Re-introducing the bottle at night at 12 mos?

[Wilsmon]

I don't have time to give a real good history with our ds but in a nutshell we night weaned at around 6 mos and have not given a bottle at night since.  I have kept a chart and over the last 15 days he has slept through 5 nights.  The other nights when he wakes it takes about average - an hour to an hour and half (some nights as little as 30 min and some as long as 3 hrs) to get him back to sleep.  Also, over the last 5 or 6 mos we have not rocked, picked up etc except a few occasions at holiday time traveling and when running a fever as a result of a sinus infection.  So I feel we have avoided  most AP over the last 5 or 6 moths.  He also goes down awake at naps and bedtime with little fuss.

I was discussing this with a co-worker and it was suggested that maybe he really is hungry at night.  He is VERY active (has been walking well since 9 mos) and only weighs 20 lbs at one year (he will be one on the 12th). 

Do you think I should try re-introducing the bottle at night (after 5 months of being weaned) for these wakings or do you think this would be night waking suicide? (not that it isn't already).

I mean most people are trying to get rid of it at this age - not giving it back.

[notenoughshelfspace]

I really, really would not go down this road if you can possibly help it. I am not sure what your feeding routine is but if anthing, I would try to up his intake ( calorie as well as amount) during the day so that he is not hungry at night. Let me know how much he is eating so we can compare; I have a 20 pound 10 month old.

[Wilsmon]

Well, it have't really been keeping exact tallies on the amount of formula, but I would guess at this point he eats 18-24 oz of formula at the most.  Even before solids he has never eaten more than a 6 oz. bottle at a time - even first thing in the am.  BUT I will have to say he eats solids really well.  This I also can't put an exact number on b/c I just keep food in front of him until he quits, but my MIL and babysitter both also think he eats solids really well. 

I feed him breakfast first thing in the am and for example he will typically eat 1/2 to a whole waffle after his 6 oz bottle.  Then the babysitter usually feeds him another bottle and some cereal (probably around a small baby food jar) after his morning nap.  Then he eats a good lunch; then snack and bottle after pm nap; then a good dinner (he can eat a whole piece of pizza - we don't do that much but that is the only example I can think of that I can really quantify).  I then offer another bottle which he probably only drinks about 2 oz.  Then I give a bath and offer more cereal or yogurt (he will eat a whole yo baby yogurt or probably another stage 3 size jar of cereal).  I then offer the bottle again but he rarely takes any.  Then book and bed.

I really don't want to do this either but I am sooo tired of the one and two hour marathons to get him back to sleep at this point. Any other ideas would be great.  Dr. gave me a prescription for reflux to start eliminating other possible factors for the wakings.  Well, gotta go pick up the kids (I work outside the home).  I will check back later.

[notenoughshelfspace]

Wow, I do not know what the other mummies think but that sounds like a hell of a lot of smallish meals to me. The amount of formulas does not concern me, if anything I might say that it might be a bit much.
For us the eating goes like this;
Breakfast- cereal, about 8tbs, and fruit/ yogurt, however much milk she will take from a beaker. Usually 2oz
Bottle before her morning nap 4-5oz
Lunch- 120g of a dense protein meal. E.g. Spaghetti Bolognaise,  Beef casserole followed by 50 g fruit/ dessert with juice/ water
Bottle before afternoon nap 4-5oz
Dinner around 5 o'clock  same as above but Vegetable e.g. soup, Cauliflower cheese etc... with dessert
Bedtime bottle - 8-10oz.
Perhaps you should increase the calorie amounts in the food. I am not sure if you feed your baby home-cooked food or not but I find a good dollop of butter adds fat and taste. Let me know. Also is he showing signs of reflux? My little one is a refluxer also but I am surprised  you have been put on meds for the first time at this late stage. Let me know about that as well.

[zelda]

that eating schedule sounds similar to my baby's - smallish breakfast, big lunch and dinner with snacks after naps with bottles throughout the day.  with the snacks, it may seem like a lot of small meals, but i have a big baby and this is the only way he gets enough calories.

our schedule goes like this: breakfast after waking and then bottle before nap (6-7oz).  snack after nap, and then big lunch with bottle (6-7oz) before nap.  snack after nap, dinner before bath and bottle (6-7oz) before bed.  sometimes i give lo milk instead of water with meals if i think he needs it.

the thing that strikes me is this: it doesn't sound like your baby is drinking very much towards the end of the day.  could he be thirsty, or are you giving him water?

i would reintroduce the pre-bedtime milk and swap out one of his milk meals during the day (i would take the one after his morning nap or give snack OR bottle instead of snack AND bottle) with solids so that he still gets the same overall amount of milk plus a few more calories.  maybe you can find a way other than a bottle to give it to him.  (although i have to confess that i don't really understand what you mean by 'weaned' - didn't you write that he gets bottles during the day?)

[Wilsmon]

We night weaned - we don't give a bottle at night wakings anymore, but yes he is still on the bottle during the day.  However, I have begun giving soy milk in a sippy cup.  So maybe it is time to start phasing out bottles during the day and moving towards a sippy cup instead - is that what you are saying? I was headed this way but I was concerned at the same time that he would then be getting even fewer calories. 

I do cook homemade meals - I just have never really "measured" how much he eats. He does eat a lot of meat, in fact meat and beans is about all I can get him to eat right now.  He seems to be on a vegetable and fruit strike.  I switched to canned instead of frozen vegetables and that seems to have helped and I also mix pureed fruit in with his cereal.

I too think he is getting enough to eat but his wakings are random - not the same time every night and not every night.  I think we have really done well teaching him to self sooth and be an independent sleeper so I guess I am at a loss why so much night waking still. 

I really don't think it is reflux either, however, when he can't go back to sleep it is b/c he seems to be uncomfortable for what ever reason.  He tosses and turns, pulls his legs under then lies flat out.  Doesn't cry when as long as we are in there.  I guess I am just trying to slowly eliminate possibilities at this point, ie reflux, allergies, and possibly hunger?

[elfin]

I also don't think that introducing a bottle at night will help.  How many bottles is he still having?  It may be time to start decreasing the number of bottles and increase the amount of food.  From what he eats now though, it sounds like alot.  Another thing, have you tried offering a drink of water when he wakes in the night.  My ds started needing a bit of water in the night at this age as well.