7 month old still having night feeds

[Booklover2021]

I wonder if anyone has advice? I know at this age babies still may have a night feed but my LO seems to be more in a habit than needing a feed. His naps and self settling have really improved but a typical night at the moment is...
Asleep usually by 7pm
Up for a feed at 10pm, 2am and then 4am.
He is teething at the moment.

Any advice? Ideally eve if I could start just by stopping one of those wake ups?! I've tried other soothing methods and tried less milk but he's determined and cries.

Thanks in advance

I would let him have it if he wants it. My daughter, now 30 didn't stop having milk through the night till she was 3yrs old, her daughter , my grandchild is now 2 and is following in her footsteps, and still waking up for milk in the night. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to babies, they are all different.

I’d follow baby’s lead. 7mo is still quite little. DC1 stopped night feeds around 11 months but that didn’t stop the wake ups, sadly. DC2 is 9mo and still waking hourly to bf.

It’s normal- hang in there

A seven month old who doesn’t have night feeds is far more the exception than the other way around.

Those feeds are totally normal for a 7 month old.

Ok thank you all. I suppose I'm just surrounded by the rare cases of other babies sleeping through! I'm back to work soon so was hoping to get fewer wake ups!

My baby is still feeding no overnight and they’re older than that. If you’re able to Ud still do the feeds.

It's probably for comfort. And that's why we are here, to comfort and care for our babies.
So there's nothing wrong with that. If it's not bearable to you then stop. I stopped when it became unbearable myself, but I did it for as long as I could as it was something I was never going to be able to do again for her so wanted to do it as long as possible. (possible for me, and my mental health)

While it's not unusual for babies of that age to still have night feeds, generally by about 4 or 5 months there is no requirement for most babies to feed during the night unless they have certain medical conditions or weight gain problems. They should be taking in enough calories during the day so that they don't need to feed at night, and generally if they are it's just a habit or comfort thing.
If baby is gaining weight well and otherwise healthy I would gradually reduce one of the feeds (if you're BF then gradually reduce amount of time on the breast) or you could cut it cold turkey and offer a small drink of water instead. It'll be a rough few nights while he adjusts but after that he'll most likely accept it.
It's worth a try.

Are they sleeping through or just being ignored or not bothering to cry as they get told off?

All my children fed overnight until 12-18 months. It’s really normal

Both of mine were still having night feeds at 7m. Dc2 was bf and coslept, as soon as he could wriggle he just helped himself which made night feeds easier but night weaning a nightmare... he eventually stopped around 1 but still wakes up at least once a night at 2.5 for a drink of water.

I'd probably wait until the teething has settled a bit before trying to drop a bottle, always found changes easier if they weren't teething.

This is dangerous outdated cruel advice

do not give your baby water - until 1 their primary nutrition source is milk.

honestly can’t believe people still think like this

My babies were like this and never go the memo about sleeping longer, they really enjoyed their milk / comfort feeds.

If it’s affecting you my HV stated the below, if you are happy to continue then nothing wrong with it either. Babies love comfort.

HV advice which worked for us is to set a time they can’t have a feed until, ours was 1/2am. So for your 10pm feed you pick them up and rock / cuddle them back to sleep but absolutely no milk. It’s easier if dad does this so they can’t smell the milk. Then at 1/2am crack on as normal. We used this technique to drop feeds gradually over night. I wouldn’t recommend getting them to drop anymore than 1 or 2 feeds at this age, I would keep the 1am feed regardless. Then closer to their first birthday you can try to drop all night feeds.

Sorry I think it's normal at 7 months... hang in there! Mine stopped about 10 months

It's not dangerous, outdated or cruel.

I never said to give water instead of milk, I am aware that milk is the main source of nutrition before 1, I said that if the OP wants to wean from night feeds to offer a small drink of water, like a sip or two when she would ordinarily offer milk (just at night), ultimately baby will wake out of habit, realise they're not getting milk and will stop after a few days, their intake will then likely change and they will take more milk during the day to compensate.

Do some evidence based research before trying to call people out.

My baby is 6 months and feeds several times per night, my nieces and nephews are older and still feeding at night so I just expect it. I wouldn't offer water, it does seem a bit mean, if they want milk or comfort then that's pretty basic I think. I don't think my baby could feed any more by day anyway, she's a bit of a snacker.

Are you breastfeeding? If so then nursing back to sleep is totally normal because they also need it for comfort, pain relief, connection to you etc. My one year old wakes at least five times from 8pm-6am and only this week has stopped asking for milk at every wake up, more like every other.