed, he was good 'till 7, even 8am. I also knew that if I dropped the dreamfeed, there was a small chance I was back to 3am feeds, and the fear of that was enough to keep me going with the dremfeeds till 7 months .

When alf has a few days of waking up about 9pm crying it has always, without fail, been his teeth. But may be a growth spurt? Or have you started weaning yet?

How about cutting the dream feed down half an oz every couple of days or so and see how she goes? You could go cold turky, but it may mean a 3am feed

Ahh, I see you have just started weaning. That may, may help.

Re the 9pm thing, she just woke up with a huge big cry about 10 mins ago and needed settled back down again :( It's different from her waking-in-the-middle-of-the-night-wanting-a-feed cry, so I know it's not hunger, and a cuddle seems to do it. Yeah, maybe hunger or a growth spurt...?

Thanks for the tip about cutting down the dreamfeed. Btw, was Alf awake for it? I know I said that we have to wake her, but when she gets started she gets totally awake! Not so much a 'dreamfeed' anymore!

You have my sympathy for the 9pm crying phse :(

I never really got the knack of proper dreamfeeds so he was quite awake for the 10/11 am feed .

You could also, if you are feeling brave, bring the dream feed [who are we kidding, lets just call it feed!] forward to about 10am. She will hopefully be not as hungry as an 11pm feed and so may take less on her own accord, then see how she goes through the night. That way you are gradullay asking her to go a bit longer on a bit less milk over a staged period. Thinking back, thats what I did with Alf (he was greedy though and never took less at 10pm instead of 11pm, so I had to cut it down for him) but when we got down to about 4oz at 10pm (may even have been a smidge earlier) we dropped it without incient.