hungry baby milk

[emmyheats]

Hi all
a quick question. ... a few of my friends have suggested I give my baby boy hungry baby milk on the last two feeds of thecsay to help him sleep through.  Hes now 14 wks and still wakes fir a feed between 3-4. This I don't really mind but he doesn't settle very well afterwards - he'll go back to sleep in his crib but he'll wakeup on the hour and stir right up until hes fed between 7- 8 so I hardly get much sleep from 4 am onwards.  I dont really want to give him hungry milk as would like him to naturally start to go through. Just wanted to know what people's thoughts and views were?
Cheers

[Lolly]

Honestly? Don't bother! Hungry baby milk is designed to stave off early weaning, not to help them sleep through the night. It's a harder to digest formula but it doesn't have any more calories than normal milk so you could actually be stopping him getting the calories he needs by making him too full. Sleeping through is as much developmental as calorie driven so it could just be that your friend's babies would be sleeping through now anyway even if they weren't having hungry baby milk.

Only having 1 nightfeed is really good, being unsettled from that feed on could be related to his day routine or it could be digestive discomfort (the harder to digest milk could actually make things worse if it is discomfort). Do you wind him after that feed - does he burp easily? Are you offering a normal full feed at this time and does he take it all?

What's your day routine like?

Laura

[emmyheats]

Thanks, im glad you have said that as it didn't make any sense to me to change his milk and I kinda thought well he'll sleep through when hes ready! Just because he doesn't doesn't mean there's anything wrong!

Funnily enough he does suffer from wind alot and does find it hard to bring his wond up. Some times its better than others and theres no rhyme or reason to it. We give him infacol to help which does sometimes. Gripe water doesn't seem to do much. On the night feed he can take anywhere from 3 to 6 oz. I let him have what he wants. But the more he takes usually means that I have to wait 4 hrs from that feed for his first feed of the day otherwise he wont take much on that one. I did try to delay feeding the him as long as possible in night but he is always hungry so we have never got past 5 am andvits not worth it coz then he won't take much on a 7 am feed and it just throws routine out! After the night feed though I csn sometimes hear hiis tummy making lits of gurgling noises - we don't get this in the day?

In terms of day routine what do u mean? He is on the 4 hrs easy and we find it does work although he may only ho 3-3.5 hrs some time.  Thanks for yourvhelp x

[emmyheats]

Also just to add he doesn't burp easily at all at the moment - especially when he iis sleepy - so im wondering if he is storing up wind from the dream feed which is making him uncomfortable during the night? U can sometimes hearvhim doing bottom burps in his crib which wakes him up and is why he stirs. He used to poop at night too but that's stopped. What can I do? How much winding us necessary?  Sometimes feel as though im doing it for hours.  Also what did you mean by his day time routine unsettling his night?
Thanks in advance - really appreciate any help!
Em

[Lolly]

Also what did you mean by his day time routine unsettling his night?

If he is getting too much or too little sleep in the day then it can have an impact on the night. Being over tired or under tired means they don't sleep so well. If he is napping well during the day then it probably won't be that. At this age on a 4 hour EASY he should be having 2 naps of 1.5-2 hours and a cat nap.

Are you giving the infacol with every feed? If not try that as it has a cumulative effect and needs to be given at every feed for a good few days before it makes much difference.

The night bottom burps could just be developmental as his digestive system is growing. My two were both awful during the early hours, DS used to fuss/fidget for a while, then pass wind, be quiet for a little while and then start all over again. DD was the same but she used to slam her legs down on the matteress... that was fun . They both did grow out of it around the 4 months mark though, so hopefully it will pass. My two are both refluxers though so I don't know if it was connected to that - any signs of reflux with your LO?

Laura

[emmyheats]

Ah ok thanks! His naps are bit unpredictable as to how long he will sleep for. Some days he will take longer than others and your right this does affect his sleep at night. Easy has helped me identify the times he likely to b tired tho and he usually is. But hes a very alert little chap and he fights going to sleep on most occasions.

we do give infacol every feed. Funny though isn't it because ladt night on the nf he definitely had wind as was fidgety and was smiling in sleep but I couldn't get it out of him despite me winding him for what seemed like forever. It didnt bother him either as he slept soundly until his next feed - so its strange how it only bothers him sometimes!

Not sure bout reflux - hes never been a sicky baby and he doesn't cry if I put him down after a feed so I guess not?

Thanks
em