still feeding during night at 8 1/2 months any suggestions

[suziewoo13]

My DD is 8 1/2 months. She is excellent at going to sleep but generally wakes up during the night and will only settle with a feed ( about 5 oz of bottle). I had breast feed her until 6 1/2 months when she just went off wanting breast fed. She doesn't take much milk during the day - but eats her meals well and I try to give her yoghurts, custards etc. I'm not really sure what to do as she can get herself to sleep, naps well during the day and can sleep 12 hours on occassion but still isn't doing the magic 12 hours at night regularly. She settles rally quickly when I feed and if I leave her for CC just wakes again in 1/2 hour sections. Am I being unrealistic at expecting her to be able to sleep for 12 hours every night( my husband thinks so) or does any one have any tips.
I'm going back to work in a few weeks and can't face having the lack of sleep

Yes, you're being a bit unrealistic - loads of babies don't sleep 12 hours a night ever.

She's still very young - if she settles really quickly with a bottle, I'd give it to her. I still bfeed my 11mo when he wakes because if I don't, he won't sleep again and I work fulltime and it's easier for us all.

You could try giving her a bit less milk each night or slowly increasing the dilution of the formula so that in a couple of weeks she's waking for a drink of water, maybe?

my dd is 8 months and last night slept through for the first time in months. i would love to tell you what my secret is but it was pure luck i think! they ARE capable of sleeping for 12 hours though - would you be happy trying controlled crying at night as if she is eating loads during the day i doubt she is really hungry.

I've been told that it can be normal for some babies to be hungry overnight, up to 12 months and therefore to still need a feed. Is she hungry when she wakes up? This can be a sign that she really does need feeding overnight if she is, despite being fed.

oh x posts with hunker! every baby is different tho - some will sleep like its going out of fashion, others don't...not very reassuring, sorry

The way that we sorted this out was to srop the feed time by a minute a night until it was just not something ds was used to anymore. The likelihood is she is not actually hungry but thinks she is as she has always had a night time feed. It worked for us and he stopped waking for a feed after about 2 weeks.

Like Jacksma we gradually weaned off night feeds by reducing amount given & increasing daytime feeds. We used 'Good Sleep Guide' by Angela Henderson. Seem to be recommending that book on every thread today - I'm not on commission I promise! But it did help us.

My DS is a week off being 9 months and has been sleeping through for a good few months (and even when he wakes up he's not screaming for milk).
Every baby is different and unfortunately i think its just something that the baby decides when to stop. I know that some HV advise to give water instead of milk and the baby will lose interest - but i dont really see it.
Perhaps having a small shuffle with feed times etc will allow your DD to get more food in her during the day.

I think that if she settles well after a feed then she is hungry ...

Try more filling foods in the day perhaps like lentils and proteiny stuff and a split feed before bed to maximise milk intake ...

Have given DD most of her evening bottle and she even took a little milk after her lunch time feed. I've read the Angela Henderson book and thought it would be simple advice to follow....but my DD has been regularly irregular with her sleep it has been hard to figure out how to drop the feed as sometimes she would sleep through, then she had a cold, then she was teething, then one night she will settle herself, or another give it welly and cry until I fed her! Next night different time entirley for another cry. My husband gets up early and I'm the one getting up. He thinks its the books that are the problem not our wee DD. Here's hoping for a peaceful night. Thanks for all the advice.

Hi Suzi woo

DS is 6 months and only now sleeping better and not feeding at 2 or 4 am. I stopped BF-ing two weeks ago and give him at least 5 x 8oz bottles a day. We are also waking him at 10 for a dream feed...which i think enables him to go til 6.30/7...good luck

Well she woke at 4 am and I gave her a weaker feed which she only took 3 oz of. She fell asleep then woke at 440am then took a little it more milk, then off to sleep. Not usre why she wakens and feels hungry as she isn't like that in the morning...even when she has slept through she can wait until 745 before breakfast. I'll keep trying to get her to take more milk