7.5 month old not drinking enough during day and waking 2x at night

Wondering if anyone else is having this problem? DS is 7.5 months - he is mostly breastfed, but started taking formula after we started solids at 5 months. I breastfeed him first thing when he wakes in the morning (usually around 8am), sometimes for his 11 o'clock nap, and then before bed. I offer him a bottle in the afternoon, but he usually doesn't want it at all or sips at it, but at most will drink 2-3 oz. Even when he's obviously hungry, ie, takes it willingly, he doesn't drink much.

Problem is, he's waking two times at night to eat. I think he's not getting enough during the day. His breastfeeds are not huge, he's not eating his solids well at all and he's not drinking formula...! But he is still gaining weight and having wet diapers...

Any thoughts?

Re: 7.5 month old not drinking enough during day and waking 2x at night

My DD is the same age and going through the samething! Its takes her an hour or more to eat 4oz!! She won't eat more then 4oz in a bottle. And she's only eating a half a jar of fruits and veggies. She won't eat breakfast sometimes but will make it up with droinking a bottle. She's gaining weight and hasn't lost at all. And night time please let's not go there! She's up 2-4 times a night!!! She hasn't been sleeping through the night for a while now. I feel she's not getting enough to eat either. But my ped said she's fine and needs to not eat at night anymore. We have tried CIO for over 2 weeks and no difference really. On the nights she eats good she sleeps longer and nights I feel she doesn't get enough she's up more. I try so hard to make her eatmore but if she doesn't want it she doesn't want it. She's happy all day makes wet diapers I don't get why she just won't eat. She's 7.5 months old and she's only 16lbs. I feel like she's so tiny but the dr said she's heathly and doing everything she should so I shouldn't worry but I still do

Re: 7.5 month old not drinking enough during day and waking 2x at night

Thanks for your reply. It's really interesting...I wish I had some answers. It feels like I'm the only one of my mommy friends going through this, but I googled it (7 month old, night wakings, not drinking enough during the day) and found more entries than I expected.

My DS is just over 18lbs, so a little bit bigger than your DD, but not huge either. Just under the 50th percentile. To be honest I'm not worried about his health so much as I just wish he'd sleep better at night And I'm sick of wasting the food and formula! I don't force the solids, but I really wish he'd drink more milk during the day.

Hoping it gets better for you!

Re: 7.5 month old not drinking enough during day and waking 2x at night

Your welcome! I to feel the sameway! All my friends have DC that eat great are gaining weight like crazy AND STTN for 12+ hours. Where I'm waking up every 2-4hrs everynight. I can't wait to sleep again! I'm so tired. I hate how much food I waste a day! My doctor told me to keep trying everyday with her in hopes she will eat more in one sitting. I feel like I feed her then its time to do it again she cluster eats when it comes to abottle so whne she's done then its time a short while after cause she eats so slow! Do you feed you DS at night? We haven't been since the dr told us not to and its not stopping her from waking at night. I'm at such a loss on what to do and how to make this better.

Re: 7.5 month old not drinking enough during day and waking 2x at night

I'm still feeding him at night. I really want to stop, but I know if I feed him, he'll go back to sleep! He usually goes from 8pm until 2 or so, but then wakes again around 5:30. So, like I said, it's just twice, but still frustrating. Plus, I think because he's eating at night, he's not eating during the day, and vice versa. It's just a terrible cycle that we can't seem to break out of. I'm going to have to try to set aside a week where DH and I know we won't have any sleep in order to try to drop the night feedings, but it's hard for him because he has to be at work and also because we live in an apartment and I don't want to disturb the neighbors!

Have you ever done CIO with your DD? When we did it for bedtime, it automatically helped with the night waking (at one point after an illness, DS was waking every hour and clearly didn't know how to settle himself back to sleep).

Re: 7.5 month old not drinking enough during day and waking 2x at night

We have been doing CIO for 2 weeks and we haven't seen a difference in her sleeping. She's still waking so much. I would think by now she wouldn't be waking so much. We haven't been feeding her at night and I feel she's still not eating good urning the day. I don't get it.

Re: 7.5 month old not drinking enough during day and waking 2x at night

My DS is 7.5 months also and up until a week ago was having the same problem, except he was waking FOUR times a night to eat. His daytime feedings were the same as your DS. He's on the smaller side so I was afraid to stop feeding him during the night thinking he would not get enough calories. I also knew it was a quick way to get him back to sleep so it's the easiest thing to do at 3AM.

At his last doctor appointment the doctor said I could stop feeding him at night and he would make up for it during the day. I can't keep going on like this so I decided to try it, thinking it was going to be a disaster. I used the pick up put down method (from the Baby Whisperer) to soothe him when he woke up. He cried for on and off for about 30 min to an hour at each wake up the first night, but I did not feed him past his 11PM wakeup. Little by little over the week it got better and the past few nights he's either slept through or woke up once. I'm still shocked that it is working. I thought he was going to be 2 before he STTN.

Also, I'm definitely seeing a huge difference in the amount he eats during the day. He's still not eating tons of solids, but he's nursing much more often and for longer.