8 month old still have 3 night feeds - what can I do?

[mumtomoley]

My 8 month old still takes a lot of milk overnight and I'm not sure what I can do to try and reduce (and prolong sleep!) Sometimes it gets better for a bit, but then goes back to waking several times, he can't be having a growth spurt every couple of weeks!

On the whole he'll have a 7oz bottle at bedtime (7.30) then another 7 oz at about 11.30, then another 7oz at about 3.00 and then sometimes another at 6.00am before getting up for the day at 7.30am (doesn't always have the last one though). And occasionaly misses one of the night feeds but that's rare.

So he can be having 28oz of milk in 12 hours which is more than he needs in 24 hours. I've tried feeding him more in the day though he eats a lot of solids as a rule. And I've tried feeding him smaller portions of solids so he gets more milk in the day but neither seem to make a difference.

The times he wakes does vary by up to an hour so I'm not sure whether he's waking out of habit or not. If it was out of habit, would he still drink the whole bottle?

He's not overweight and he's crawling and pulling himself up so he's getting plenty of excercise.

Any thoughts how he can sleep for longer periods of time? Or is it just a case of waiting for him to grow out of it?

Bless you. Some people may say just go cold turkey once your dc gets past 6 months. Other will say they still need milk through the night until they are two! Follow your baby and your instinct.

What I did was, once I was sure she'd had a good feed before seven bedtime, settle her with hand on tummy, or however, and see if she'd sleep. Sometimes it worked without a feed, if not is feed her. I was surprised at how often she'd settle without a feed. Gradually she was night weaned without her ever going hungry.

Obviously your little one needs to get all that milk in the day. Try giving him a full milk feed before his solids? I felt like I was feeding my dd either milk or solids all the time and realised she needed milk less frequently, so seven, after her long lunch nap and bedtime. She gets over 20 oz. She has solids around 8, 12 before her big nap, and five ish, so it doesn't seem to interfere with her milk.

I intend to follow her lead and do everything gradually but she's suddenly so much more robust at this age and adapted to feeding only three times with milk without any issue! And wakes up at seven not starving and in great humour (apart from a bad sleeping phase we've just come out of but that's nothing to do with hunger!)

Hope you enjoy more sleep soon. My lovely mil pointed out that sometimes sleep is more important than food for little ones.

Thanks aloha I do try to settle him without feeding, and it does work occasionally - but when he is hungry he does this thing where he sort of scrabbles all over me so he's quite hard to hold (don't know if other babies fo this too!) whereas if he'll go back to sleep he sort of relaxes as soon as I pick him up.

Going cold turkey isn't really an option for me, I'm inclined to think he is genuinely hungry because he's drinking his bottles not just having an oz or two and going back to sleep. Once he's had it, he zonks out so I'm not up for long or anything but I would rather give him all this milk in the day!

He already has some milk in the day - has weetabix with about 3 ozs for breakfast, then may have about another 4ozs after that (if he hasn't had his 6am feed) then solid lunch at 12.00 bottle mid afternoon and solid dinner at 5.30. I alway offer him milk after his solids at the moment and more often than not he'll have half a bottle or so..

So do you think I should try giving him a 7 oz bottle of milk for his lunch and dinner and then seeing if he want anything solid after that? He can be having up to about 35oz of milk in 24 hours!

Sorry, I know other peoples lists of feeding quantities and times is really boring!

Definitely don't go cold turkey. Sounds like you'll have to gradually getting him drinking more more and more milk in the day. Could you aim for four milk feeds of seven or eight oz each? Still offer him solids after milk, but make sure he gets the milk first. Then maybe leave it half an hour or more for his solids?

Slowly push his night feed later? I just started my dd on ff as was breastfeeding until now, and am using Hipp organic, they do a lovely night time milk. Maybe look for that. I was perfectly happy to keep on with dd's 3am feed but it started naturally going later and later, and one night she just sort of settled without me realising it was suddenly 7am. We never did a dreamfeed as she slept really well from 7 until 2 or 3.

It's not boring! Since having my dd i've got loads of useful tips from other people's daily rhythms and habits.

I always offer milk before solids (although it's easier for me as when DS decides he's hungry he wants milk NOW as nothing else satisfies!). So wake up, milk, wait 30 minutes or so then offer breakfast. Nap, wake, milk. 30 mins later offer lunch. Nap, wake, milk. Then there's a bit of a gap til tea time so he might wait or he might have a snack. Then milk before bed. Has he started crawling and pulling up recently? I've found DS has been really unsettled since he started crawling and cruising and Friday he just ate for England (a whole jacket potato for tea!), 5oz milk before bed and then 2 5oz night feeds, piggy!

I would carry on as you are following his lead but perhaps try to offer milk before his meals. And I wouldn't worry about how much he "should" be having either. Milk is their main source of nutrition til 1 anyway so it won't be harming him :)

My ds is 7 and a half months and still waking at night too so I'm reading replies with interest.

At present DS has milk at 3am, 10am, 2pm , 6pm and 11pm (dream feed)
He has solids at 7:30, 12, 4 and 6pm

He is taking about 25oz of milk a day. Most of this is at night. It's exhausting but I have tried to stop feeding and it makes no odds and even when fed at 3 he wakes at 6:30 wide awake!