Reverse cycling? 8 month old

[Chica1990]

I wasn't sure where to post this but as this is affecting sleep I am posting here hoping this post can lead to some suggestions to help!

My 8 and a half month old (FF) has started doing what I think is called 'reverse cycling'. He has been taking very small amounts of milk in the day and is now drinking his biggest bottles during the night! He was flat out completely refusing milk a couple of weeks ago but will take a bit more in the day now but still is doing his biggest intake over a couple of bottles in the night (last night he drank 300ml over 2 bottles).

Looking over the feeding I log I don't seem to have a dead set routine as it varies on wake up time and milk intake (I move meals forward if he hasn't drank much) but here is an example schedule based on a 6.30 wake day:

7.00 Bottle, even if woken up earlier (I try offering it for a while but very little is drank due to night feed) followed by porridge (now made with formula instead of water to increase milk intake) and fruit
9.10-10.30ish nap
11.30 Milk (often very little taken or refused) then lunch of either a pouch with a custard pot or yoghurt
13.45-15.00 ish nap
16.10 milk - amount taken varies
17.00 dinner
19.00 bed, bottle offered at this time but not much drank

(nap lengths can vary)

I'm sure it's something to do with the routine I'm doing but I don't know how best to adjust it. Should I try and avoid milk in the morning in hopes of pushing out the feeds in the night later and later until they are knocked back into day hours? Should I set to certain meal times regardless of wake up times/naps?

I initially put this down to teething (has four teeth and another two trying to push through) and tried a faster teat which didn't help. I've also tried a different bottle, a different formula, calpol, teething gel/granules, these didn't help. I then thought he prefers food and it has been suggested maybe he doesn't milk by my friends, but he clearly does need it if he has it at night.

Any advice is appreciated!

I would just gradually cut down the amount you give him until he's having it all in the daytime. At his age he doesn't need feeding overnight. Perhaps reduce to giving a max of 250ml overnight tonight, 200 tomorrow night etc and cut it down over the next week until you get to 0?

He may well be having a growth spurt or similar which is why his intake has suddenly increased, you just need to get it happening in the day time. Offer him lots of the food he likes and plenty of bottles during the day to make sure he has chance to get enough in.

@MGee123 thanks for responding. When this first happened I did offer him the bottle lots but the sight of it used to send him throwing himself back screaming, you would have thought it was a torture device! He has stopped doing this since offering the bottles at normal times again.

I should have added a hen he wakes in the night I do my best to try and settle him without feeding but it gets to a point where he keeps spitting his dummy out screaming. I do take the bottle away after he stops sucking but sometimes he just won't settle until he has the amount he wants :(

My DD was refusing her bedtime bottle at this age then waking in then night (was having 4 x 6oz during the day, no night feeds) so I decided to drop 1 (the mid-morning) and she started drinking more again.

For reference I used to do:-

7: milk
8: breakfast
9:30-11: nap
11:30: lunch
1:30: milk
2-3:30: nap
4/4:30: dinner
6:45: milk
7: bed

Bit different since your LO is having night feeds but if you can get him to take a good bottle before bed, I’m sure it’ll help with reducing the night feeds.

I think I would night wean personally. I would just offer water at night. Tough couple nights then my lo had all her milk and solids in day.

I did this as my lo had a bottle in night but then wouldn't have her morning bottle nor her breakfast. So I transferred them to the day, by night weaning. Within a couple days of night weaning she started eating better and milk. At that age we were doing approx
730am breakfast
9am milk before nap
11am snack
12pm lunch
1pm milk before nap.
330pm or 4pm snack
530pm dinner
7pm to 730pm milk.

We stuck with 3 bottles until she was almost 12 months. We did milk after food as she responded better that way also encouraged longer naps as full belly. My lo has never fallen asleep on bottle though.