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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Stopping night bottle before bed

17 replies

LilyWhite2 · 05/02/2018 10:03

Hi all, I need some help as this is my first baby. DS is 7 months on the 7th and we've just bought him his cot so it's all ready to go to move him next door into his room. The problem we have though is how we go about this.

Our nights have been him bathed/storied and a bottle at 7pm. He falls asleep usually between 7/8pm so I have a large bassinet downstairs which I've put him in until we goto bed at around 12am or atleast until he stirred. My thing has always been taking him upstairs to his snuzpod, fresh nappy and the 5th bottle (as he fed every 4 hours) but by doing this I am often waking him for it.

Now I don't know what to do, I don't want him to continue sleeping downstairs until we go up as he has 2 months in the bassinet.

So my aim now is bath/story/bottle/ then cot at 7pm but what do i do about this last bottle? He rejects them alot through the day as we've started weaning so I'm worried he'll wake 3/4am for a feed.

So do I wake him when I come up or leave him go?

OP posts:

Namechangeuser · 05/02/2018 10:07

Just leave him, if he's hungry he will wake up and let you know ,and you can give him a bottle then?

Sipperskipper · 05/02/2018 10:11

If he is taking plenty of food inthe day, I would gradually drop that bottle - reduce by 1oz every few days. My DD is 8 months, and was eating so well in the day, she seemed to drop it herself by taking less and less. One night I just didn’t give it and she was fine, slept right through.

She now drinks a whole 8oz when I get her up at 7am, where as before she may only drink 2 or 3.

Put him down at 7 as you plan, and just leave him to it. No need to change nappy either (unless dirty).

Good luck!

mindutopia · 05/02/2018 13:22

I would just leave him. You'll figure out it out as you go. At 7 months, honestly one waking a night is no big deal. Mine was still waking at least twice. In fact, she was waking at least once (not for a feed, those stopped at 9 months) until she was 3.5! You'll likely find he shifts to taking more during the day if he needs it.

Original poster

LilyWhite2 · 05/02/2018 16:38

Ah ok I see.. we will wing it and see how tonight goes for the first time and go from there if we need to reduce ect. I thought to maybe give it earlier at 10pm but he is already fast asleep and I am waking him for it at this point for him to sometimes even refuse it, even at 12/1am.

Soo hard not to know what to do! DS use to gulp 7oz every 3 and a half to 4 hours and now I have to constantly try coax him to take even 3oz, he's become a nightmare. Water from the sippy cup he loves so I admit I was worried if we stop this 5th bottle will he be missing out even though I'm weaning.

He's also been a really good sleeper going from 7pm to 7am since a few weeks old and I can just imagine taking this away will stop that and have images of him getting us up at 4am for it (DH gets up at 6am for work).

Thanks everyone, it's really appreciated as me and DH have been stuck with what to do :)

OP posts:

Sipperskipper · 05/02/2018 19:52

I was really worried about my DD taking much less milk too - I was getting quite anxious and stressed trying to get milk into her 4 hourly still! Then I figured she was eating well, so probably just wasn’t hungry. Now she only has one bottle when she wakes at 7am, and one bottle at 6pm. Much less stressful!

Original poster

LilyWhite2 · 05/02/2018 21:50

He's gone down nicely in his cot, had his belly full at tea time but only took 3oz around 8pm. Assume hes full up.

It's me that's the problem now, I'm howling as I miss him being next to me, DH thinks I'm nuts lol.. Gosh this is super hard when youre feeling a bit emotional.

OP posts:

Original poster

LilyWhite2 · 05/02/2018 21:52

@Sipperskipper

Yeh he gets 3 good meals now as we started a week early. He always gulps his 7am so well see how tonight goes. We figure it's not the end of the world if he wakes for one :)

OP posts:

1stTimeRounder · 05/02/2018 23:53

@lilywhite2 how did it go last night?

I was the same with moving our DS to his own rom, but he slept a lot longer in his own room. He was going down at 7pm and waking between 6am and 7am, in his own room he wakes after 8am!

