8 months refusing bottles during the day and still wanting a night feed

[caoimhe mum]

hi i was just wondering if anyone had any ideas or soultions to this problem we are having.  my dd is 8months 1 week.  she has started refusing her bottles and she dosen't take much in the lines of solids.  i offer her three meals a day but she dosen't take them.  i try and coax her to tak her meals but we don't get very much.  i make up 4 bottles for the day with 6oz in each.  the day breaks down like so

wake up 5/6oz
after 1st nap 3/4 oz but today only and 2oz
after 2nd max 4oz
bed time i make a 7oz bottle some time she will take this other times not.  last night she only took 2 1/2 oz. 

then any where between 1-4am she wakes up.  she takes a watered down bottle of 5oz water 3 scoopes formula.  she devours thid down.  i tried watering down further but she wouldn't settle back to sleep.  there was a stage about a month agao she was only taking 2/3oz of this so i tried to stop it for 3nights but she rorared the place down and would not settle for 3hrs. 

any ideas what i should do.  should i stop the night feed or keep going till she stops herself.   

[Lolly]

I would drop the daytime bottles down to 3, so she has one at wake up, one just before her afternoon nap and then at bedtime. With this routine you will need to do lunch a bit earlier and tea a bit earlier and she should take more in her day bottle and bedtime bottle. I did this with my DD at this age to increase her milk intake and then we dropped the nightfeed.

I would actually start reducing the nightfeed an oz every 3 days when her day intake has increased a bit. I didn't water down my DD's, we just reduced by 1oz every 3 nights and then just offered water by the time it got to 1 or 2 oz. I think the trouble with watering down is that they are still having a volume of liquid filling their tummies whereas by dropping oz gradually you are giving them less and less overall volume. You will get some protesting when you get to resettling with just water but you need to stick to it for a couple of nights while she gets used to a new way of doing things.

What do you think?

Laura

[caoimhe mum]

thanks laura thats what i'll do.  finger crossed. 

we give her 5oz of water and 3 scoops of formula where would you start with that or just bring it up to 5 scoops and work down from there

[Lolly]

Hmm - not sure really. It may be easier to do 5 scoops again and gradually reduce it at full strength. It's up to you really, personally I take the easiest path and probably couldn't be bothered to work out how many scoops to add to less water!

Laura

[caoimhe mum]

ya i agree

[caoimhe mum]

just a quick update yesterday went really well.  she took her solids at lunch time and took 6oz before her 2nd nap and took solids for dinner and took 7oz before bed.  but she woke at 3.30am and i offered her water first i had the bottle as well just thought i shouyld get her used to being offered water.  i didn't went with watered down bottle as i thought i should wait a few days till she gets used to the new eating routine. 

she messed about with the bottle on and off so i put her back to bed and then she cried so i took her up and feed her some more and she goes at it eagerly but then look around and loses interest.  i repeated up to bed back out gain till bottle was finished.  she woke at 7am i tried to give her the bottle and she messed around eventually took 6oz but then refused her solids i tried three different foods but she was having none of it.  so she went for her nap with no solids. 

what do you think is she getting to much at night still of should i just wait a few days and see 

[Lolly]

How long after the wakeup bottle did you offer solids? It's not a problem that she didn't have any solids before her nap - she just wasn't hungry for it so the night bottle probably is needing to be gone now! Are you giving her finger foods at all - if you are try giving some toast fingers or something else she can feed herself with.

If she is messing around with the bottle in the night I would just stop as soon as she isn't interested and settle her back to sleep. If she is genuinely hungry she will just drink and go back to sleep, the messing around sounds like it's more of a prop to get back to sleep than a real need for milk.

Wait a couple of days for her to get used to the new bottle/ solids routine and then start reducing that night bottle.

Laura

[caoimhe mum]

i offered her solids an hour after the bottle.  i guess she just didn'y want it.  we are doing a liitle bit of finger food more fruit but its slippy so i end up holding it for her. 

thanks again.