When to stop nighttime feedings

I was wondering when I should stop feeding my daughter at night. She usually wakes 1-2 times a night to eat. She is almost a year old. Some nights she will drink an entire 6 oz bottle or more (formula). Other nights she will only drink approx 4 oz. I have been attempting to give her more to eat in her bedtime bottle and have tried to make sure she is eating a decent amount throughout the day, so that she will not be as hungry at night.

I attempted to cut out her nighttime feeding sessions and at first it went well. Now I am not sure what is going on. I do not know whether or not she is not eating enough during the day or if teething is an issue or if she really is that hungry, but now she has been waking up at midnight and around 4-5 am to eat. If I do not feed her she screams and cries. She refuses to be rocked, does not want a paci and is still not content even after being changed, so I have been feeding her. She does eat quite a bit, so I feel guilty if I do not feed her. I don't understand why it started off well and now we have taken a huge step back. She never screamed or threw a fit before. This is definitely out of character for her. Any advice or tips would be appreciated. She normally goes to bed around 7 pm and wakes for the day around 7 am. I do realize this is a large gap and that it may not be possible for her to sleep all night without eating. I am just looking to hear what others think. Thank you.

Comments

  • Maybe it's too early right now, try next month.
  • My daughter stopped waking up for night time feedings around 3 months so I'm no help but I've heard after 6 months if they are eating enough during the day and not under weight that you should try to cut out feedings at night.. maybe try just giving her water at night and see if it will satisfy her and help stop her from waking up for feedings
  • I have always feed my kids on demand, so I am no help. Maybe shes really hungry when she wakes up.
  • @mommylovessparkle Maybe. I really am not sure.
    @chelcie89 I heard the same thing. I wanted to start giving her water around 9 months, but our Pediatrician was against it.
    @janet_2011 I always fed her on demand as well. I was nursing and pumping until she was 7 months, so I was used to it. She started to eat less at night, so I thought it was time. Looks like I was wrong.
  • I don't think they need to be cut. I'm a strong believer in feeding on demand and there is a reason baby's body is waking up at night still. I believe they will wean and stop on their own. Just not always on our time :)
  • My sons pedi told me to stop by 6 months. He's 10 months now and doesn't get a bottle but wakes up quite a bit at night
  • Our pedi said water over night now my son is 10 months old. She said he is old enough and big enough to fast over night and not cutting it my cause him to be overweight. He is 30 inches and 24 lbs. I decided to break him over night because he was constantly wanting to nurse I moved him to his crib and am trying to break his sleep association. He only gets up about 5 times a night now and I am happy. Lol
  • edited September 2012
    Oh my nephew is five and will still get up over night and eat. Lol. Just food for thought
  • @captivated I was the same way until recently. I think with baby #2 on the way I am worried I will not be able to handle getting up with both kids. It really isn't so bad. She wakes up at the same time(s) almost every night and I never have any issue putting her back to bed.
    @sands3 My Pediatrician told me it was normal and never gave me an age to stop. As long as she is eating and sleeping plenty she was not concerned. I have also heard though that they should be able to sleep through the night without being fed at 6 months. I always wonder if I should have pushed it a little more, but she only wakes up 1-2 times a night, so it isn't so bad.
    @char It is like you read my mind. I am so worried that she will continue waking up to eat when she gets older. I just don't know what more I can do. I have tried so many different things. I have a few other options, but I also cannot handle her crying. It breaks my heart.
  • I'm going through the same thing. My baby gets up at 1am, 4am and 7am to drink milk. I tried giving him water and he starts throwing a fit. A friend told me to start putting more water in his bottle and less milk. So that's what I started doing for about two weeks, 4oz of water and 1 scoop of milk. He didnt notice the difference.
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  • @lourdes26us1 I have not tried watering down her formula. I don't know if that would make a difference or not.
    @homebirthadvocate Is this going to be a problem you think when she is finally drinking cow's milk or goat's milk (We are not sure which one we are using yet. We are having issues with constipation. Hubby wants to talk to doctor first). I don't want her overeating and drinking to much milk and I am worried she will want to drink milk at night. She has been a lot better about eating table foods, but isn't eating enough yet.
  • How many meals does she eat during the day plus snack? I've read they should be eating 6 times a day. Do you let her eat solids until she acts like she's full? I always make alot for jack and just let him eat until he's had enough. He gets formula with each meal and a bottle about 20-30 minutes before bed.
  • @sands3 I usually put her in her highchair twice a day to eat and I will eat also. I give her a good variety. It is funny I have noticed she always eats the one food I know she loves first and once she finishes that she will try other things. We snack at least 3 times a day. I have a cup that I put her snacks in. She loves to eat out of it. She spills it all over the floor, but will just eat her snack off the floor. She loves multigrain cheerios. I let her eat until she continues to spill her cup or throw food on the floor for the dogs. I can usually tell when she is playing and thinks it is a game. She usually gets formula right before or right after she eats. For some reason even when she was younger and was nursing and eating solids she would always want a bottle afterwards. She still gets like that from time to time. It doesn't seem to matter how much she eats. I don't get it. She almost always drinks a bottle right before bed.
  • I don't know then. Have you tried rocking her when she wakes up, instead of giving her milk? That's what I did when jack would wake up after I stopped night feedings
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  • @sands3 I feel like I have tried everything other than cry it out and scheduled awakenings. I rock her, give her a paci, change her and put her back to sleep. The first few nights I did this went great, but after about 4 nights it all went downhill. I just started to do dream feeds. She goes to bed around 7pm, so when I go to bed usually around 9:30-10pm I will wake her and feed her approx. 3-4 ounces. It has helped some. She is sleeping almost all the way through the night, but still wakes to eat at least once. Last night twice because she did not eat enough the first time.
  • @homebirthadvocate That is what I usually do. If she has a bottle I will wait a bit and than give her a snack or put her in the highchair depending on what time it is. I just started giving her a bigger bottle before bed about a month ago. She still leaves approx. 2 ounces in it. I have not tried the scheduled awakening and getting up before she does. I plan to try that next. I still try just putting her back to bed sometimes just to see if she will do it, but no luck. I feel bad even mentioning this because I know two times a night is nothing. She was waking up 3-4 times a night for the longest time, so this is a breeze compared to that. I just don't want to be overly drained when my second child arrives.
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  • @homebirthadvocate Thanks. I have been such a mess lately. I think hitting the Third Trimester has put me into panic mode. My daughter is wonderful. I think getting little to no help from the Hubby is causing me to freak out a bit more also.
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