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Original poster

if they dont drink bedtime bottle would you dreamfeed at 9ish? 8mo

6 replies

neverlookback · 13/05/2012 21:19

hi we have just about stopped dd who is 8months having a bottle in the night, we have done cc which was much easier than expected and she has slept through on the 3rd and 4th night which is amazing, but sometimes she hardly drinks any milk at bedtime so then im worried of her being hungry, would you dreamfeed her at 9ish (which i did last night)? or is this creating another habit?

(i have made the decision to try and stop her habit of nighttime feeds because i have been through this with ds who only stopped at 15 months and i really cant come with doing it for that long again, i got very depressed last time and i can feel it happening again, im so tired, grumpy with my 2 other kids and dp and its affecting our relationship and im on the verge of going to the docs for anti depressent but i think i need sleep!) thanks to anyone who can give any positive advice.

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omama · 13/05/2012 21:46

ok so firstly how is she eating in the day - & how much milk is she consuming?
Secondly, what time does she have her solids dinner & what time does she have her bedtime feed? Just trying to establish if there may be a reason why she's not taking much at bedtime - my ds always guzzled his down!

next - IIWM tbh I think I would probably wait & see if she wakes up rather than dream feeding her. But I understand your reasons for considering DF. I never really succeeded in DFing my DS - we tried it but found he would still wake up for a feed at his usual time anyway so we gave it up as a bad job. You never know she might surprise you & sleep through.

debka · 13/05/2012 21:49

My DD2 gave up her bedtime bf at about 6mo Shock. I would try and try to get her to feed but she just wasn't interested, she wanted to go to bed. It didn't affect her nights (she slept through after some CC at 6mo). I would give her a go without dreamfeeding, maybe she just doesn't need it.

Original poster
neverlookback · 13/05/2012 22:11

Hi she is a really good eater,but never has much milk, she has 7oz on waking and in baby porridge and some toast, about 3oz at 10.30, lunch at 12 savory and fruit sometimes just finger foods as she has gone off being spoon fed! Approx 2-3oz at 2.30, tea 4.30 - 5 savory and fruit or biscuit then bed bottle 6oz at 6.45, before I have stopped the night feeding she would wake at 10 or 11 for 6oz and she was havin a futher 6oz at 2-3am! So its like I've cut out two bottles but it hasn't made her take any more in day yet, I've also wondered about stopping the mid morn and aft bottles as she isn't really bothered and I wonder if she would then drink better at bed time?? Any ideas? I think if she does not drink it again tomorrow ill leave her and see what happens but if she does wake ill be more likely to give in and feed her undoing all my hard work!!!

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Original poster
neverlookback · 13/05/2012 22:11

Hi she is a really good eater,but never has much milk, she has 7oz on waking and in baby porridge and some toast, about 3oz at 10.30, lunch at 12 savory and fruit sometimes just finger foods as she has gone off being spoon fed! Approx 2-3oz at 2.30, tea 4.30 - 5 savory and fruit or biscuit then bed bottle 6oz at 6.45, before I have stopped the night feeding she would wake at 10 or 11 for 6oz and she was havin a futher 6oz at 2-3am! So its like I've cut out two bottles but it hasn't made her take any more in day yet, I've also wondered about stopping the mid morn and aft bottles as she isn't really bothered and I wonder if she would then drink better at bed time?? Any ideas? I think if she does not drink it again tomorrow ill leave her and see what happens but if she does wake ill be more likely to give in and feed her undoing all my hard work!!!

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omama · 14/05/2012 22:18

hiya

At this age I wouldn't completely cut both the mid morning & mid afternoon bottles, but what I would do is combine them so she is having just one larger feed rather than 2 smaller ones. You could continue to offer this mid morning or mid afternoon, or perhaps offer it alongside her meal at lunchtime.

With my DS, we cut out his morning feed first & instead replaced it with a small snack of fruit. Then he would have his solids at 12, & we would give him a bottle mid afternoon at 2/2.30pm & he would drink a good 6-7oz there & still eat his tea no problem. When he got to 10/11 months, it started to affect his appetite at tea time & only then did I start to cut it back. At 8 months, milk is still the most important part of their diets & she needs around 20oz per day so I would try & keep the 3 feeds if at all possible.

I also don't think its an issue to feed her as a one off during the night - its not a case of giving in - if you know she hasn't had her BT feed & she wakes hungry then she is simply hungry & it would be torturous for you all to try & ignore it. I would simply feed & get back to sleep, & then look at cutting one of the bottles so you get her feeding routine back on track.

HTH.x

Original poster
neverlookback · 15/05/2012 09:16

Hi well she only had 2.5oz at bedtime but I didn't dream feed her and she slept through 12hrs, amazing! On the other hand ds who's 3 was up for an hour having nightmares so I'm still shattered!! Sometimes she does miss the morn bottle if she has a big nap but still only has a cpl of oz in the afternoon. I gave her tea at 4 yesterday to see if she wd have more bedtime bottle but it didn't. I would not let her go hungry ever but I know the night feeds were happening from habit and I don't want to go back to that not now she has slept through for 6 nights, I can't believe it!! Thankyou for your advice x

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