5 month old FF still getting up for 2 night time feeds !

[workingmom2000]

DS is 5 months and bottle fed. However he is still waking for at least 2 night time feeds. Here is his routine.

He has a feed at 7pm, 11.30, 3am and 5.30am. Then the 'technically' morning feed is at 8.00.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I've tried giving him water at night and he'll take a little bit but then want to start playing around. If I give him the milk he drinks it and goes back to sleep. I have also tried giving hungry baby milk (but only at night time feeds) - that has not stretched out the time either.

I'm going back to work in a month's time and so really need to fix this.

I would appreciate any advice - should I go cold turkey and not give him any milk at night time and let him cry? Should I give him hungry baby milk all day as well, instead of just the night ?

I hate to tell you, but DS (8 months) was taking night feeds until 4 days ago (and I've been back at work for a month).

What's probably a bit easier for me is that the night feeds are bf and we co-sleep

I think some babies just need more milk than others, and also to some extent the night feeds are for comfort - nice warm milk, time with you etc.

People kept saying to me that I wouldn't be able to keep this up when I went back to work, but at the end of the day the baby does not understant this, and imo if they want milk they should have it. It is tough, but I guess it's for such a short period of time that is what gets me through it

Sending you lots of sympathy and good luck

Surely at 5 months he should still be feeding at night?
I thought the advice was to drop night feeding around 12 months?

Can you go to bed any earlier at all to allow for the time you spend getting up?
I know how tiring it is though, sorry.

what feeds is he doing in the day? the theory is that they need to have most of their milk in the day to go through the night, so can you increase these feeds?

Stop night feeds. When he wakes up, put him back to sleep with whatever means possible - hug, shh, pat, sing, rock, etc. (Note that this is not CC - you will not be leaving him to cry it out at any point. You will be there to comfort him, but there will be No Milk At Night)

First night will be hard - don't expect to sleep much. He will then feed more the next day, which is a good thing because that means he is adjusting to getting his milk in the day rather than the night. It will get easier from then on, but still expect to have a couple of hard nights until your DS adjusts to feeding in the day and sleeping at night.

We did this at 4 months, following the advice of DD's paediatrician. (Babies are followed by paeds here in France) It was the single best advice we ever had. First night was hell, second night was easier and DD slept through the third night. She has been sleeping through ever since (now 3.7), except when ill.

Can you get your dp to help with the feeds during the night?

HI workingmom My ds was also waking for feeds when he was 5 months. I knew he was getting enough food through the day so I weaned him off the night time feeds.
I spoke to my hv who told me this was perfectly safe.
Ds was having 7oz bottles so on the first night I did it as normal, 2nd night I used 6 scoops in 7oz of water, 3rd night 5 scoops in 7oz of water, 4th night 4 scoops in 7oz of water and tat was it, he stopped waking as the milk was slowly getting to the point where it just wasn't worth waking for.
It is not a good idea to put too much powder in the water, but as long as it's watered down it's perfectly safe to get the mix wrong that way round iykwim.

Personally, I wouldn't go cold turkey ith it, he is still young

Your not oing anything wrong. Your dc still needs 2 night feeds.

DD1 was still having 2 night feeds until she was about 18mths. She still had a feed at 3am until she was 2yrs. She go 7pm to 7am.

DD2 only used to wake for a feed at 11pm from about 9wks But she would go 6pm to 5.30am when she was ready to start the day.

Well the thing is that he's already cut his first tooth and the second one is on its way too. I read somewhere that having milk at night can lead to tooth decay in babies and so it should be avoided.

Hmm some interesting and conflicting advice there ! I might try giving him less every day and see how it goes. If I were breastfeeding I think it would be easier, but its difficult waking up 20 minutes before the 'anticipated feeding time' and preparing the bottle.

Also I feel that he is taking less during the day. He feeds 3 hourly and only 5 oz max and therefore is catching up at night.

My DC were like this. I would put your DS on hungry baby formula at every feed and see if that helps.

Its not long until you can start weaning him so then giving hima bit of baby rice at tea time might help. It did with both my DC

workingmum - could you use cartons just for the night feeds? I know they're expensive, but you could use half for the first night feed and half for the second? I'm assuming his night feeds aren't full feeds?

Yes actually I've been using cartons for the past couple of nights, as I wanted to try out the hungry baby milk.

I guess i'll try all combinations of things suggested here by everyone and hope that I see results in the next couple of weeks.

I already gave him 1/2 teaspoon of baby rice for a couple of days which he really enjoyed. He wanted more but I thought its best to start out slow. But then with his teething etc, I didn't continue with it. I'll try to make it a regular thing as well and maybe give him more.