Did you use water to stop the night feedings?

My 7.5 month old is still waking twice a night to bottle feed. I am thinking about weaning her using water in the bottle. Did anyone try this? Did it work?

Right now, I have been trying to give her the pacifier to get her back to sleep but it rarely works.

Re: Did you use water to stop the night feedings?

Hmmm- I have heard of this but I don't see it working.
Reason being- if they are getting up for a bottle, whether it be formula or water, they will still be getting up- kwim?

I think the trick is to try to get them to stop depending on that bottle to get back to sleep- either by the pacifer or by giving them more at their last feeding etc... to me if you switch to water they will still be waking up- looking for the water bottle.

Re: Did you use water to stop the night feedings?

nope. my one year old still feeds twice per night.

he's not overweight. he's not satisfied with other means, so, I feed him.

I wouldn't do water at the age anyway. they don't really need much of it to begin with.

Re: Did you use water to stop the night feedings?

at 6m, I gave water if he woke up in the middle of the night and refused paci.

But I weaned him off night feedings at 3m, by giving him a little less and less each night, just as he was waking up to eat. So that he'd eat and pass out and at some point he stopped waking up.

At around 5.5m he started waking up, probably teething, I could usually get him back to sleep with a sip of cool water from a bottle, never more than .5oz.

Talk to your ped, depending on weight, you probably should give more than a certain amount of water. If baby is really gulping the water down, they are probably hungry and need to eat, IMO.


Teach them to eat more during the day, by adjusting them the way I did. I have no idea how it would work with BF, but if your only on bottles, its pretty easy to take away .5oz at night and offer it during the day, each day, see how he reacts.

Re: Did you use water to stop the night feedings?

I did, based on the advice of my ped at the 4 month visit.

She told me that he was getting enough to eat and that he was still waking out of habit. She told me to try the water and if he took it he was hungry and I should increase his ounces during the day. If he didn't want it, he was waking out of habit.

I tried it. Night 1, he took one sip and then went back to sleep. Night 2, he refused it. Night 3 he slept through the night.

Have you started solids yet? If she is waking because she is hungry, I would try to get her to eat more solids during the day to satisfy her.

ETA - my DS would still wake occasionally at night for teething or if he was sick. On a couple of occasions I did give him a bottle when he woke crying and I tried everything else first.

Message edited 11/24/2010 12:33:04 PM.