DD has gone from 4hr to 3hr Routine - Help

[Mom2katiebug]

Lauren - Do you think a 4.5hr routine would help?  How did you do the transition cuz sometimes she crazy hungry at 3hrs but will only eat 4 oz.  Very strange...

[LŠuren]

First of all are you sure it is not a growth spurt and this will sort itself out?

Have you tried giving her a 5 - 10min rest during the feed and trying again?
What solids are you giving her?
What size teat are you now using?

How long has she been feeding every 3hrs again, what is she like at night now?  Can you post your routine, that may be better?

Lauren x

[LŠuren]

Reply received from MomtoKatieBug


Katie will be 6MO next Friday.  We've tried solids here and there, but nothing consistent.  She'll get one meal about once in a while on the weekend.  We'll try to ramp up our efforts once she's 6MO (so like next weekend I suppose).

I don't know that it's a growth spurt, but she's not draining her bottles.  She was eating 6.5-7oz consistently every 4hrs like clockwork - even overnight.  Then starting Saturday afternoon she started eating less of her bottles - down to 3-4oz - and then getting hungry after 3 hours.  Maybe once a day she'll go for a 4hr span and will maybe eat 4-5 oz.  We used to be up twice with overnight feeds, but she was up a lot on both Saturday and Sunday night and her feeds were still off.  Normally she drains her bottles quickly overnight, not on Sat or Sun.  She still took smaller feeds overnight and then slept fitfully.

We have tried a waiting period, but when she's done, she purses her lips and blows bubbles/spit.  Since she's been only taking 1/2 a feed, I'll usually try for an hour when the formula has to be thrown out.

The other thing that has happened -can't remember when - is that she seems to be dropping her breakfast bottle again.  We'll probably try to shift to her overnight bottle.

We are using the fast flow nipples.  Playtex makes a tri-cut for older baby formula or when you add cereal for reflux.  I have a couple at home and can try those to see if things improve.  It probably is a good transition to a sippy cup since Katie won't have to suck at all - it just comes out.

Every day is different, so here's as close as I can pin it down.

Wakes anywhere from 5:30am - 7:30am
Arrives at daycare around 8am
Will nap anywhere from 1 - 2hr during the day at daycare (yesterday was only 55min)
Leaves daycare around 3pm
Naps on the way home and stays asleep once arriving home - can be up to 2.25 hrs depending on how much she sleeps at daycare
Depending on when she gets up and how rested she seems, we may play a bit or we might just go straight to bath and bedtime winddown
In bed between 6:30pm and 8:00pm depending on her nap, wakefulness and sleep cues

She was eating every 4hrs like clockwork, but not at the same time every day.  Sometimes overnight she'd go 5 hours or so and eat, then another 5 hours.  So, the feed times change every day.  But, it was an every 4hr thing round the clock.  We never had a longer period of 6-7 hours overnight.

I thought this might be an overtired thing, but she was home with DH on Friday and home with me on Saturday.  And, it's gone on too long for that.

It could be the daycare influence.  They think she should eat every 3 hours.  Sometimes they've been feeding her at 3hrs, sometimes it's been 4hrs.  We can't get into the new daycare until June and I've just tired of fighting with the current center.  I'm worried that much more and it will start to impact Katie's care.  But, it's odd that it would start on Saturday if it's a daycare thing...

I know it's not BW, but it's the best we can manage right now and will only get better if my Curious Georgette learns to not be so interested in EVERYTHING going on at daycare.

Oh, last night she was so tired (only 55minutes of naps at daycare and a 1.5 hr nap at home) that she went to bet at 6:30pm.  Did a "DF" at 7:30pm (4hr mark) and she slept until 3:30am so an 8hr stretch.  I really think it's cuz she was SO exhausted, but maybe this could all be developmental?Huh

Thanks for your thoughts.

[corrina01]

There is a grow spurt at 6 months.

she purses her lips and blows bubbles/spit

My DD does this, everytime she is teething.

As Lauren has said, what solids are you giving her?

My DD always refuses to take much bottle, until I have upped her solid intake, then for some unknown reason, she takes more from her bottle.

How long has she been going to daycare?

If she hasn't been going to daycare for long, it maybe that she is so interested, that she forgets she is hungry, but makes up for it during the night.


HTH

[Intransit]

I'll just add my experience in here....
DS went through a phase where after feeling not so great ( a bit of a cold etc) he would only eat 4 ounces instead of his usual 7. It took up to 2 weeks to get him back to his regular amount, and even the time frames. He even stopped taking the 11 am bottle, would only do 3 ounces. I wouldn't say it was a 3 hour easy, but definitely not the 4 hour we had been used to.
If the day care center is doing 3 hour feedings, perhaps she is getting used to that? Sometimes with a few factors involved it is hard to pinpoint....
HTH

[HeatherC]

My thought is to stop the night feeds.  Tracy has a story on pgs 120-121 where a little girl was eating every 2 hrs and through the night as well.  Tracy says that no four month or older needs to eat that often.  She had the parents use pu/pd during the night and absolutely not feed her, and in the morning the little girl took a full feed and ate efficiently every 4 hours for the rest of the day.  For the child that is this age and still eating every 3 hrs, Tracy says it's the parents (but in your case, the daycare) that are keeping him/her on this schedule.  She says to lenghten the feeds by 15 mins. over a 4 day period.  Still, I realize the trouble you are having with the daycare, but if you have success at home, perhaps your dd won't eat for the care providers until 4 hrs when she becomes hungry.  If she can last 4 hours, she'll be more hungry, eat more, and then last another 4 hours.

[Mom2katiebug]

Yeah, I know about Tracy's comments and have read those pages several times.  We just had TERRIBLE overnight sleep for several months and it finally fell into place with 2 wakeups.  It was SO much better that we didn't want to rock the boat with trying to eliminate the night feeds. 

Yesterday the daycare fed Katie at 2.5hrs and then again 1.75hrs later.  And these people are supposed to know how to care for children?!?  They just don't have a clue about Katie's schedule and really don't want to hear about it from me.  However, I did ask them to strive for a 4hr eating schedule today.  Since they've been popping a bottle in her mouth every couple of hours, it may take a bit to get back to 4hrs, but I would like them to try.  Well, I can ask them to try and they will do whatever they want.

Thanks for the feedback.  Do you think I should get the daytime on a better pattern before I yank the nighttime feeds, or will yanking the night feeds help force the daytime back on track?

You ladies are all so wonderful.  Thank you for helping make my beautiful baby the delightful bundle of smiles that she is!

[LŠuren]

Casey

I think it if where me I would try and get the dayfeeds back on track, however saying that I have control over that - you don't at the moment.

How much does she eat at night compared to the day core hours?

I think if you can handle it, try and eliminate the night feeds, although I know you have just started to get some sleep back - but at least you have control over this.

Lauren x

[Mom2katiebug]

They were able to feed her at the 4hr marks today except once we got her home DH had to feed her after 3hrs.  Overnight she can generally go 5 hrs.  She's back up to 5oz every 4-ish hours.  So, her daytime intake is about 25 oz. (incl. DF) and then just one other overnight feed of about 5 oz. 

Maybe things are getting back on track.  I'd like her to be draining her bottles again.  Maybe this weekend or next we'll try dropping the extra night feed.

[LŠuren]

Casey how are things going 

[Mom2katiebug]

The daycare is working towards a 4hr plan (yay!) and it's going much better.  She's still not interested in her "breakfast" bottle, so we may try eliminating the overnight bottle.