The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

I stopped nursing in the middle of the night about 3 weeks ago and was giving him BM in the bottle bc I am was weaning him off the boob. This past Sunday the Dr told me i shouldnt be giving DS a bottle in the middle of the night, that he doesnt need it, and that I can add yogurt to his diet and to add a 3rd meal so now he is having a "lunch" of yogurt or veggies.

DS will be 6 months Thursday and still not STTN, so what do i do when he wakes up to get him back to bed? I know he is getting enough to eat all day with 3 meals plus 28-30 ounces of BM or FM so I think his need for the bottle is habit.

I work full time so these sleepless nights are hard. Help!

DH and I agreed that anytime after 5am we will give him a 6 ounce bottle though (his last bottle from the night before he between 8-8:30pm)

i want for all of us.

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

For us with DS, the answer to that was CIO.

Some people are not for CIO, but for us it worked wonderfully!

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

Does DC take a paci?

I try not to give DS a bottle in the middle of the night but, sometimes he needs it.

Other times, I can just put his paci in, rub his belly or his head and shush him and he'll fall back to sleep. Or, I take him out of his crib and rock him for awhile.

DS doesn't sleep through the night either (he did until I went back to work) so I understand the sleepless nights!

Maybe by increasing the meals, you won't have this issue anymore.

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

We let Joey be if he wakes up in the middle of the night. Sometimes we'll get up and give him the paci but as long as he's not screaming, we leave him. Case in point- last night he was up doing raspberries in his crib at 130am, I rolled over and was like whaaaaaaaaat is he doing?!!!, I just left him and he dozed back off.

I know when we dropped his dream feed, he'd stir a little for like a week or two during the time we use to dreamfeed him at. So they get use to waking up at a certain time and will learn to adjust.

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

I am so glad you posted this bc I was wondering the same thing. DS will be 6 months ont he 8th and is still not STTN.

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

Around that mark my DD was going through a waking in the middle of the night stage. She doesn't take the paci and rocking her was not working. I was feeding her and my ped told me not to, so I stopped. I let her cry/whine a little and she is getting better. I think the 6 month mark is a time of big change and the babies have a hard time adjusting (so do the mommies!) Good luck!

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

I have to politely disagree with your ped. At 6 mos we were still feeding at night if she woke to eat. I don't think its fair to make a baby that age go more than 6 hours without eating but that is just my personal belief

My DD was EBF and fed on demand.

Do what feels right to you... if you think he's waking because he's hungry then feed him. If he wakes and only eats an ounce or 2 than he's not really hungry.

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

what about doing a 3 oz bottle of water. He won't be getting "full" from it so eventually he will stop waking for it. KWIM?

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

Posted by Blissful

I have to politely disagree with your ped. At 6 mos we were still feeding at night if she woke to eat. I don't think its fair to make a baby that age go more than 6 hours without eating but that is just my personal belief

My DD was EBF and fed on demand.

Do what feels right to you... if you think he's waking because he's hungry then feed him. If he wakes and only eats an ounce or 2 than he's not really hungry.

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

My question is, is your DS taking a whole bottle or just a nibble and going back to sleep? If it's just a nibble, then most likely he is waking from habit.

If he's taking the whole bottle, he is probably hungry. IMO, offering yogurt or something else during the day is NOT going to replace that nighttime bottle if he is hungry.

There are plenty of kids that eat 3 meals a day with snacks and bottles, etc, and STILL don't STTN.

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

Here is my story.

At DS's 4 month check up the Ped at the office said to stop feeding him during the night. I continued to feed him as I felt that he was hungry.

At DS's 6 month check up I asked the Ped ( a different one at the same office) what he felt about night feeding and he said if he is hungry feed him, so I did and I do.

Its up to you. DS is EBF and still wakes to feed during the night.

I hope you find a solution soon as I know its not easy with these night time wakings

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

I did night feedings till he was 14 mos old.

what if they really are hungry? I would hate to think of them laying there wanting food.

I would give a bottle if you feel that is right.

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

For me...I fed my child and when he stopped draining the bottle at night I stopped giving it to him..which was also when he stopped waking at night.

Our ped never asked about STTN and never advised me when to stop feeding so I went on my own.

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

Thanks for all the support!

Sometimes he just wakes and talks and thinks its play time and its hard to lssep myslef though that.

If he eats before 3am he doesnt finish even half the bottle, so thats why we figured he should be good till 5am?

I think we are going to have to try CIO method but it is hard for me bc i feel bad and well i just lay there awake anyway listening to him so then i just get up and hold him and walk around the house till he falss asleep on my shoulder. I usually make it 15 minutes max and thats when i go get him and mostly bc i want to get back to sleep. I think we will try it again on the weekend!

he also rolls like its his job so he rolls all over the crib and i think he has trouble getting himself back into his comfy sleep position on the side he sleeps best on. I am just sure that my child is not th sleeping kind. All children are different right? The only weird think is that he has every once in a while done a 9pm-7am night and we cant figure out what we did different for that to happen...

Oh well we will just have to try everyone's suggestions and see what happens, bc other then sleep he is an amazing smart wonderful little boy!!!

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

I disagree with your ped.

If your child is hungry and still waking for a bottle and drinking a full bottle than you should feed them. JMO!

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

I think when you stop feeding before bed, during the night, etc, is a parent decision and not a pediatrician decision. YOU decide when you think he's ready....your ped does not live with you and does not know DS like you do.

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

my DS devours his bottles if he wakes in the middle of the night. we've tried CIO but if he is truly hungry he will not go back to sleep. he is 19 months now and still randomly wakes for a bottle. we can tell the difference btwn him being truly hungry, or he is just waking up for another reason. I myself get hungry in the middle of the night and sometimes get up to munch. every baby is different, we have fast metabolism so even tho he eats so well during the day, he still gets hungry sometimes.

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

Posted by Blissful

I have to politely disagree with your ped. At 6 mos we were still feeding at night if she woke to eat. I don't think its fair to make a baby that age go more than 6 hours without eating but that is just my personal belief

My DD was EBF and fed on demand.

Do what feels right to you... if you think he's waking because he's hungry then feed him. If he wakes and only eats an ounce or 2 than he's not really hungry.

Message edited 4/27/2010 1:44:39 PM.

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

My DD just turned 7 months. At her 6 month apt- our PED said not to feed her either before midnight. However, she goes down at 6pm and stopped drinking her bottle before bed (I guess she is not hungry after dinner at 4:45/5PM). She wakes usually around 9-12 (more often than not). I do still feed her, even though PED said not to. She was only taking 15 oz. of formula throughout the day without that feed (which is usually a good one 4-6 oz) so I still feed her. She wakes for the day anywhere between 6:30-7:30AM and that is when I feed her again. I did what I felt was right b/c I knew she was hungry. I would say if he's waking to play- than maybe CIO, ferber, etc would work (this is what I do if DD wakes any other time during the night as I will only feed her that once). I know it's been mentioned on here, but Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Baby is a great book- I believe they say OK to feed during the night up until 8 months if they are hungry. Good Luck!

Re: The ped said no more nightime bottle so how do you get them back to bed?

Personally, I would CIO...and I agree w/your PED