1 year old still drinking vast amount of formula at night. Help!

LittleMissTwix · 2022-08-19T08:07:30+00:00

Hi all First time parent and I'm wondering if I've cocked things up with feeding/sleeping. My baby turns 1 in a week and we've been weaning since 6 months. I give her as much food as she'll eat (breakfast, lunch, dinner, fruit snacks and ~300ml milk in between) but come night-time she is still demanding vast amounts of formula. She wakes up multiple times in the night, wanting milk. Here's how she slept last night (it's pretty much the same pattern EVERY night, but often with greater volumes of milk!. 7pm - Went to sleep after drinking 225ml milk 9pm - Woke up. Wouldnt settle until she'd had another 75ml milk 11.30pm - Woke up. Had 200ml milk 4.30am - woke up. Had 250ml milk 7am - Woke up. Had breakfast (porridge) I try to settle her with cuddles, rocking when she wakes up... but she screams blue murder for milk and its the only thing that will get her back to sleep. What should I be doing differently?!! I can't get any more food down her during the day so I'm at a loss to how to stop this insatiable night hunger. ANY ideas/suggestions welcome. Thank you so much in advance.

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Youcancallmeirrelevant · 19/08/2022 09:09

I would say its habit. Is she falling asleep on the bottle? Or then going back in cot awake?

What happens if you just offer water?

MercuryOnTheRise · 19/08/2022 09:22

DD was similar. I gave her semi-skimmed milk from about 9 months as the weight was starting to pile on. It was nearly 25 years ago, DH has French connections and they gave babies cows milk from 6 months at the time.

You could give her a little more milk in the day time or if she will stand it, stop the bottles and move to a proper cup or sippy cup.

DD drank a lot of milk until she was about 5. Life has a funny way if turning out. She was quite chubby as a result and then was quite ill just after her 5th birthday and lost 13lb. Thank goodness she had 13lb to lose.

DivaRainbow · 19/08/2022 09:34

Are you offering supper before bed? and have you tried offering water when she wakes?

Neverfullycharged · 19/08/2022 09:40

That’s a pain for you. I don’t think you’ve cocked up at all though. If she’s eating enough in the day, it could well just be one of those things. My own DS had similar amounts at night at that age.

Would she have more, do you think, at 9? To carry her through a bit?

Caspianberg · 19/08/2022 09:43

I would swap around.

Give milk in a beaker now but in the daytime.

milk in beaker at breakfast alongside porridge
Milk in the afternoon after nap in beaker.
Milk downstairs before bed. But not upstairs, to get rid of association of milk and bed

Cold Turkey overnight. Water only in beaker

Its harder to guzzle to much half asleep in beaker than bottle

Threelittlelambs · 19/08/2022 09:48

Can you give her day time feeding times - maybe these can be adjusted for a supper type meal at 7?

pbdr · 19/08/2022 09:51

You could try gradually watering down the overnight formula more and more until it is just water you are giving her. Chances are she will lose the compulsion to keep waking for it as it transitions to water.

lilroo87 · 19/08/2022 09:52

Lots of babies still want feeds in the night over 12 months old. You haven't done anything wrong but you could replace the formula with water in the night and before bed just give whole milk or still give formula but try in a cup or teach them to use a straw.
They no longer need a bottle from 12 months.
They might just be thirsty in the night anyway but replacing with water could be a better option to start night weaning. You don't have to do all of the feeds in one go, start with just one and see how you get on

AM453 · 19/08/2022 09:53

pbdr · 19/08/2022 09:51

You could try gradually watering down the overnight formula more and more until it is just water you are giving her. Chances are she will lose the compulsion to keep waking for it as it transitions to water.

You can't water down formula! It's literally dangerous.

AM453 · 19/08/2022 09:55

My DS had a period when he was doing that when he was around the same age as yours. It was driving me mad.
We figured out he was just hungry and started giving him solids before bed and he slept a lot longer.

DettyPig · 19/08/2022 09:59

AM453 · 19/08/2022 09:53

You can't water down formula! It's literally dangerous.

Show quote history

Its dangerous to babies who’s only source of food is formula, which isn’t the case for a 1 year old.

SpaghettiSquash · 19/08/2022 10:03

It's not dangerous to water down formula for a one year old that's eating well. Are you giving her milk in a bottle? I only offered milk in a cup and DS refused to drink from it at night. After a couple of nights he started sleeping through.

