7 month-old hungry at 2 am - what am I doing wrong?

[sunnysummer]

After reading the FAQs I still need some advice. LO is almost 7 months old and still wakes up at night to eat.  I don't think it's a waking habit because she wakes up at different times between 1-3 am. I try getting her back to sleep but she still wakes up needing food & she always takes in 6 oz.

She's just been weaned onto formula & has been eating solids now for some time. She generally takes around 6 oz (I always offer 8 oz and she has never drained a bottle yet). Her EASY is posted below. I'm still trying to figure out the last feed of the day. But she always needs another 6 oz around 2 am no matter what I do.

So, my question is, how can I get enough calories in her without having a 2 am feeding? The Baby Whisperer talks about increasing her daily oz's but LO won't take more than 6 oz at a feed. I guess it's all her stomach can hold.

The FAQs suggest offering an ounce or two after giving her a break, so I'll try that. But does anyone else have other suggestions? Shall I try cluster feeding? How would I do that at 7 months? Perhaps a bottle before bedtime AND a dream feed? I hesitate to start a dream feed because they're supposed to be phased out around 7 months. And last time I did DF's, LO kept on waking up for it earlier & earlier until it turned into a bad waking habit. (Also, I'm certainly not awake at 11pm.) Any suggestions you may have would be very helpful. Thanks.

EASY: give or take 1/2 hour...

E    7:00 am: 6 oz. followed by solids 1 hour later
A
S    9:30 am: 1-2 sleep cycles of 45 min.
Y
E   11 am: 6 oz. followed by solids 1 hour later
A
S    1:30 pm: 1-2 sleep cycles of 45 min.
Y
E   3:00 pm: 6 oz
A
S   4:15: cat nap if needed
Y
E   5:00: solids
A   6:00: bath
S   7:00 bedtime (4 oz at bedtime OR 6 oz around 9 pm - still trying to figure out what works)
Y

Wakes up 1-3 am, eats 6 oz

[KathrynK]

hi there
have you tried cluster feeding around bedtime to try to tank her up for the night? If she is having 6 oz at 3pm, perhaps try giving a few ounces just before her bath and another bottle at bedtime. Or do the bottle at bedtime and the bottle at 9pm if you prefer. We always did a bottle either side of her bath when she was younger and I am convinced that helped her sleep longer.
hth
kathryn

[sunnysummer]

Great! I'll try that. Thanks.

[* Paula *]

I definitely agree with PP, would definitely try the cluster feeding to help her tank up.

I agree, I would not try to introduce the dreamfeed now as it is round this time you should start phasing it out.

Have you also tried offering your lo a few oz of milk in a sippy during meal times?  This could also help get a few more oz into her, as well as practice for when you do decide to take her off bottles when she is older.

Let us know how you get on with the cluster feeding.

Paula x

[Mom2one]

My EASY routine is quite similar to yours.  My 6 month old would have bottles at 7,11,3,5:30 and 7:30 (at bedtime).  We have however dropped the 5:30 bottle as she would only drink a few oz lately, however, she ALWAYS drinks 8oz at bedtime.  She is averaging 27-30oz of formula a day, plus 2 servings of solids a day. 

Also, is there a reason she's only drinking 4oz at 7pm?  Is she falling asleep before she can finish?  How much solids is she eating at 5pm?  Maybe it's too much and the reason she will only drink 4oz.  What about cutting out the solids at 5pm and giving her a bottle instead?

[sunnysummer]

Wow, some great advice! I never thought about cutting out the solids at dinner time. I just assumed she would fill up on them enough to last through the night. They definitely fill her up in the evening and that's why she won't take much from her last bottle of the night. So I'll try cluster feeding in the evening while dropping her dinner solids. Do you think that will sustain her?

Ok, so let's say when I try this, she wakes up from 12-3 am, because of habit or hunger, who knows.... What should I do?

Thanks for your expert advice. I really appreciate it!!!!!

[sunnysummer]

By the way, TOM TOM, I was wondering about how to introduce a sippy cup. I like the idea of trying that with solids. Perhaps it'll help take in an extra ounce.

Stacy, should I be adding formula to the cereal? I usually just use water. What do you think?

[sunnysummer]

Ok, so I've started cluster feeding at 3:00, 5:30 and 7:00 and giving up the dinner solids. She'll only take about 3-5 ounces at these feeds and refuses or spits up if I try to give her more. But she still wants and takes a full 6 oz at 1:00 am or so! Is her stomach just too small? My doctor says some babies just need a night feeding until 9 months of age.

Well, I suppose I should now try to decrease the night feed by an ounce every couple of nights? I tried giving her 4 oz last night and she screamed for more after she drained the bottle! What should I do next?

[sunnysummer]

I have an idea!    I can usually do a type of "dream feed" around the 1 am mark where she usually just goes back to sleep after she finishes the bottle. If I decrease the milk really slowly, like 1/2 an ounce at a time, it might help her wean off of it. (But if she screams for more, shouldn't I give it to her?)

[sunnysummer]

This is kinda what I've been feeling, but I feel like I've been doing something wrong. I'm glad I'm not though. Thanks for everyone's help. I really appreciate it.

[gemmah]

Does you LO have the full 6oz in the day feeds?
Defiantly milk with cereal, it tastes nicer! 
It sounds like your LO is hungry at 1am but if you do manage to cut her feed my a couple of Oz's you could try offering her water instead.

[LŠuren]

Does your Lo always just take 6oz? Does she drain any bottles during the day?

What solids do you offer?  I also agree about moving the 5pm solid feed earlier to your LO is hungrier for her bedtime bottle.  I also never/rarely left it 1hr from milk to solid food either, I found on the odd occasion I DID do this he wasn't hungry for his next meal.   I also give Calum as much as he will take from a bottle prior to his bath then the rest after - this was our form of clusterfeeding.

The other thing that could be 'wrong' is that you are offering milk when your lo is not hungry, you could also try going 4.5hrs before milk feeds and feeding solids sooner than 1hr.

[sunnysummer]

Lauren,

If I try to give her solids right after her milk, she's usually too full to take them. So what should I do about that? I'm so confused!

I've never seen LO take more than 7 oz at a feed. Generally she takes around 6 oz. Any more and she spits up.

[gemmah]

What about solids first?

[sunnysummer]

Yep, tried it. I think LO just has a 6 oz stomach. If she has solids first, she only has room for a few oz of formula.

You know what, it's ok. I don't mind feeding her at night because I think she needs it. When she starts to take less at night or in the am, I'll know that she's growing out of it. In the meantime I'll do my best to tank her up in the day. Funny, actually, she's had little interest in solids lately unless I give them to her before the bottle. I think the formula must really fill her up.

Oh well, it's a work in progress. I think everything will be fine. Thanks for everyone's help. I'll keep you posted.