Baby suddenly refusing bottle at dream feed

[Melworldwide]

Hello all

Hoping someone may have some advice.. My DS (16 weeks) has for the past 2 nights refused the 10pm dream feed. He screams and screams. He is breast fed at all feeds except 6pm (formula) and 10pm (EBM). The bedtime (6pm) bottle is completely fine and we have been doing this since he was 8 weeks with no issues.

Does anyone have any experience of this or could suggest what the issue is?

We've not done anything different with the milk (its expressed breast milk) - same temperature as always etc.. I'm just wondering if he has grown up a bit and has figured out its breastmilk and isn't interested unless its from the breast!! Could it be a developmental thing??

Or could it be time to drop the DF - even though he's not on solids yet? I'm nervous to do this in case it creates new night wakings. He's been doing so well otherwise, only waking at 4/5am for a feed.

Thanks in advance!

[creations]

It may be that you're catching him in a lighter phase of his sleep cycle so he is waking and not too happy about it. Try the DF 20 min earlier or later and he may be in a more cooperative phase of sleep.
If that doesn't help I'd try a formula bottle or breast feed rather than EBM just to see how he responds.

Without the DF he will possibly wake at another time for a feed but yk some babies don't seem to realise they get the DF so wake for a night feed regardless - in your case he might actually just continue with the 4/5am feed even without the DF or the 4/5am feed may move earlier but not necessarily become 2 night feeds.

[Lolly]

Depending no how much milk he has had during the day he may just not be hungry enough as he has formula at 6. Formula takes longer to digest than breastmilk does. I would try the DF at 10.30/ 10.45 to see if that makes a difference first.

Neither of my babies had dreamfeeds so we fed them when they woke and that was usually only once around midnightish and then on waking for the day.

Laura

[Melworldwide]

I tried giving the bottle last night and he took it, after refusing it from daddy. I think he was a little surprised to see his daddy who'd been back at work post xmas for 2 days.

BUT we have now started thinking about dropping it anyway as the amount he is taking is lessening..

Thanks though for your replies