12mo bottles in the night

[WeightoftheWorld]

Hi, my DC2 is just turning 12mo and for the last 3 or 4 weeks has been waking for a bottle of formula milk almost every night. We offer 4oz and he drains the whole thing. This bottle is anywhere as early as 11.30pm at night to as late as 4pm but usually somewhere between midnight and 2am. He will then usually drink another 4-5oz of formula milk immediately upon waking in the morning, which is anywhere between 6 and 7.30am (followed by breakfast).

I'm conscious now of his age, that we are going to start weaning him off formula onto cows milk, and off the bottles onto milk in cups too. Also his sleep overnight is just overall poor now too. Plus I'm concerned about his teeth, he has 4 teeth with another 2 coming through right now. I don't know what I'm asking really, I suppose has anyone had this and what did they do (if anything)?

At what time do you give him his dinner and what does he eat?

We have evening meal quite late, between 6 and 6.30pm. He is generally a pretty good eater, we basically let him eat as much dinner and then as much dessert as he wants. He then is offered 4oz formula about 7/7.15pm. He's been mostly draining these last couple of weeks so upped this to 5oz today.

How much water is he drinking? Would he take water at night?

Oh, as to what he eats, varies massively, generally we all eat together as a family. Today we had pasta in a tomato + veg sauce, then he had a bit of a cheese and onion roll, then some satsuma for dessert. Other evening meals this week that I can remember were meat substitute slice + potato sandwiches; tofu and vegetable fried rice; veggie sausage with new potatoes and assorted boiled green veg. He obviously doesn't eat every bit of everything and he only has 4 teeth so some things like some of the veggies he can't always manage too well like.

He seems to drink water quite well throughout the day, mainly at meal and snack times either in sippy cup or open cup. I offer water after naps too and if it's hot then more often throughout the day. Sometimes he will have a few sips of water at night and go back to sleep. But he is waking 2-4 times a night at the moment and usually has water say 3 times and a bottle once. I'm worried to not offer milk at all as I feel if he wasn't hungry surely he wouldn't drink 4oz of it plus another 4-5oz in the morning too?

I gave a nice warm bottle if they woke in the night until ours were about 2.5. Quick nappy change at the same time…. Everyone got a good nights sleep. I’m sure I’ll be told I did it all wrong though!!

With the bottle it's only an issue if theyre going to sleep with it in their mouth and sucking all night. Their saliva will wash away the milk and just brush in the morning.

Can you give 8oz before bed? My lo will eat a massive dinner. Pudding and supper and 8oz 😆

Also what's eating like in rest of day? Does it needs upping ?? Maybe having a growth spurt?
My lo can eat as much as me some days.

I’d consider giving supper, and only giving water in the night.

Not sure how/when I'd give supper, he's often still in his high chair for dinner until well past 6.30 and he's usually asleep by 7.30.

Definitely can up the bedtime milk, the only reason we've been offering a small bottle is because he'd never even drink 4oz before bed, until the last fortnight or so. I'm trying to remember the last time he'd drank a full 4oz bottle or more before bed before this past week or so and I don't remember, it must have been at least 4 months or so ago! He's never really been a huge milk drinker tbh even when breastfed, he was mostly breastfed til he was 9mo. My daughter didn't eat much solids and was formula fed and drank 4 8oz bottles happily until we started to wean her down off them about 1! And she never wanted milk at night from being about 8 weeks old even when offered. So the two of them are opposites!

Won't the milk sugars just end up sitting on his teeth til morning though, that's what worries me about his teeth? My daughter is 4 and has great teeth but she almost never had milk in the night past being a newborn.

Eating throughout the day is pretty good, I think I need to start to give an afternoon snack routinely though as he gets hangry late afternoon I reckon. At meals we let him eat pretty much as much as he wants til he's fed up. At nursery he almost always eats absolutely everything they offer plus two bottles of formula of 4-5oz. At home he stopped drinking his day time formula for the most part so we only offer one daytime bottle now of 4oz around 2ish before a nap. Sometimes he drinks it and sometimes he doesn't.

Yes about the milk in night. It will just sit there. I would offer water. But only once you upped food and calories in the day. As lo will certainly be hungry. I would make 8oz bottles and see how you get on tbh.
At 12 months think we were on 2 or 3 bottles a day. 830am before nap. After lunch and before nap. Then before bed. We offered snacks at 11am and 4pm and a supper. See what happens upping the food and milk. Give it a few days. Could be a growth spurt with all that energy especially if lo is walking or about to walk.