Should I still be dream feeding at 8 months old?

[Ambinsi]

My DD is turning 8 months old in a week or so. I am having some issues with her bottle feeding and would appreciate some insight from you ladies  

Our typical easy looks like this (although it does vary day to day)
6:30 - wake up
7 or 7:30 - bottle
8:30 - solids (oatmeal and fruit)
9:30 - nap (usually around 1 - 1.5 hours and must be extended by me. We're working on naps.)
11 or 11:30 - solids (fruit or veg)
12:30 - bottle
2 - nap
4:30 or 5 - solids (veg or meat and veg)
6:30 - bottle
7 - bed
And I've started a DF again 

She also gets a little juice during the day because we are practicing with the sippy cup and eats puffs here and there as a snack. Like I said, this does vary day to day but this is pretty much the routine we strive for.

Here's my issue:
My DD will not drink from her bottle unless she wants it and will only drink as much as she wants. So if I'm hoping to get 6 oz in her and she will only take 3, that's my problem, not hers. I sometimes struggle to fit in her bottles, her solids and her naps during the day. Naps are first and foremost, bottles second and solids last in terms of my priorities. HOWEVER, I do know she should be having a balanced diet at this point of solids and bottles. She started waking for night feedings and was draining 7 oz bottles in the middle of the night/early morning (4 or 5am) all last week so I started doing a dream feed again. I feel that if she needs those ounces, I'd rather do it at 10pm rather than at 3am.

BUT -
There are times (like this morning) that a dream feed will interfere with her bottle the next morning. She had a 7 oz bottle at 10:30 last night (she actually woke up hungry for this bottle) and therefore wasn't that interested in her morning bottle. This throws us off and I feel like I need to play catch-up the rest of the day in terms of ounces which is a lot of pressure because she won't drink if she doesn't want to.

I tried to drop a bottle at one point, since we were having success with offering larger bottles less often but that didn't seem to last.

I'm wondering if her solids are filling her up too much, but at this point she prefers her solids and my pedi seems to say its okay if she takes less formula now. BUT she's waking up hungry  

Sorry if this is rambling...any advice here?

[Lolly]

What about if you swap the 11.30 solids for a bottle then solids after  (or make the bottle at 12 then solids) - would she take more? How much is she eating? What about adding yoghurt and cheese etc to her foods - that helps with the daily intake and will help make her food more substantial. How much juice does she take - it may be worth stopping that she doesn't really need it from a nutrition point and it could be playing a part in filling her, water is better really.

Really though, if her pead is happy with her intake, she is gaining weight, meeting milestones and has wet and dirty nappies she is getting what she needs. My DD very, very rarely took 20oz a day, even before solids (and she's not a huge eater) and she has stuck to the top of the weight charts. The NW could be triggered by other things but she is used to being fed when she wakes - have you tried settling in other ways before you feed or do you feed straight away?

There is no reason to not do a DF if you feel she still needs it, many babies are only starting to drop it at 8 months and some have it a while longer yet.

Laura

[Ambinsi]

Thanks for the reply, Lolly. A few comments/questions:

What about if you swap the 11.30 solids for a bottle then solids after  (or make the bottle at 12 then solids) - would she take more?

I think that's a great idea - my only concern is that then she would have two solid meals back to back, "lunch" and "dinner", and then her bedtime bottle. I fear she'd be too full to take her bedtime bottle, but we can try it and see what happens. To be honest, the bedtime bottle is a big issue - I try to make it part of our nighttime routine but I feel like she's just full at that point and never finishes it. Hence not getting full during her awake hours.

As far as solids, she was eating around 24 oz a day and then recently with her waking up starving she's been taking closer to 30. She currently eats her solids with enthusiasm - stage 2, usually a full tub for lunch and dinner, plus 2/3 a tub plus oatmeal for breakfast. I've thought of limiting solids but at what point should solids be a substantial part of her diet?? Do you think I should encourage or even increase the solids with dairy (like you said) or more cereal? She LOVES the oatmeal when I mix it with fruit.

How much juice does she take - it may be worth stopping that she doesn't really need it from a nutrition point and it could be playing a part in filling her, water is better really.

She's barely taking 2 oz a day of juice diluted with water, its more to practice with the sippy cup than anything else.

Her weight gain has been great. Around 4-5 months we had a weight gain issue which is why I'm always concerned about how many ounces she gets. That has since been resolved and she's gaining great - to the point that my pedi said at this point her weight might stabilize a bit and that's okay.

As far as soothing her other ways, she is waking up hungry and draining bottles. I dealt with a spell of habitual waking (4:30 every morning ugh!) a few months ago. I am confident this is hunger. She is draining bottles and going right back to sleep. If she's really hungry I feel like I can't NOT feed her, KWIM?

So maybe we'll be keeping up the dream feed while I work on ways to get more in her during the day.

