How to drop bottles

[dache]

DD is 9 1/2 months old. And she is taking 6, sometimes even 7 bottles a day. Its too much for this age, right?
She has 4 during the day @7,11,3,7 then a df which is not really a df bc she is awake, then one in the middle of the night and sometimes even 2! We dont have any time set for the df, I set of making it at 10.30 but very! often she wakes earlier and I feed her.
I want to drop to one or none feeds after bt and maybe even one day feed.
Can you please share your experience? How did you managed this?

[Lolly]

How much is she taking at each feed? That's a lot of bottles in 24 hours for her age, most babies are dropping to 3 daytime bottles around this age and don't have a DF or a night feed. Is she eating solids well?

I think you have a bottle/ sleep prop going on really, she's probably waking and needs the bottle to get back to sleep rather than needing the calories.

My DD was on 3 bottles by 8.5 months so we dropped the NF then (no DF) by reducinh the amount in the bottle by 1oz every 3 nights until it was down to 1oz and then just offered water if she woke.

I think in your case I would keep the day feeds for now and the dreamfeed and work on getting rid of the nightfeeds. I think you need to work on getting her back to sleep without the bottle, if she has had 4 day bottles, plus solids plus a DF she doesn't need the NF. I would pick a time that you aren't going to feed before and then use PD (no PU at this age) to re-settle her. If the time you pick is 2am then you don't offer a bottle before then but you need to get her back to sleep before the bottle even if it's only a few mins, she needs to learn to fall asleep without the bottle. You do this while reducing the bottle by 1oz every 3 nights then just offer a sip of water.

Once the NF has gone then I would get rid of the DF in the same way by reducing the bottles. You can then reorganise her day bottles so that she gets a wake up bottle, a bottle after her lunch just before her nap (but with some A time so she's not feeding to sleep) and then a bedtime bottle.

What are her naps like? Waking in the early part of the night is often a sign of being OT.

What do you think?

Laura

[dache]

Yes, I think you are right about the prop thing.  I`ve done a lot of APOP because she was sick and I have the poor baby syndrome
Its not excuse but with everything that was going on it was the easiest way.
DH is not helpful too, every time she awakes at night he asks when was the last time she ate and he thinks she is hungry.

She eats enough solids, I think. I try to give her as much as she wants hoping that she wont wake for feeds at nigh.But some days she just doesnt seem hungry. For ex. today she had 3tbs baby rice with 1/2 of banana, I also offered palenta with veggies but she played with it. Usualy she drinks enough milk. Yesterday she eat more solids (baby rice, 1jar baby food, bread) but drank less milk. I try and give her 3 meals most days, sometimes we end with 2.

Sleep is very sensitive issue for me. I feel like Im failing so hard there. Bt is hard these days.She doest settle, or she will and then wakes up soon after and it can take me 2h so settle her back. Yesterday she fall asleep at 10 !I know that waking up soon after bt is from OT but I am lost to what is going on and why she gets OT.Today she had 3h of day time sleep and I was wondering if that`s why she didnt settle at bt. There are days when she takes short naps and on those days I have moved bt as early as 6. Sometimes it makes a difference sometimes not. I think she might be at the beginning of 2-1 transition. TBH Im exhausted and my patience is low.


I like your plan. It will be hard bc she screams so much and so loud but it has to be done. FX it works.
How much solids do you think is enough for her to go nights with out bottle?

[dache]

Update on how things are going
I thought I am supposed to drop an oz every 4 days. 

Night 1&2 she had a df and then another 120ml bottle at around 3.
Night 3-She woke up with a cold and eat and drank little during the day so after the df she had 120ml bottle at around 1 and another 90ml at around 4-5.
Night 4 Like the previous day eat and drank little during the day, had a df 180ml at 9.30. During the night she woke up a couple times fussing more and crying a little but instead of giving her the bottle immediately I waited and she want back to sleep. Then at 5 she woke up crying and didnt settle so I gave her 120ml which she drained.

Tonight Im supposed to give her 90ml but Im wondering if I should stop the process all together to wait until she is better? 

