5.5 mo, 6 bottles, 2 solid meals, still wants 2 night feeds!

[Frannie]

I have maved my LO from breast to bottle. She is 5.5mo and a snacker since the day she was born, no amount of stretching will make her drink more. This is her routine:
6am- feed, drinks about 4oz
10am- feed, drinks about 3oz.  Has teaspn babyrice with tspn apple mixed with boiled water/formula
2pm- feed, drinks about 4.5/5oz.
5.30pm- feed, drinks about 4 oz. Has teaspn babyrice with 2 tspn veg, mixed with boiled water.
6.00pm- bath, finishes bottle (total 8 oz)
11.00pm- dream feed, drinks about 6oz.
3.00am- demands food! Drinks about 5oz.

How can I get her to take bigger feeds, less often? This has gone on so long, breastfeeding was worse. After, 4 hours she squirms and shouts with hunger, even if a long nap stretches her up to 5 hours she will not drink more than 5 oz.
We have just started the solids and she loves it, she would eat anything in any amount. She screams if I don't get the spoon in fast enough, even after she has had a bottle. She is HIGHLY SPIRITED! We are working up to 3 solid meals but I want to take it very slowly.
HV is useless, my mother is worse and we are on our own in a big city with no friends with babies. Unfortunately, find baby groups just fill my head with so so much advice and comparison, that it is not constructive.
Also, her poops are much more solid, is this normal? She is doing lots of wet nappies too.
I will really appreciate any advice!!!!!

[**Clare**]

Hello again! Can I just say that your daughter is taking a good amount of milk during her day and it seems she may just want it little and often, I'm not sure that you can get her to take a larger amount but it maybe that you can begin to cut bottles out when she increases her solid food intake.  It maybe that you can get rid of the 10am feed and just give her solids (a larger amount if need be!) Then offer her a bottle at 2pm as usual and she may drink more then?  It maybe your routine just needs tweaking abit, she may not wait from 10 till 2 for a bottle, you may need to bring the bottle forward... you just need to tweak and see what works!!

In the long run I would be aiming to cut out the 10am and the 5.30 bottle and increase solids, offering her a bottle at 6 am, 2pm and 6pm (and a dream feed and night feed if still necessary - I'm thinking these may not be necessary when you increase solids but you never know!)

Also you were saying that when you were breastfeeding she shouts with hunger after four hours? I have never breastfed but I think you may find that 4 hours is a long time for a breastfed baby to go before another feed so shes doing well!!

This is all off the top of my head, I do not have the bw book so it may all be wrong, this is just 'in my opinion'! Hope you get some professional advice from our mods soon!!

[LŠuren]

Frannie - What size of teat are you currently using? Is it fast enough?

When is bedtime?
 
Have you tried doing the DF nearer 10pm, as Tracey suggests in her book?  Is you Lo asleep for the DF?

4hrs between milk feeds and 4 daytime bottles are pretty normal at this age.  We also give DS some milk before and after bath.

It seems from your routine the morning bottles as 'suffering' as a result of the 3am feed, however tyhat said it is still normal to give a night feed at this age. Have you tried watering the bottle or trying water?  Does she wake habitually or at different times with genuine hunger?

Poops are solid probably due to the babyrice, it can be quite constipating in some LO's.

[Frannie]

Bedtime is 6.30/7.
I am using a size 2 teat.
Did an earlier DF last night and she only took 3oz but still woke at 3.30 hungry.
What about phasing out dreamfeed, even if it is at a more sociable hour, perhaps it is an easier habit to break. And maybe she is phasing it out herself? Also, thought she will probably take a bigger feed at about 2 instead.
She hates water!!! Very funny reaction.
Gave her food without b.rice last night, and things very flowing a little more smoothly 1hr ago!
Thanks!

[LŠuren]

Have you tried using a fast flow?  I never went by the recommended age on the package, always by what Calum could handle.

The Df usually should be dropped when solids are firmly established (approx 7months) you would look to get rid of the overnight feed first.

Have you tried wating the night feed down, there is a post about this somewhere - I think in the night wakings board.   I did it when Calum was about 5months, he stopped waking after a week.

[Frannie]

Thanks!
I think that is a good idea!
Will read up and try tonight!
Also, tried the fast teat, I prob shouldn't giggle, but it was actually very funny! She drank the entire feed in 5 mins. My HV used to pressure me so much to get my LO to breastfeed for longer than 5 mins/feed. But nothing would work. I was so worried about this since she was born, we would almost wrestle with eachother trying to get her to suck longer. So apparently she is just a really fast drinker!
Maybe this will help to get more fluid in to her during the day, which should also help.............REALLY great advice, THANKS

[LŠuren]

Let us know how you get on..