weaning - what to do for night wakings?

[sunnysummer]

Here is my 6.5 month-old's EASY:
7 am  BF
8 am  solids
9:30 am nap
11 am BF
12 pm solids
2:00 pm nap (OR 1:30 nap and 4:15 catnap)
3/3:30 pm BF
5:30 pm solids
6:15 pm bath & wind down
7:00/7:30 pm BF and bed
Recently a BF sometime from 3-6 am

I'm going back to work in 2 months. I need to get LO to take the bottle at least at 11am and 3pm feedings. I know she won't take much during these feedings. What do I do when she wakes up at night hungry? I was phasing out the middle of the night feedings until she hit a growth spurt. Any advice? By the way, we're just getting over a cold so our EASY is completely out of whack but I'm sure it'll return to normal.

[LŠuren]

What plan do you have in place for transistioning the 11am and 3pm breastfeeds to bottlefeeds?

[sunnysummer]

At first I was going to mix EBM & formula but I have such difficulty pumping without having LO latch on first to get a letdown. And after reading many of the posts, I think I just might go cold turkey & start formula feeding at every feed. Knowing my little one, she'll probably hold out for the breast milk if she knows it's coming.

So, to modify my question, if she doesn't drink a lot of formula during the first couple of days and she wakes at night to eat, what should I do if the paci doesn't soothe her? Formula feed or give water maybe?

[LŠuren]

So, to modify my question, if she doesn't drink a lot of formula during the first couple of days and she wakes at night to eat, what should I do if the paci doesn't soothe her? Formula feed or give water maybe?

Hi
Sorry for the delay in replying....


.....  Have you seen this post by Gracie3    https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=67768.0   
This mum did offer a reduced anmount of milk for a night feed, however her LO was still waking at night anyway.

If you are used to your LO sleeping through, and think that she could wake at night for a feed then if you are sure she is hungry then give a reduced amount of milk or water down milk.   Just enough so that she does not start waking at night for feeds.  if you think she is not hungry then use paci to get her back to sleep.

It is very difficult to judge what she was getting in breast milk compared to OZ's of formula.

[jacksmomns]

is that how you deal with night eating? phasing it out by offering less or watered down?  How do you know its time?  Im no longer bf, but struggle to know whether or not night wakings are hunger, and dont want to create a habit.  Last night lo made it through-irst time ever-so how do i deal with other nights-just not offer as much?  He is 10 wks, and i know they still may need night feeds at this age, but if he did it once.......don't know if its hunger or trouble getting back to sleep--ant advice?  Thanks

[LŠuren]

jacksmomns - Hiya I have replied on the other post.

[jacksmomns]

thanks--its so unerving not knowing what to do and avoid accidental parenting!  sunnysummer-how did you make out?

[sunnysummer]

Hi Jacksmomns,
LO is fully weaned (yay!), but night wakings are still a problem. I have another post - "7 month old still waking for 2 am feeding - what am I doing wrong?" - where I've been getting some good advice. As you can see, I'm still struggling a bit. I try my best to fill LO with calories during the day, but she still needs to eat at night. I'm not sure if she's truly hungry or just in a bad habit. All I know is, if I feed her, she'll sleep through the night. It seems easier to wake around 12:30 or 1:00 and DF her otherwise she'll toss and turn all night. I guess I'll start reducing the amount I give her at night. I'm not sure what to do. The pacifier and pu/pd methods don't really work but I suppose I could try harder for several nights in a row. But my gut just tells me that she's hungry. Although this morning she didn't take as much for breakfast so maybe she's ready to have the night bottle reduced.

Thanks for asking. How's it going with your LO?

[jacksmomns]

well, we have been making progress i guess-he has made it throught the last two nights without waking to east-woohoo-but im so scared he'll start again and i may want to resist for fear of it becoming habit! Plus a growth spurt is right around the corner!  So if you feed her, she'll continue to sleep afterwards-thats great! I suppose we have to go with our gut feelings with lo's. Yeah, isee what your saying about maybe reducing the night bottle so shell eat more in the morning.  Let me know if it works out--I may be tempted myself if our nights are just a fluke.  Good luck! Congrats on the weaning by the way!