How to reduce babies night feeds?

yellow hen

Is there anything you can do to discourage night feeds? Our 3.5 month old still wakes around 3-4 times per night. Most of the time he only takes 1-2oz and then falls asleep so he doesn't really want the feed at all. He doesn't really like the soother so we can't use that to put him back to sleep. Is there anything else we can do to wean him off so many feeds?

2xj3hplqgsbkym

Have you tried getting him back to sleep without bottle by patting/ stoking/ cuddling/ lullaby?

Or would he take the full bottle in his sleep the first time he wakes, so he is full and doesn't wake?

Perhaps something keeps wakening him, would he sleep better in his own room? (my 8 month old still sleeps in my room, but others find they sleep better in separate room)

How Strange

Is he like that because of his reflux? Maybe he knows himself that little and often is better than a big feed every few hours.

If that's the case I dont see how you can really change it until he outgrows it himself in a few months but then again I've no direct experience of a baby with reflux.

Moonbeam

Does he have a soother? how mant ozs a day does he take?

highflyer30

We moved our man out to his own cot at that age for same reasons. Slept much better only waking once for a full bottle. Sleeps til about nine when blackout blond down.

addob

I know when I thought my boy was old enough it was over Christmas holiday so instead of me being the one to go in to him and give him the bottle he like he was used to I sent my OH to sooth him back to bed.

That worked for us to break the habit.

ectoraige

yellow hen wrote: »

Is there anything you can do to discourage night feeds? Our 3.5 month old still wakes around 3-4 times per night. Most of the time he only takes 1-2oz and then falls asleep so he doesn't really want the feed at all. He doesn't really like the soother so we can't use that to put him back to sleep. Is there anything else we can do to wean him off so many feeds?

It sounds glib but the best way to stop him feeding at night is to not feed him at night.

When your baby is crying, in the absence of smelly nappies and obvious discomfort, it is very easy to come to the conclusion that the cause of the distress is hunger. At that age though his stomach should be large enough to get him through most of the night. He's just not used to it. Try soothing him back to sleep instead of feeding him.

We've gone through the same thing recently with our third baby. What I did was to lift him when he cries at night, and cuddle him for about five minutes. I'd then put him back down in the cot, but continue to comfort him by stroking his chest or holding his hand. After another five minutes I'd leave him. Then I wouldn't go back into him for ten minutes. The first few nights this might go on for an hour or two, but he quickly learned that snacking wasn't an option any more to find comfort.

Now he sleeps for up to twelve hours without feeding. The only time he wakes up crying is if he fell asleep before being put in the cot in the first place - once he's left to soothe himself in the cot, he's fine.

dimple_smile

Our little one used to feed every four hours, so would have one feed at night. When he was two months we decided to try routine with him so instead of giving him six feeds over 24 hours I spread his feeds from 6am to 12midnight and was feeding him every three and a half hours. He slept through the first night and has been sleeping through ever since. My MIL said i should give him water if he woke up at night but we never had to do that.
He's down to five feeds since three months and goes to sleep at 8pm, has a dream feed at midnight and sleeps through till 7:30 - 8:30am wakes up for feed and then goes back to sleep till 12noon. He doesn’t sleep much during the day any more just a quick nap after each feed

Moonbeam

Mine feeds every 3 hours during the day but I get from about 11:30-6:30. Are you putting him down really early? mine just goes to bed when I go.

yellow hen

Thanks for all the replies.

How strange, the reflux seems it be gone. We slowly took him off the medication and so far so good. At the moment he feeds every 3 hours and usually takes 5.5-6oz. Today he has taken 7oz in every bottle though! He goes down at about 7:30/8 and feeds again at maybe 12:30/1. Tonight we're going to feed him at about 11 and put him down and then try the sooth/water only in the feeds during the night. He till sleeps in our room but I really don't think there's any sound that's waking him. He's also only 3.5 months bd I don't feel ready to move him into his own room.

Oh moonbeam, he doesn't usually take a soother... The odd time he will but for the most part he pushes it out with his tongue.

Will see how tonight goes.... Fingers crossed!

Moonbeam

fingers crossed for you.

A soother might help.

yellow hen

Moonbeam wrote: »

fingers crossed for you.

A soother might help.

I think it would definitely help but he refuses to take it.

yellow hen

So last night.......

