Should my almost 9mo be able to STTN?

[Kellyshe]

On the 25th, my DD will be 9MO.  For the past few weeks she's been having two NF (sometimes one if she cluster feeds before bed).  We used to be at 4 bottles a day and now we are back to 6!  She does have reflux but I think it's controlled (maybe not?!).  She does have two teeth coming in (I can feel where it's slightly raised on her lower gums but no visible signs - reddness, etc).  She's taking about 5.5-6oz per feed at night (usually around 7-9oz at bedtime.  If I don't feed her, she thinks she's up for the day and starts babbling (which I think she does when she tired, too). 

As for her eating during the day, I'm finding that she doesn't want to take more than 4.5-6oz per feed (I'm feeding every 4 hours).  Feeding solids is also a struggle (just not interested).  I'm not sure if she's OT all the time and not interested in eating or just prefers the milk over the solids (she can fall asleep while drinking but not while eating).  Last night she basically wanted to feed every 4 hours. 

Is this the problem?  Should I be extending the time between feeds in order for her to drop the bottles?  SHould I slowly add 15 minutes between meals (4 hours 15 minutes) until I work my way up to 5 hours?

Any suggestions?

[katie80]

Hi there, sorry it took awhile for you to get a reply!

She does have reflux but I think it's controlled (maybe not?!).  She does have two teeth coming in (I can feel where it's slightly raised on her lower gums but no visible signs - reddness, etc).

I do think that teething can cause reflux to flare, so if you are questioning whether her reflux is under control, it may actually be bothering her.  I'm assuming she's still on meds?

It sounds to me like she's maybe not taking as much milk as you'd like her to during the day, because she's getting quite a bit at night.  Rather than trying to extend the time between feeds during the day, I'd work at dropping the oz at night.  I've not FF before, but I think you could drop an oz from each bottle every few days (and add it during the day) until you get down to about 4oz or so.  And then work at getting rid of one feed at a time.  So, either start pushing the time between feeds so one naturally drops or continue dropping the oz out of one feed until it's gone.  Then, do the same with the other.

She may not be interested in solids right now if she's having teething and/or reflux discomfort.  It's ok that milk is still her main source of nutrition, that is how it should be, but if she's taking in so much at night that she's not hungry enough for solids, you want to start getting rid of the NFs.  Some LOs don't take off on solids til closer to 10-12mo.  My DD didn't really have anything til 8mo and didn't start eating enough to make a difference til 9/10mo. 

I'm not sure if she's OT all the time and not interested in eating or just prefers the milk over the solids (she can fall asleep while drinking but not while eating).

Is she an independent sleeper?  Is she often falling asleep while having a bottle?

If I don't feed her, she thinks she's up for the day and starts babbling (which I think she does when she tired, too). 

This makes me also wonder if there's a routine issue at play.  She's not really crying out for food, but you need to feed her in order to get her back to sleep... is that right?  Can you give me an example of your EAS right now and we'll see if there's anything to be tweaked?