Bad habits or hungry?

[bail16]

Hi,
My 8 month old dd used to go through the night 6.30pm-5am, then wake and have a bottle and then go straight off again. Now she is waking at about 1am, and again and 5ish and is screaming each time until I give her milk.
I've tried giving just water instead, she'll drink 1oz and scream some more.

She already has 4 x 7oz in the day (it was 4 x 6oz but I increased it in the hope she'd stop waking for milk at 1am.

Her routine is:

1am scream and bottle (7oz usually will only take 5oz)
5am scream and bottle (7oz)
8am wake
8.30 breakfast
10am sleep for about 90mins
12pm lunch
12.30 sleep for about 30-60mins
3.30pm bottle (7oz) then sleep for about 30mins
4.30pm dinner
6.30pm bath then bed

I've tried cutting the bottles in the day to 3, but she is so unhappy all day with that.

When she is awake she doesn't stop, she is constantly on the move crawling, standing, cruising, into everything, laughing and babbling.

She can usually self settle herself for naps in the day, but at night will not.

Where am I going wrong?

Thanks

When are the bottles during the day between 5am and 3.30pm? Also, is there one before bed?

I think babies know when they need milk, and night wakings for an 8 month old are not at all unusual.

Remember that sleep doesn't improve on a smooth curve, it's much more spiky than that.

Also, between 33 1/2 and 37 1/2 weeks there is a leap in mental development (The World of Categories), and they always muck sleep up.

Nothing, she probably is hungry as won't sleep with just water. Dont forget that milk it's still supposed to be there main source of food until at lest 12months. I'm not up on milk amounts as breastfed, but it's totally normal for them to have a sleep regression at this age to. due to developmental changes as you say she's on the go all day crawling and cruising using loss of energy but still growing at an amazing rate. So probably just needs that extra milk at the moment.

What would happen if you introduced a supper, such as warm, milky porridge, and a drink of milk just before bed? Would that fill her up enough to sleep through? I'm only speaking from my own experiences with my own dc; they always wake hungry if for some reason they've not had any/enough supper, even now at 13 and 30 months.

Thank you! It's just to hear that it's ok to give her milk overnight still, the hv we last saw a month ago said 'ooh she should be going through by now!' So I just worry! So 35oz milk isn't too much over 24hours?? As well as 3 meals (not that she eats loads)

If she is eating her last meal at 4.30 then she will.be waking at night through hunger.

Give her a bowl.of porrige after her bath.

I'd say she's sleeping too much in the day.

DS (13 weeks)

Wake at 7am, bottle 7oz
Nap 9 - 9.45 am
Bottle 7 oz 11 am
Nap 12 - 2
Bottle 7oz 2 pm
Bottle 7oz 5pm
Bath 5.30
Bottle 2/3oz 6pm
Sleep 6pm - 10.30pm
Wake to feed 10.30. Bottle 7oz
Sleep 10.30pm to 7am

Total daytime sleep is less than 3 hours.

Definitely not sleeping too much - the last thing you want is an over tired baby. Sounds hungry to me - think about it, even as an adult you rarely go 12 hours without something to eat or at least drink so why do we expect it of these tiny tots with tiny tummies?

I completely disagree re sleeping too much in the day. Sleep breeds sleep. Three years of crappy sleep from DS1 has taught me this.

She definitely needs to have a bottle before going to bed. I would be increasing her day bottles to try and cut out the night ones!

Yes, I also agree about the daytime naps: a baby that sleeps is, well, a baby that sleeps. If she's sleeping that much through the day as well as through the night then she obviously needs it. Personally I'm inclined to think that your dd is getting hungry; going from 4.30 pm til 6.30 seems quite a long time for a baby that's weaned and is eating solid food and would, as I already suggested, offer a light supper before bed.

I'd think about trying to put dinner back a bit and also have a bottle before bed if you can get it into her bed routine.
If her dinner is only an hour after 7oz bottle she wouldn't be as interested in filling up on food.
My ds is a pig at the table its a running joke in our family that he will eat anything and big portions, but when he started nursery for some reason they kept giving him a bottle an hour before he's lunch and they would always say he refused lunch or ate little.
I don't know if you have other dc or anything to make this impossible but may be good to get out in the pram to extend that slot between milk and dinner and get lots of fresh air to help bring on appetite.