What to do about night feeds?

[nicolanorway]

hi deb,
i have just browsed through your post- our LO's are just 5 day's apart. C is also the same, he likes mummy's boob (a little too much). i have tried everything, we gave solids b4 milk and that worked wonders for 2 days then the Nw's got worse and worse. i have had DH go into him only to find that an hr later Dh is standing over our bed telling me that C is hungry. we have (are) done PU/PD but when you always doubt yourself that your LO is hungry it is hard to do.
so, between the biting, NW's, bobbing on and off i decieded to bite the BOTTLE. i hate to give up BFding but i thought it was best for us. i don't know what noah is like whilst Bfding so it isn't necessarly the solution for you. anyway saying that, once he started taking the bottle (about 2 wks ago now) i would make up a bottle for the night. he would wake several times so ultimatley he would get a BF'd in there as well. so after he took the bottle i started diluting his night bottle. have you read the thread? so C get's a 8oz bottle with normally 7 scoops of formula so for the first 3 nights you go down to 6 scoops the second 3 nights 5 scoops and so on. we are now on 4 scoops and last night he slept through i just hope it isn't a fluke.  i had also been taking a bottle of water with my to bed so that if he wakes the second time he gets that. he is a little sly git though and sometimes manages to sneak down to mummy's boob and have a little comfort.

we are now on a 4.5 easy and i give him 4x8oz bottle in the day and 2 BF's (when he isn't in a biting moodLOL) he doesn't alway's finish all his bottles but he gives them a good go. i also offer solids about half an hr after milk so that he isn't full for the next feed.

our routine is something like this-
7am 8oz bottle
7.45am cherrios and fruit
11.30am 8oz bottle
12ish half a slice of bread with something on it and half a pot of yogurt
might have a BF in between this
4pm 8oz
5pm dinner, 4 cubes veg, 1 meat, small bowl of cereal with fruit mixed in
7pm 8oz bottle, if he doesn't drink this well i offer the breast

i hope this helps you, if you are plannnig on Bfding maybe you try the bottle thing at night? at least they won't strave and they will have a better appeite in the AM.

if you need me to clarify anything, just ask.
sending you good sleeping vibes.
nicola

[debo620]

Thanks Nicole, things are slowly improving with a bit more solids/ffoods. Over the past week, the nights feed has gotten later and later. We have also been doing this with a bottle, 4oz formula mixed up to 5oz. I am also currently going down to 3bf during the day, spaced further apart---as I was finding he was not hungry for bf at bed.Similar to you routine, but he would eat well at 4, eat solids, and then not want bf at bed.
Thanks for your advice, I will see how things go. He is such a big boy that I think he honestly just needs more food.

[Missy Lou]

that's great.  i was happy to read your post.  you sounded more hopeful. 

[CLJK]

Things sound like they are going well, Deborah!  Yea!!  5:40 is great!!  Last night Gannon woke up at about 3:50 and I resisted the urge to go in (well, actually, there was no urge - I didn't want to go in there at all!).  So I let him fuss and he went back to sleep until about 5:30, ate, and then went back until 7am.  Not bad considering the previous two nights he was up at 4:30 and 4:00, respectively.  Anything NOT to go backwards, you know???  I am feeling like he is really not waking up to eat at that time but just because he is waking up and wants me to help him go back to sleep, but I am not ready to face that demon yet.  I would rather he just continue to creep his feedings later and later than for me to really have to work at it!!  So I think I will continue with this for another few weeks and see where it all goes.  I am expecting a few more night wakings coming up as he has just started to really get himself down on the floor from sitting and is starting to scoot backwards.  He wants to do it over and over while he is awake, so I figure he might want to do it in the middle of the night, too!  Oh well, it will pass.  It's fun to see him trying to get all around now that he knows he can (at least a little bit).

Again, I am so glad Noah is doing better.  Keep doing what you are doing - you're doing great!!!

-Cass