9 month old clinging to night feeds

[strawberrycake]

Does anyone have any ideas?

DS has 3 meals plus snacks, plus 3 day bottles. IT's fantastic he's suddenly eating well but it's made no difference with night feeds. By offering water/ very watered milk I've got him down to 1/2 night (about 11pm and 3.30am) bottles but he screams blue murder for them. He's not otherwise a bad sleeper, can settle well if disturbed but he wants these bottles. He'd rather drop day bottles. I don't offer milk straight away but frankly it seems pointless. Without milk he only briefly settles until he screams for milk. With milk he'll sleep. I tried watering down. he drinks it but wakes up sooner, e.g. wakes after 2 hours if given 2 scoops.

I crave sleep (I work). I'm worried it'll become a habit and everyone assures me at this age he doesn't need milk in the night. HV gives (stupid) advice just to not give it. He gets hysterical and does not settle, just gets VERY worked up. I'm not prepared to have hime in that state (I'll leave him to moan, but not in that state).

Any common experiences?

You shouldn't water down formula milk. DD (11.5mo) is still having a feed at 11pm and 3amish. AFAIK babies don't drop down to feeds a day until 12 mo+.

If he's hungry, feed him.

Just give the bottles. He'll drop them soon enough and if he goes back to sleep after them you can sleep in between. My eldest dropped her 2 feeds one just before 11 months the other about 1 but when her biggest teeth were coming through at about 13 months we had to reinstate one of them as she wasn't eating enough in the day.

I found the best way to reduce feeds was to reduce the quantity being offered at one of the night feeds by half an ounce every 3 days.

This way you see a gradual reductionbut it's done slowly and they don't mind so much. When it got to about 2 ounces I found the bottle tendedto be missed and certainly when dropping the first of the two night feeds a cuddle seemed to settle her back to sleep.

Best of luck. PS I've always made a policy of not asking HV's anything as I'm yet to find one that talks any sense and as my friends who's a GP said the other day 'HV's are all about child protection these days and have little time for anything else that's why there is mumsnet!'

Oh I know what you mean about HVs, mine more so than most.

THe only problem I have is that he's skipping breakfast now. Also I think the 2nd bottle is more comfort than anything (0.5oz last night after screaming for it). I'm torn between thinking he needs it and thinking it's just a nice way to get back to sleep. He had no night feeds for months but his rountine was screwed up in hospital and he switched ALL his milk to the night.