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Infant feeding

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

Previously great sleeper now waking in night as if hungry again, what should I do?

6 replies

JamesAndTheGiantBanana · 05/01/2008 17:10

My 5month old usually sleeps through the night and feeds four hourly during the day, so he is down to four 7oz bottles and two small solid meals. He was ok with that up to a few days ago but the past few nights he's been up in the night grumbling every hour or so as if he's hungry again.

He isn't ravenous as he will go back to sleep with a dummy and a cuddle, but he is mouthing his hands a lot so I know he would have a bottle if offered.

I've no objection to feeding him in the night (this isn't a moan about having to wake up with him, I know we're very lucky that he's such a good sleeper) but it seems like a step backwards since he's been sleeping through for a couple of months.

So today I've tried giving him 8oz at every feed as he's been draining his 7oz bottles, but he won't take the extra ounce.

What should I do? As far as I can see my options are to either give him an extra bottle in the night, persevere with the 8oz bottles during the day, up his solid feeds a bit so he feels fuller, or switch to hungry baby milk.

I like the hungry baby milk idea the best as obviously his routine is great right now, but I keep on making mistakes in my decisions so opinions would be appreciated.

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mom2latinoboys · 05/01/2008 17:52

Is he teething? Sounds like it could be.

JamesAndTheGiantBanana · 05/01/2008 18:11

Thanks, yeah he is teething, he has one right under the surface at the top. But when he wakes in the night his cheeks aren't red as they can be when his teeth are really bothering him, it seems more like hunger, but it could be teething I spose.

Any other advice, folks?

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yomellamoHelly · 05/01/2008 18:33

My ds2 did this too. He'd slept through from 7 'til 7 (without a feed) from 6 weeks, then started waking, hungry, from five and a half months. I fed him until he was 11 months, when I kept thinking he wasn't as hungry as he ought to be come breakfast time (would also sleep 'til 8:15 - 8:30 if left). Only took a couple of days to get him to go through again. SO glad I have my nights back again!

JamesAndTheGiantBanana · 05/01/2008 21:09

So what did you do to get him to sleep through again?

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fairylights · 05/01/2008 21:13

my ds was a great sleeper doing 7-7 from about 7 weeks but at odd intervals (can't remember exactly now!) like maybe at 6mo, and definitely at 9 mo he started waking up in the night and it was def hunger. I was really worried about breaking his sleeping thru habit but i did feed him for a few nights each time and then he went back to his old routine fine.
It was another story when teething really got going! Hardly had whole nights sleep for 3 months!

JamesAndTheGiantBanana · 05/01/2008 22:01

fairylights my lo has just cut his first tooth today (I think! feels through but he won't let me look) so it may have been teething after all!

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