snacker vs feed-to-sleep: which is it, and is it a problem?

[SEA0680]

Just wondering what you think about this. Around 4 months my LO got much more mobile and distractable and was hard to get to take a whole bottle. We ended up doing half of the bottle about 20 minutes into A time and the second half about 10-20 minutes before sleep. Is that snacking? Prior to this he would take 7oz and when this became a problem he would only drink about 2-4oz at the beginning of A time (if I only offered the bottle once). I was concerned that he wasn't getting enough to eat and that hunger might be causing him to wake up early from naps. He is 6 months now and I tried to stop this and he still drinks less than if I feed him twice per EASY cycle (like, EAESY). Is this snacking? Is it a problem?

Also, if you feed the second half of the bottle just before sleep (in the nursery) but he is awake after he finishes the bottle (but calm and a little drowsy), and then you use the paci and he gets more drowsy and you put him in the crib, is that feeding-to-sleep? He is definitely more resistant to sleep if I don't do this.

Thanks for your advice!

[*Kara*]

I would say that he isn't feeding to sleep but is using the bottle/paci to relax.. I personally don't think it's an issue unless he is waking at the end of each sleep cycle and throughout the night.. if he can transition, he's only using it to relax, not a true prop.  Just be mindful of him falling asleep while actually drinking his bottle.

As for the bottles being split - if it works for him better to have two smaller feeds, that is okay.  Some are just better with this... that said, it is somewhat like snacking for sure!  My only concern though, are you using one bottle with a big feed, offering some, then offering that same bottle later on?  Once a baby starts to drink a bottle, it has to be finished within an hour as bacteria from bub's mouth gets into the milk and starts to multiply rather quickly..