We are also dropping our bedtime feed by slowly reducing the volume. If baby is pushing it away then its obviously not needed.
Hope it went well?

Original poster

LilyWhite2 · 06/02/2018 07:12

@1stTimeRounder

Really well thank you! We decided not to wake him when we came up and then I heared him stir on the monitor around 7am, went in and he was still fast asleep but I'd made him a bottle and he took 6oz of that and has now gone back off to sleep.

It's a lot quiter and darker in his room being at the back of my house although one thing I noticed is that he thrashed his body around alot and was sleeping across the cot. So we went and bought a Sleepyhead pillow last night as he pushed himself against the side. I don't think he feels as cuddled up as he is in his bassinet.

I'm really happy, well just see how it goes and if he wants one try the dropping oz thing :)

OP posts:

1stTimeRounder · 06/02/2018 09:20

Great news.

We've used a sleepyhead since birth and he's slept so well in it. He's too big for it now so we took the bumper sausage thingy out of it and out it under a sheet in his cot so he still had the security feeling but also room to move. This doesn't meet any safe sleep guidelines but he's never pushed himself against the sides and we use an angelcare monitor so we'd be alerted if he ever stopped moving.

Original poster

LilyWhite2 · 06/02/2018 12:41

@1stTimeRounder

They look brilliant, im excited. I thought about using a rolled up towel like you say but its his legs, he lifts them up and rolls around. It's the 8 to 36 months one so hopefully he feels more secure.

He's in a sleeping bag too but I think he may sleep better with blankets, just noticed he does this thrashing in Snuzpod but never in his basket where it's blankets on him.

Fingers crossed it's not a waste of money lol.. x

OP posts:

Sipperskipper · 07/02/2018 10:18

Our DD has the bigger sleepyhead too, she loves it! great news on dropping the feed too. Enjoy your sleep!

Original poster

LilyWhite2 · 09/02/2018 20:50

Well it was going amazing and then Wednesday and Thursday he woke up dead on 5am (his last bottles were at 8pm).

Monday and Tuesday we went no bottle, so after Wednesday when he did his 5am wake up we tried a 12am bottle last night, he drained it and still woke us at 5am.

He's never done this in our room, he has usually had 7oz at 12am and then slept through till 7/8am. How weird is this? His room is so much more warmer/quieter and darker with blackout blinds.

I'm puzzled what to do.

OP posts:

arbrighton · 11/02/2018 21:15

Baby sleep changes all the time, and often not for the better. There is another sleep regression at 8-10 months, even if, by the sounds of it you missed the joys of the 4 mo sleep regression.

But also, babies don't necessarily like quiet.... Think about all the sounds while inside you then in room with parents and now................. nothing.

Original poster

LilyWhite2 · 13/02/2018 20:42

@arbrighton Sorry it's all new to me lol.. He's so easy going usually, easiest baby by far.

I've heared of sleep regression, we had 2 weeks around 4 months mark like you say where he was on/off waking for feeds and unsettled.

Yeah maybe like you say, he actually has Ewan the sheep and Iggle piggle, but Ewan ran out a few days ago. I'll get the DH on battery duty.

He's actually been a bit better, going down at 7:30 and sleeping through till 7/8am. He woke the night before as he'd gone toilet but otherwise sleeping soundly in his Sleepyhead.

OP posts:

arbrighton · 14/02/2018 20:47

I'm FTM too but I tend to read things as I prefer to have a clue what might be coming up

My (BF) 7.5 mo has never slept through and never really slept more than 3 hours in a row since 4 mo....

If only I only had to worry about one night waking for a feed....

(you've got it pretty good....)

Original poster

LilyWhite2 · 14/02/2018 23:27

@arbrighton

My mum says that we got it easy with DS lol.. We wonder if we had another would that little one be a little monster.

I BF for 3 months too, he was pretty good then but he's just always been hungry for more. It's just a bit of a shock he's gone full cold turkey on bottles so quickly.

He's gone down nicely again last night and tonight at 7:30pm so fingers crossed he keeps this up for a while lol.

OP posts:

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