Does anyone else give a non Breast fed 18 month old milk in the night?

[whoneedssleepanyway]

DD2 (18 months) has always been an awful sleeper, she had bad reflux as a baby which kind of set the scene. She sleeps much better now but usually wakes at least once a night and wakes v early (normally between 5 and 6).

When she wakes in the night I give her a beaker of milk and she goes straight back down. Thing is she is a poor eater too and I am sure this is due to the fact that she has about 4 beakers of milk a day (prob total volume one pint) and I know this is my fault.

She shares a room with her sister and we have just moved her into a bed as her sister has bunk beds and the room can't really accomodate the beds and the cot and we need the space and the thought of trynig to do some kind of sleep training now too might be too much.

I really need to sort this out as I am so run down and was ill all over christmas and can't go on getting up every night and starting the day at 5am.

Anyone had similar experiences?

No advice on the sleeping front, but DD (17 months) still has lots of milk. Bottle at bedtime, 1 or 2 in the night and usually one first thing. She obviously needs it (for whatever reason) so we're going with the flow, as ever.

So you're not alone with having a milk monster!

That good to know Justalittle, I kind of think at least she has the milk given she often will only eat one meal a day and that might be just carrots pasta and a satsuma (she is fussy...)

For us, I really think it's more comfort than hunger. We did BLW. So it was a slower start than puree weaning, but it wasn't long before she got the hang of it and her appetite took off.

She's now a "good" eater for the most part, but still craves the overnight milk. I have been meaning to have a couple of days of really ramping up the food to see if that does make a difference to the milk, but I really don't think it will. She has days now where she seems to eat aaaall day long, and will still have milk in the night.

But even if it is comfort, so be it. Milk fulfills that need for her, which is good! I'd much prefer that to her needing comfort and not getting it.

who needs - as you know, I'm a in a similar boat! DD2 does sleep better when she has a more rigid meal structure, rather than grazing - 3 meals and 2 snacks, but she still glugs 7oz at bedtime and the same again in the night, most of the time.

good luck, i know what the waking does to you, i'm shattered!

God, I could have written your post! DS2 (14mths) is exactly the same and we have resolved (from tonight) to stop the night feeds. We are both suffering badly from insommnia and can't go on .

We have also drastically cut down on his milk feeds during the day and are giving him healthy snacks instead. It is starting to make a difference to his day time eating.

Good luck. Having had DS1 who was (and still is) such a good eater this has been one hell of a shock!

Ds2 doesn't have any milk in the night but will have about a pint in total during the day as well as 3 reasonable sized meals. He wakes about 6 and plays happily in his cot for about half an hour with a beaker of water i put in before i go to bed. I dont feel confident leaving him to play if he hasn't eaten well during the day. Maybe if she would eat better during the day you would feel happier saying no in the night. Sharing a room makes it more difficult too.

DS is 20 months and the same.

He has milk (soya) at bedtime and I've just managed to swap his milk to very weak juice overnight - I did this because his weight gain has been slow so I don't want him filling up on milk and eating badly during the day.

And also because I want to only offer water eventually so am giving him weaker and weaker juice and also a little less each night in the hope to wean him off.

If he wakes now I give him a hug and settle him down before offering him the drink - sometimes that's worked fine.

Good luck - I know how awful it is when you aren't getting enough sleep

It sounds mean and i dont really mean it but when mine have gone through fussy phases i've stopped daytime milk and snacks to make them 'hungry' for their meals. This is tricky if you have a child who isn't bothered about food.

Blimey - I thought I was the only person still giving milk to my hulking toddler in the night! This has made me feel better!

My DS2 (16 months) eats well during the day but will still have a bottle at bedtime and usually one, sometimes two during the night.

He is showing signs of taking less during the night and I'm trying to encourage him to self settle without a feed by shushing/patting etc. I can't face too much sleep training at the moment either so if he's working himself up into a frenzy I give him a feed.

Sympathies to all the other posters with non sleepers