Should I give bottle in middle of night if DD won't drink before bed?

[shannon S]

My DD is 11 months and has never really loved her bottles. 
She now has 5 or 6 oz when she wakes up, we try a bottle in the afternoon (but not usually successful), and before bed. Lately she won't even take two ounzes before bed and tonight she wouldn't take any.  I hate when this happens because I feel that she will wake in the night hungry. 

She has been having bad nights (awake a lot....getting over a cold) and I can't seem to get her back to sleep. So I have been giving her a bottle (3 or 4 oz) in the middle of the night which she guzzles down.  I only do this because I'm worried about her intake of formula.

But should I worry if she eats solids well and is above average weight?
How do I know if she is actually hungry in the middle of the night?  I always assume that if she didn't have her bottle before bed that I will have to feed her in the night.  But she couldn't care less about her bottle during the day.

As she gets closer to 12 months, I'm thinking that she's ready for 2 bottle a day (maybe even one) and whole milk with meals.
Maybe she is just showing me that she is ready to decrease her formula?

Any suggestions??? I'm going crazy wondering what I should do.

Thanks in advance!
shannon

[Kimberly®]

At 11 months your LO's nutrition now come's mostly from solids. Try giving water at night and see if that makes a difference. She shouldn't need formula at night at this age. It sounds like its becoming a prop. Make sure she gets lots of solids and get some water into her during the day and it should work itself out. If she's refusing her formula try water so she doesn't get dehydrated. Your LO needs about 16oz a day of formula tops.

For us we've switched to whole milk because our DD was refusing to take formula at all and the doctor said to switch and up her solids. When we started whole milk she's now back to 2 bottles a day. I think she didn't like the taste of the formula.

[Lana]

Ewan was always a really sluggish bottle feeder.  What I did to make sure he wouldn't wake hungry and to make sure he got enough formula was to give him cereal before bed .

[shannon S]

Thank you both.
I have tried and always intent to do cereal before bed too but it seems that she is just finished supper at 6:00 and then I'm giving her cereal so soon after.  Plus I thought maybe this is why she won't drink her bottle before bed.  But it sounds like it isn't necessary that she have this bottle.  I do give her water throughout the day.  For the last week she has only had about 10 oz max of formula per day.  These days she hasn't been taking as much solids either but she is still getting over her cold.

I don't think my daughter likes the taste of formula either.  (And by the smell of it I don't blame her). 

What is the minimum amount of whole milk that lo should drink per day (when I switch)?  Is it the same as formula?  I've heard different things but 12 oz min?  Also if she usually drinks her formula in the morning should I leave that bottle alone for now?

I guess I was thinking, 6 oz formula in the morning, then whole milk from sippy cup at lunch (she would probably take 2 oz) and  supper (probably 2 oz again) and a little before bed with some cereal?
Does that sound about right?
thanks again,
shannon

[Kimberly®]

I'm not sure of the minimum milk they should have but my DD's intake went way up with milk, from 12oz to about 25oz daily. Your LO is old enough that you should be able to introduce it now.

[Lana]

Another thing you can do to encourage more milk intake is to put her milk or formula in an insulated sippy and make sure she has access all day.

[Kimberly®]

One person here recomended cooking foods with formula too so they get it. The recipes are in the recipies bored I believe. I'll see if I can find the link.

[Duckie]

My doc always told (and still tells) me that when you make the switch to milk to be VERY careful that they aren't filling up on it.  I believe she told me no more than 24 ozs per day.  I recall DS1 having 3 8ozs cups of milk w/ breakfast lunch and dinner and he drank water in between.

[NKmommy]

My DS sounds a lot like your DD - never was a fan of the bottle (probably mostly due to reflux).  Up until this day, he will never drink more than 8 oz of milk a day, but I try to supplement with cheese, yogurt, calcium-fortified OJ, etc.  If she takes other forms of calcium and eats solids well, you should be fine with 10 oz milk a day. 

[Kimberly®]

here's the link 

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=61482.new#new

[shannon S]

Today dd had 4 oz formula in a.m., probably a total of 3 oz throughout the afternoon in her insulated sippy, and 3 oz before bed. She had 2.5 tbsp of yogurt and a little cheese today but that's it.  Maybe she'll want more when I switch to whole milk.

Thanks for all the advice.  I'm not worrying so much anymore.  Just trying to figure out if she will take a small bottle before bed or if cereal is better AND which one of those two helps her to sleep better. She still wakes up a few times in the night.
shannon