How to stop feeding at night?

[hana1978]

Hello - my DS is 9months old and is bottle fed.  He
still wakes for food at night even tho hes now on
three meals a day - he doesnt take that much so i know
hes not that hungry its simply a habit.  I was just
hoping someone could advise me how to stop feeding him
at night.  His last feed is at 7pm and i dont
currently DF - he wakes about 1.30am and 5.00am and
takes maybe 3oz both times then refuses his bottle in
the morning.  I was thinking of maybe giving him a DF
at 10.30pm then refusing to feed him until 7am and
just offer water - or maybe diluted formula?
Any advice anyone?
Thanks
Hana

[babysazp]

Hi

I stopped my DS night time feeds by waking him at 10pm and then reducing the other feeds gradually until i could tell he was only waking out of habit not because he was hungry.  When your DS wakes at 1.30 and 5 is he actually hungry? does he cry till you feed him or is he just waking out of habit.  I either rocked my ds back to sleep in his crib or picked him up and cuddled him.  If he stopped crying and just wanted the cuddle then i put him back to bed.  If he cried then i offered him water, as long as he wasn't hysterical this was enough for him to go back to sleep and now he sleeps through till 7am.
HTH

[beccarman]

dd is breast fed but when trying to find out if she needed milk in the night we offered her slightly sugared wtaer in a bottle (the sugar just makes the water taste sweet like milk - formula or breast), she was taking a little bit but not much and then going back to sleep till the morning, when she woke in the morning she was ready for a feed but not starving, so it stood to reason that she didn't really need night time milk, we did this for about a week or so and she got out of the habit of waking.
hope this helps.

[Windsurfer's mum]

I stopped giving the feed and spent the time for about 3 nights resettling him other ways. Now he sleeps fine (fingers crossed)
clare