This is my 16 week olds night routine...please comment!

[ohblahdeeohblahdahlifegoeson]

Firstly I have to say she's a lovely strapping wee bub who weighs over 8 kg already and is a dream in all respects, but I was reeeeaaaalllly hoping she would be sleeping through by now.

This is the routine we have found ourselves in:
8pm 200mls formula with a tablespoon of farex added

12pm breast feeding for 20 mins or so, no idea on volume but by then my boobs are very full so I expect she's getting a lot.

3am 150mls formula with a tablespoon of Farex added

5:30am another breastfeed as per above and then she will return to sleep till around 7am

The addition of farex has only been for the last 2 nights as I was hoping it would bulk up her tummy a bit but that hasn't worked so far.

Do I increase her formula amount? She has usually fallen back asleep by the time she's finished her 150mls so she's not still hungry.

Advice or comments welcome!

You should never add solids to milk to bulk it out and she is really too young for solids at the moment. I would speak to your HV and ask their advice on feeding your DD.

Oh gosh OP, please don't put anything in a bottle sort from the milk, it's a choking risk.

Plus cereal won't provide the nutrition she needs.

If she's hungry, she needs more milk, whether that's formula or bm

It's also a a bit early for her to be sleeping though consistently. Just up her milk amounts for a bit and see how she goes.

That seems like pretty okay sleep for a 16-week-old. Four-hour stretch followed by a three-hour and then a bit more. It'll naturally draw out as time goes on but four months is a tricky spot for sleep anyway.

What is Farex? If it's some sort of solids I def wouldn't be adding that to the bottle of such a young baby. Hungry babies need more milk, not stodge.

Personally I think the best thing you could do is let go of the idea of her sleeping through for now and breastfeed her whenever she’s hungry.

I wouldn’t be putting anything in her feed for now. I have a 16 week old baby, she’s a fairly good sleeper but doesn’t really nap through the day so think it’s mainly due to her being tired!
Do you have a routine before bed- bath, massage bottle to help get her settled and sleepy? If she’s waking for feeds then I expect she’s hungry for it, how are her feeds during the day?
Every baby is different so she’s going at her speed, some babies can go longer between feeds at night but others still want milk and that’s okay just now.

What is farex? Said as a mother of dc in their late 20s.

Her sleeping pattern sounds fabulous to me. There will be teeth soon so brace yourself.

When mine were babies the advice was tonstart some fruit or veg puree and/or Yoghurt at that age in the daytime. Advice from GP and HV BTW. But from a spoon in the day time.

Fashions change but cereal in milk has always been wrong. So has the notion that 4 month old babies sleep for long stretches. DS did about midnight to 5.45 from early on (I will not divulge his later sleeping habits) dd woke every two hours (or so) from about 11.30pm until shebwas about three.

My baby is one and doesn't do longer than two to three hours at a time on a good night and feeds back to sleep for each wake up. I'm afraid all babies are different and most still wake at least once until 2. Kathryn Stagg has great info on this.

It is totally, developmentally normal (and safer!) for your baby to wake for bf, milk or comfort through the night!

this might be worth a read Interesting article

Just remember that babies aren't just waking up because they're hungry. At this age they don't have a full concept of day and nighttime and adding things to their milk to fill them up could well be doing more harm then good by giving them a tummy ache!
... I'm not insinuating you're doing and harm btw OP, I hope you don't read it that way.

The sleepless nights are very tough and 2 children later I've learnt that babies/toddlers will sleep through once they are ready to. Developmental phases are a massive sleep distraction so you might find why you're doing now may change in a month. You might get a horrendous phase followed by an amazing week... it's just so changeable!

I never formula fed either of my boys but from a BF point of view I just fed on demand every time. I used to think tile as 3 hour cycles, feed, sleep awake and so on.

Also look up the 4 month sleep regression as that's a biggie!

Oh no just googled it and you're adding food to milk. This is a huge risk to your baby and incredibly selfish of you to try and get more sleep. Speak to your health visitor and lactation consultant if you need support. You need to go on a starting solids course to see just how much research there is about the damage we can do bu giving food under six months.

This.

What you need to do is readjust your expectations. We would all love for our babies to have been sleeping through at 16 weeks. The reality is that very few are (and many of those that are then regress back to waking a few weeks later).

Yes I very much agree with this ♥️
Accepting your sleepless nights makes them easier 🙈

Might she be thirsty ? Especially in this hot weather ? I'd skip the formula in the middle of the night and just breast feed her. Make sure you are sufficiently hydrated as well.

I didn't know what Farex was either! Apparently it's rice cereal. Definite no to adding to bottles - this is an aspiration risk. Are you in Australia OP? Do you have a paediatrician or health nurse you can get proper recommendations from?

Agree that the wake ups sound normal and fine. It is quite unusual unfortunately for babies to sleep through by 4 months old, and common for sleep to be disrupted around this age as there are many things which all happen to coincide - teething, developmental leap, change in sleep cycle/rhythm, learning to roll, object permanence (realising that you exist when you're not visible). Solids or extra milk likely won't help with sleep.

I'd keep feeding at the wake ups but skip the cereal.

My baby is almost a month older and 2kgs smaller so I think yours must be doing super well on milk and doesn’t need anything extra (and yy to PP saying that you shouldn’t introduce solids too early and definitely not in bottles).

The sleep will come in time. It’s so tough when you are in the midst of it (I am too!) but it will improve and there’s not a lot we can do to speed that up.

Please don’t add solids to her milk, it can be so dangerous and is unnecessary. Accept that when you have a young baby that sleep will be interrupted and that it is totally normal.

She's 16 weeks old, it's common for them to wake in the night at this age. Please don't add things go her bottle, it really isn't safe.

Oh interesting reading, I'm glad I asked for comments.
Here in my country (NZ) Farex sits on the supermarket shelf right next to the formula and is marketed from 4 months old.
I'll skip this step from now on (she's only had it 4x)
The table spoons worth in her bottle was about the consistency of cream...and flowed through the teat holes ok so I dont think she was at risk of choking (not meaning to sound defensive) but I'll stop regardless.

The sleep side of it...well thanks for the reality check 😂
I'll just be grateful she settles back to sleep so easily after each feed

I'm surprised they sell it next to the formula. I wonder how many babies they lose through choking? I know someone who lost their 3 month old in the U.K. about 25 years ago after they choked on a bottle that had cereal added.

The broken nights really are rough, I really feel for you. It does get better though even if it doesn't seem possible!

15 years ago, not 25.