I know it varies child to child but at 8 months, how much "should" she be taking per feed? (Solids and bottle)

[Lolly]

As far as I'm aware there isn't really a "should" amount as like you said, every one is so different. They do say 20oz of milk as a minimum from 6 months plus solids but the idea is to feed to appetite providing the milk intake doesn't drop below the 20oz (which does include the oz in food). Milk is still her main source of nutrition until 1 year, solids are just for practice and tastes really.

If she is genuinly hungry at night I would feed too - but if it's having an impact on her morning bottle you could try limiting the amount you give her at night and then resettle.

Laura

[Ambinsi]

Yes, I'm thinking of doing DF earlier (maybe 9 or 9:30) and offering smaller bottles. Do you think I should increase solids? That would fill her up but I'm afraid she'll take even less bottle. But maybe that's okay if she keeps to her minimum # of ounces? Like if she's full from more solids and still gets 20 oz a day, maybe that's the way to go? WDYT?

[Ambinsi]

Just wanted to update you on our day/night yesterday.

DD had a total of about 21 oz by bedtime with three meals of solids during the day. Based on how the past week had been going, I expected her to be hungry later on so we attempted a dream feed but I wanted to try to do it earlier, as I'm hoping to eventually phase it out. We tried to do it at about 9:30, three hours after her last bottle where she took 5 oz. DH attempted the dream feed and she did not want the bottle at all, refused to drink, just wanted to sleep. He put her back down and she was up at 11pm crying. I offered a bottle and she drained 6 oz. I know if it was a larger bottle she would have taken more. Then, she was up early before 6am this morning, I think due to disrupted nighttime sleep , and only took 4 oz from her morning bottle.

WDYT?

I think that I might need to up her solids during the day....a meal of solids for her is usually 1 tub of food, sometimes with a little cereal to go with it. I thought any more than this would discourage her from drinking her bottles, but I know she's hitting the minimum # of ounces a day and then some, and she's still hungry....should I increase solids at this point??

[Lolly]

I think go with your instincts - just make sure milk intake doesn't drop any lower and try to get some dairy in the solids!

Laura

[Ambinsi]

Well, I figured I'd let you know how last night went....this is really stumping me.

After having about 21 oz of milk for the day yesterday, including what was mixed with her oatmeal, I decided to try a DF in an attempt to avoid another NW for a feeding. She refused it at 10, only had an ounce. She woke up crying at 11, and I figured she was hungry since she took a full bottle at 11pm the previous night. Again, she only took an ounce. Then she woke up at 4am. Her cries escalated and I knew she was hungry and she took a full 7 oz, then went back to sleep for another 3+ hours.

I'm going to watch her for the next few days to see which wakings might be becoming habitual and which are legitimate hunger wakings, but this is very frustrating because I can't seem to get enough in her during the day! And if she's going to refuse her DF does this mean I have nothing but 4am feedings to look forward to???

WDYT?

[3Ps]

I'm watching this posting with a lot of interest because it feels as if you're describing my baby.  My boy turned 8 months and was growing at a great clip and sleeping well with 4 bottle feeds and 2 solids feedings during the day - no dream feed (he never really took to it).  He was taking in anywhere between 20-30 oz a day.  No matter what, always a 8 oz bottle at bedtime.  Then, he started acting as if his reflux was flaring up in the worst way, gagging and spitting up or throwing up.  He was never a bit spitter-upper despite his reflux issues so this was a surprise.  For the past few days, I can't get him to take more than 3 to 5 oz of formula at a time (sometimes 1!), and past couple of nights he's been refusing to take anything at bedtime, which of course means I'm getting the middle of night hunger wakings (around 3:30ish).  I only give him 4 oz in the middle of the night, but this impacts his morning bottle.  I'm at my wit's end and totally stumped as to what's going on.  He's otherwise happy, no fever or anything.  I'm completely stumped and desperate for my baby that was sleeping through the night. I'm starting to wonder if he's getting more teeth in (his bottom 2 came in at the same time about 2 weeks ago) but I don't see anything yet.  Sorry to hijack your post but I feel as if we're experiencing something similar.  I wish you the best of luck.   


Pam     

[Ambinsi]

No...hijack away! I don't know what to make of it either, honestly.

DD is actually sick right now, cold and fever, so she has no interest in her bottle at all. But in general, it seems like she's taking smaller bottles and I'm trying to space them out so she'll take fewer big ones, it just doesn't seem to be working. You say your boy always took a nice bedtime bottle....that's so great - she won't do that so its been a challenge.

Everything is all crazy now because she's sick but I'll keep you posted and if you figure out anything that seems to work, let me know!! Good luck.

[3Ps]

Unfortunately, things have gotten worse.  I'm at my wit's end.  At first I thought teething (his upper front) was the culprit, but I don't think so anymore.  We've been spacing out his bottles and solids even further, but he's gagging at the solids, too.  I'm ready to post on the allergy board to see if anyone has had experience of the type of formula causing reflux flare ups and whether anyone's had babies who seemed to do fine on lactose free formula for awhile and then spiral downwards.  I feel like I'm grasping at straws, and exhausted and not thinking straight anymore.  I hope you're having better luck.   



Pam