He had his spoon feed (still only the tip of 3/4 spoons) and 6.5oz milk at 7:30 and asleep by 8. We lifted him at 11:30 and gave him his last bottle which was about 5oz. (This is the first time we've ever done a dream feed). We out him back down and when he woke for his next bottle, I though 'crap it's only about 1pm' but lo and behold it was 4:07am. We tried the water but he was having none of it (maybe because it was cold as his bottles are usually warm). I tried the soother and he almost went back to sleep but kept waking. In the end we have him a small 4oz bottle of which he only took 2.5iz and fell asleep. Slept then until 6:45am which is his normal awake time. We thought this was a pretty good night. Only taking 2.5oz would indicate to me that he really isn't that hungry and it's just habit.

My only question is; if we continue the dream feeds, when do you know he no longer needs that last feed and stop them?

Moonbeam

yellow hen wrote: »

I think it would definitely help but he refuses to take it.

I missed your reply so repeated myself sorry.
I hate soothers but ended up giving them al one to stop them eating everything and feeding 24x7

dimple_smile

yellow hen wrote: »

My only question is; if we continue the dream feeds, when do you know he no longer needs that last feed and stop them?

I guess when he sleeps through and then starts to sleep longer in the morning you could start doing the dream feed a little earlier and then eventually faze it out.

We're not quite there yet to start doing that, altho we could almost use him as alarm at this stage cus he wakes up almost at the same time each morning

yellow hen

Yesterday O had the worst wind ever. He farted all day and each time he did, he cried. We came to the conclusion it as the baby rice we'd started giving him. So at 7 yesterday he had about 6 spoons of stewed pears and an 8oz bottle. Went to sleep at 8 and woke at 12 for his last feed. He only managed about 3.5/4ioz and fell asleep. He woke then at 2 and I stood over him holding his soother in and he fell asleep. Woke again at 4:30 and it took an hour to settle him with soother. He didn't seem hungry though, just playful. Finally he fell asleep and didn't wake until 7:15. First night with no feeds. We're ecstatic today!!!

Ms2011

From what I remember of J's routine at that age (bit of a blur now!) he'd have a bottle at 8pm then bed at 9pm, bottle at 12am & 4am.
Around 4 months he dropped the 12am feed & 6.5 months the 4am feed.
I had lots of people giving me tips on how to drop the nighttime bottles but decided to let J decide & in hindsight I'm glad I did.
He's a great little sleeper now doing 7pm-7am most mornings though this week he's been extra good & going to 8am.

yellow hen

Ms2011 wrote: »

From what I remember of J's routine at that age (bit of a blur now!) he'd have a bottle at 8pm then bed at 9pm, bottle at 12am & 4am.
Around 4 months he dropped the 12am feed & 6.5 months the 4am feed.
I had lots of people giving me tips on how to drop the nighttime bottles but decided to let J decide & in hindsight I'm glad I did.
He's a great little sleeper now doing 7pm-7am most mornings though this week he's been extra good & going to 8am.

Oh god I really hope that happens for O. In just going to go with it for now. If he wakes and will go asleep with the soother, great. If not, we'll give him his bottle.

pwurple

3 1/2 months is a bit soon for food I would think, so maybe that is giving him trouble.

Mink

yellow hen wrote: »

Oh moonbeam, he doesn't usually take a soother... The odd time he will but for the most part he pushes it out with his tongue.

I found this with my fella but I gave him the cherry tipped ones and he kept them in fine. Then around the time he got his first teeth I gradually swapped him over the orthodontic ones by Avent (cherry tipped ones aren't great for their teeth).
I found the soother reasonably good for getting him back to sleep if he was only waking out of habit - ie; not hungry

pwurple wrote: »

3 1/2 months is a bit soon for food I would think, so maybe that is giving him trouble.

I'd agree with this, try leave it longer if you can. Maybe his tummy is a little upset by solids.

yellow hen

Mink wrote: »

I found this with my fella but I gave him the cherry tipped ones and he kept them in fine. Then around the time he got his first teeth I gradually swapped him over the orthodontic ones by Avent (cherry tipped ones aren't great for their teeth).
I found the soother reasonably good for getting him back to sleep if he was only waking out of habit - ie; not hungry



I'd agree with this, try leave it longer if you can. Maybe his tummy is a little upset by solids.

Thanks. On giving him solids, he has reflux and was so miserable before. The solids allow him to keep both acid and food down so he has had huge relief already. I appreciate your comments and ordinarily i'd agree but in this instance starting him early was right for us.

Mink

yellow hen wrote: »

Thanks. On giving him solids, he has reflux and was so miserable before. The solids allow him to keep both acid and food down so he has had huge relief already. I appreciate your comments and ordinarily i'd agree but in this instance starting him early was right for us.

That makes sense, I think I missed the reflux issue.