[dache]

Update #2 (Im using this as my waning progress diary )

PROGRESS!!!!!! Where is the dancing smiley
Last night she had a df after 10 and then the next bottle was at 6. She did woke up a few times but put her self to sleep.
I do want her first bottle to be at 7 but I know it wont happened instantly.
I wasnt sure weather to give her a full feed or just the few OZs but I went with the whole bottle because I knew and hoped that she`ll sleep a bit more (we are both with a cold)

If she wakes up tonight Im going with the 60ml.

[Lolly]

Well done! Sorry I forgot to reply to your first update!

If she wakes after her DF tonight I wouldn't give her another bottle I would just settle her back to sleep. She can go from the DF until 6 so if you feed tonight you are going back a step really, it's better to keep on I feel. That's what happened with my DD, we had got down to about 60ml and she slept through one night so we just offered a sip of water when she woke the next night. She wasn't too pleased but she went back to sleep and stopped waking after a second night.

Laura

[dache]

You replied just in time
But it didnt go as planned 
She woke up fussing in the crib, I managed to calm her down for an hour but she didnt go back to sleep. I tried water but she got extremely upset, I couldnt calm her down, after a while I just gave her the 60mls.
From the level of upset I thought that wont do much but she did calmed down and it took her a bit more the go back to sleep.
It is a step back but I hope we wont get stuck here.

[Lolly]

What time did she wake fussing?

I understand why you gave the milk but the trouble is if you don't progress forwards by not feeding her then you are putting her through all the upset for nothing. At her age she doesn't need milk in the night and it sounds like it was a prop if she went to sleep after such a small amount. You need to decide what you want to do, either feed at wake ups or not feed and stick with resettling for however long it takes.

I hope tonight is a better one.

Laura

[dache]

She woke up at around 3.30. I tried settling her for an hour and then tired water. She got so upset,Id even say it was a tantrum.
Still no excuse! Fed her 60ml just before 5.
I know Im so close to stopping the NF but she is sick and is not eating.She says nam nam meaning she is hungry but wont eat anything. 
 Im expecting more then one hungry waking tonight.

[dache]

Surprise! No bottle night!!!
She woke up after 4. Upset, a lot. But I just stayed there, arm on her chest, and she cried less and less, then more, then less....
At the end when she was almost asleep I removed my arm. It was after 5 I think.
I kept saying to myself hand on at least until 6. And I kept thinking about your words

you are putting her through all the upset for nothing.

She woke up at 7.

Ahh. On the nights I think it will go wrong it goes well and the other way round. We both had a tough day, doctor, no sleep...I need to wait and see how it goes

[dache]

Two nights in a row with no feed.
Amazed. Woke up just before 4, and then at her "normal"time at 7. I hope that she`ll sttn soon. We all really need it.
It took me less to calm her  down this time but Im worried that my hand will become a prop. Honestly I`d rather feed her in the middle of the night then stay there with my hand on her while she is crying.
I`ve noticed that she wakes around 3 and 4 so Im going to try w2s tonight at 2. Fx it will work.

[dache]

No night feeds for a week now. So I guess I can say we dropped that feed.
She STTN once, two nights a go. But last night I had to stay with her because of multiple nw. Not for the bottle tough. Dont know why


I was told by a doctor today to drop to 2 bottles a day.
It surprised me since she said she hasnt gained enough weight with the 5 bottles plus 3 meals a day. So sticking to the plan. Wait a little then work on the df, then drop to 3 a day.

[Lolly]

Well done for dropping that feed! You can do the next one now - just remember no going back!!

Good job!

Laura

[dache]

Ok Laura, I think Im ready for the next one.
I kept postponing it bc she was/is sick and is teething but she is teething all the time.
Im thinking instead of dropping the df Id drop to 3 bottles a day. I think she is nearing 2-1 transition so I want to do that kind of at the same time.
Now she is at 4x180/200ml bottles a day (+ df) so if I drop to 3 do I increase the amount or leave it like this?
She is taking antibiotics now so Im thinking wait until its done and then go for it .

[Lolly]

I'd drop the dreamfeed first to be honest. You want her taking all her calories in the day so I would do that first then tweak her day bottles. At this age you don't really need to increase the bottles as solids are edging towards taking over. You can add extra dairy to her solids to compensate.

When you get to 3 day time bottles the normal pattern is a wake up bottle, an early afternoon bottles after food and a bedtime bottle.

Laura