Franca123 · 19/08/2022 10:21

I think you've got a good problem, as in, it's easily solved. Just offer water instead of milk. Or only in a beaker as a previous poster said. Give her a piece of toast and butter before bed if you're worried it might be hunger. I think you'll have it sorted in 1 to 3 nights. I send ours to bed with their water bottles, especially in this hot water. And lol to the person who thinks watered down formula is dangerous for a one year old!

pbdr · 19/08/2022 10:40

AM453 Watering down formula is only dangerous for young babies whose water intake needs to be restricted due to the risk of dilutional hyponatraemia and milk displacement (i.e. babies under 6 months, and to a lesser degree babies aged 6 months to 1 year). For an over 1 year old water is perfectly safe.

Original poster

LittleMissTwix · 19/08/2022 12:06

THANK YOU - You lot are brilliant. Never expected so many responses and so quickly!

I've been doing her dinner at about 5-6pm so I'll try giving her a supper just before bedtime (and if that isn't well-received) maybe push dinner-time back so its closer to bed. Will also immediately start trying to tranistion from milk to water overnight.. via watered down milk.

@Youcancallmeirrelevant Yes, she goes to sleep on the bottle and then I lower her into the cot (still asleep). Appreciate I've made this a habit that needs breaking... I've not once managed to settle her in her cot while she's awake. All sleeps (even naps) are her falling asleep on the bottle.
I saw this as a separate problem, but I'm now seeing it's probably part and parcel of the same thing. Can't settle without a bottle in her mouth... so maybe not the ravenous hunger I assumed.

Thank you all again.

OP posts:

Original poster

LittleMissTwix · 19/08/2022 12:08

SpaghettiSquash · 19/08/2022 10:03

It's not dangerous to water down formula for a one year old that's eating well. Are you giving her milk in a bottle? I only offered milk in a cup and DS refused to drink from it at night. After a couple of nights he started sleeping through.

ooh this is interesting... yes, bottles overnight. We try (mostly unsuccessfully) to use a cup during the day. Will try a cup overnight as well.

OP posts:

mrscotton · 19/08/2022 21:30

LittleMissTwix · 19/08/2022 12:06

THANK YOU - You lot are brilliant. Never expected so many responses and so quickly!

I've been doing her dinner at about 5-6pm so I'll try giving her a supper just before bedtime (and if that isn't well-received) maybe push dinner-time back so its closer to bed. Will also immediately start trying to tranistion from milk to water overnight.. via watered down milk.

@Youcancallmeirrelevant Yes, she goes to sleep on the bottle and then I lower her into the cot (still asleep). Appreciate I've made this a habit that needs breaking... I've not once managed to settle her in her cot while she's awake. All sleeps (even naps) are her falling asleep on the bottle.
I saw this as a separate problem, but I'm now seeing it's probably part and parcel of the same thing. Can't settle without a bottle in her mouth... so maybe not the ravenous hunger I assumed.

Thank you all again.

If she likes having a bottle in her mouth to sleep, have you tried a dummy? Maybe she just needs aomw soothing which she finds from a bottle.

Happyhappyday · 21/08/2022 04:42

Honestly I’d cold turkey and CIO but we’ve had easy success with this ourselves (resulting in only 15/20 minutes of crying and then problem solved) so I’m definitely biased. Our DD will not go to sleep with someone in the room though so popping in and out checking on her just makes things worse.

pounchill · 21/08/2022 04:57

Don't substitute for a dummy it's just another problem to cut out in the future. It's just habit, maybe put water in the bottle so is comforted still. Even just slowly cut down, it's not a problem, just enjoy them being a baby. I did get told to stop bottle and milk by first birthday because they get nutrition from food like adults do. But I did give my youngest bottle for longer because I kept getting told to stop so I didn't

User4223131 · 21/08/2022 05:01

I think the “falling asleep on the bottle” is the root of it all @LittleMissTwix so IMO, I think that’s where you need to focus your efforts.

What kind of cup does your DD use for water alongside her meals?

Rowlie · 24/01/2023 16:25

@LittleMissTwix did you solve this? Now having the same problem :(

GT99 · 12/02/2023 09:16

Hi, what formula were you using still at 12 months?