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Sleep

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Original poster

Sunday is the night we will cut night feeds

29 replies

Prusik · 13/12/2017 22:42

Any tips and pointers of what to do before then?

Ds is 11 months old and bottle fed. He normally has about 5 or 6oz in one feed overnight - for him 6oz is a big feed, 5oz is typical.

He's a good sleeper generally but ds2 is due in 7 weeks. Without fail, every night Ds will have one feed.

We're going to move his evening meal an hour earlier to 4.30 to get him hungrier for a bigger bottle before bed (hopefully) as he often likes a snack and milk around that time anyway.

Tonight I will offer 4oz of milk and see how that goes.

Any further tips or considerations? We've picked Sunday because our housemate goes onto nights so won't be disturbed as he'll be out

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Original poster

Prusik · 14/12/2017 10:37

Shameless little bump

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BendingSpoons · 14/12/2017 12:58

Think about what you are happy to do to get him back to sleep e.g. cuddle, co-sleep, offer water. Personally we were happy to do anything to comfort and she slept through on night 4 as it wasn't worth waking up if no milk! Also decide what time you will do a morning feed in case of early waking e.g. not before 6. Then make sure you are both ready to stick to it!

Chaosofcalm · 14/12/2017 13:00

I would just give him the milk, especially as you say he is a good sleeper. It sounds like he is waking because he is hungry.

My DD was 13 months before she stopped needing milk on a night time.

LapinR0se · 14/12/2017 13:07

Hows his solids consumption going?

idontlikealdi · 14/12/2017 14:09

What time does he wake for the milk? Will he take a bottle in his deep at 10 or 11 instead of waking up to feed which should then seem him through to morning?

hendricksyousay · 14/12/2017 14:18

If he wakes offer him water , sometimes that's enough but if he takes a bit it will fill him up a bit before the milk and they gradually increase water and reduce milk and then drop the water .worked for me both times and they slept through at 12 weeks 7-7.

Original poster

Prusik · 14/12/2017 15:04

Unfortunately for me he's a rubbish co sleeper. He seems to prefer his own space.

His solids consumption is pretty good, I think. He likes his food. How much he has does vary. He's very much a grazer with his milk though - 4oz feeds or less are pretty common.

He's very much a creature of habit. Currently all feeds seem to be around 2.30àm. For a fair while before that it was 4am. If you offer a dream feed he just gets pissed off at being disturbed

My difficulty is, I think he genuinely is waking for milk but the challenge of doing night feeds for both him and his brother may be a challenge serve me right having such a small age gap

Going give him his dinner earlier tonight and see if that helps.

I'm so unsure about trying to force him to do something if he's not ready. I've never manipulated naps or feeds and it's all worked out so it feels like a massive deal to try to drop the feed. I dunno

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Original poster

Prusik · 14/12/2017 15:06

Not sure if it makes a difference, he's 99th percentile for height and 50th for weight

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hendricksyousay · 14/12/2017 15:36

The trick to dropping night feeds is getting as much into them in the day as possible . If he doesn't drink large feeds then this could be tricky .

Original poster

Prusik · 14/12/2017 15:49

I guess I'm hoping that making his dinner earlier will help with that. I'm slowly trying to cut back on his excessive naps so hopefully that'll give him more time for feeds during the day

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hendricksyousay · 14/12/2017 16:20

Yes ... it's just about shifting food and sleep to nighttime ( easier said than done to be fair )

Original poster

Prusik · 14/12/2017 16:52

Not helped by the fact that he's not enjoying his dinner tonight

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LapinR0se · 14/12/2017 18:24

At 12 months milk is much less important and moves to 2 x sippy cups full per day (in theory).
So I wouldn’t be trying to get more milk into him per se. I would ensure that all the meals were very high nutritional value and high calorie (avocados, eggs, salmon, butter, full fat dairy) instead.

thethoughtfox · 14/12/2017 18:42

Another vote for offering water. After a few nights, they realise it's not worth waking up for it.

happydays00 · 14/12/2017 19:40

I've just been through this with my dd who is 12 months old! I offered water for 2 nights, and she slept through on the 3rd night. Tonight is night 4 and my fingers are firmly crossed! Good luck!!!

FATEdestiny · 14/12/2017 22:02

What times are his meals? Does he have a regular snack time?

Original poster

Prusik · 14/12/2017 22:43

Its complicated by the fact that he's gluten, dairy and soya free at the moment. Loves eggs and avocado though.

Currently his routine seems to be
6.15 up
7am breakfast with about 1oz of milk in a cup
8.30am 6oz milk and nap
10am up and snack.
11.30/12 lunch
1pm 6oz milk and nap
3pm up. Snack.
4.30pm new meal time
7-7.30 milk and bed

He's very reliant on snacks and seems to like to feed often. Always eating - much like his dad!

Do you think water at night would be ok for a reflux baby with the laying down? He's still medicated for reflux

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MotherCupboard · 14/12/2017 22:50

Do you give him a bottle as soon as he wakes in the night? Or do you try a dummy/shushing/ cuddling etc first? Mine are a year old and theyve taken to waking up in the night but they're not hungry, they go back to sleep with a dummy. Sometimes they wake up crying, im assuming stomach ache/ nightmare but havent had to feed them to get them to go back to sleep.

Yours does seem to eat little and often, is he actually hungry when you feed him or are you more sticking to a routine?

Original poster

Prusik · 14/12/2017 22:58

He tends to cry when he's hungry, I try distraction, etc but it's only after he's had something to eat that he settles. Same at night, I wait five minutes or so and he escalates. I haven't tried comforting for a while now as it just seems to annoy him. Idon't like to leave him too long because I also have a housemate. His milk feeds only ever used to be about 2 or 3oz - even at 6 or 7 months old

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MotherCupboard · 14/12/2017 23:25

I would do as someone suggested up thread and try water at night. He doesnt really need milk overnight at a year old.

Original poster

Prusik · 15/12/2017 06:07

My god, ladies, he's just woken!!! Surely a fluke

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happydays00 · 15/12/2017 06:48

Woohoo! He must have known there'd have been no milk coming his way.. hope it continues for you!

OddBoots · 15/12/2017 06:55

Brilliant!

I was going to agree with those saying give water, you're right to try to get him off nighttime milk, there is less saliva in the mouth overnight so milk can cause more rapid decay of teeth if given at night.

hendricksyousay · 15/12/2017 06:57

In terms of the reflux , my son was prem, severe reflux and he slept through at 12 weeks with guidance ( read gentle persuasion ) so yes he will be fine .

Original poster

Prusik · 15/12/2017 07:21

He did have less naps than usual yesterday so that could have helped. I'll have to try to take him out to keep him awake a bit longer after lunch.

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