Needing some advise about refusing bedtime bottle please.

[Fancyties]

Morning all,

In need of some advise please 😌
I wrote Similiar on weaning thread, but am at wits end now.

My lo is almost 10 months old and refusing or drinking 4oz of milk at bedtime and as a result waking early as shes hungry. Not just hungry. Literally screaming as she wants her breakfast.

This is her routine-
650am get out of bed.
730am poriddge and fruit.
830/9 - offer 8 oz usually takes 7oz.
945am/10am till 11am nap.

12pm lunch cheese on toast, wrap, pasta. Chicken cheese yoghurt custard etc.
130pm - offer 8oz.usually takes 6.

2pm till 330pm nap

430pm dinner. Fish. Chicken, potato, pasta. Veg etc.
530pm snack as she's screaming at me as still hungry. And she eats a lot of dinner(for example half a bit of fish, 1 large cauli. 1 large brocoli maybe more. Potato - 4/5 potato smilies rare treat she gets these but said it like this to imagine what I give her) Custard breadstick
645pm/7pm offer 8oz now takes 4oz if that.

I have moved dinner to 430pm from 5/515pm the last couple of days to see if that helps her drink more. And moved her lunch 30 mins earlier too.

Any suggestions to helping her drink her bedtime milk please 😌
as she ais starving when she wakes and inhales her breakfast 😔 S

What's wrong wither waking hungry?

Basically you can't force her to eat if she's not hungry.

This will just be a phase, so keep offering her milk last thing, and ride it out .

If she doesn't want it don't force it, it's ok if she wakes up hungry, she'll eat then. Mine were the same at that age. Try a bit of porridge, baby rice or Weetabix instead before bed and see if she'll have that. It worked with mine for a while xx

Is she waking up at 650 hungry or is it earlier than this?

If you know she's likely to be up screaming, can you not just get up at 6am and have a bottle of milk ready to give her when she wakes up?

I know everyone on MN moans about their babies waking at 5am at this age, but I just went to bed earlier and went with it. You know she'll be up early, be ready in the morning instead of moving everything else around.

she's waking at 545am when she slept through until 630am sometimes 730am. I know that lo's wake that early.

I feel shes not having enough bedtime bottle to keep her filled and wonder if anyone has any suggestions please 🤗

Forgot to mention she drinks lots of water probably about 6oz to 8oz in day x

Sadly she won't have her bottle first she wants her porridge first and will scream at me with the bottle until she gets her porridge 😂 I have a foody kid. Literally any food she will have. She whips food of anyone's plate or hand.

by 10 months she only really needs around 14oz of milk a day if she has a diary-rich diet which it sounds like she does. The walking hungry thing wouldn't worry me, it won't be long before she starts waking earlier and therefore will eat earlier (5am wake ups very common from a year or so until 4 years )

She sounds like she is eating plenty but perhaps try to offer a bit more protein with her evening meal to keep her full and move the timings back to that dinner is nearer 4/5.30.

I think that's a perfectly normal wake up time, sorry to say and one that will last for a while yet as I said. Embrace the early mornings OP

I thought you might say a phase 😔 I wondered if to try cutting the lunch time bottle out? To see if that makes her hungry later. Think I remember seeing that on bedtime bottle refusal.

Last night for example, she had 4oz, then my oh was eating a jacket potatoe and quite happily scoffed some of that 🙄

Of it helps, my middle child started refusing all milk at 9.5 months - HV said as long as she had the equivalent of 14oz of milk in her food I shouldn't stress so things like weetabix, scrambled eggs, Porridge, rice pudding and cheese sauces etc were offered a lot. She developed perfectly. Try not to worry

I honestly think she's telling you that milk isn't coming her up but good is, so would be looking to give her more of it. Either give a slightly bigger mid afternoon snack to push dinner later or keep dinner where it is and try a snack before bed.

Porridge/toasties/nut butter or cheese spread in toast, something with fat and protein in.

Given the amount of food she's eating the number won't be her major source of vanities now so as long as she's getting the recommended any for the other nutrients don't worry

Ooh yes sorry eggs are great too, I don't like them so always forget about them

@lefttoherowndevizes thank you. So if she refuses her bottle. Give her a big snack before bed?

Kids wake up early. If she's sleeping through, be thankful! If she's really hungry when she wakes, you could offer a banana or some fruit while you're making the porridge.

It's worth a try. Ours would eat at nursery at a similar time and a snack before bed definitely helped and then they started waking up at 5 anyway so we had to give them a snack as soon as they woke up

Thank you.

Does food or formula have more calories? Just kind of curious

It would depend on food. But I know I personally am fuller for longer eating toast than I would be on the same calories of liquid. Which is why slim fast was such a disaster as I would drink it then eat a meal