JESSICA HELP.......tell me I didn't do a bad thing

[Tatumsmom]

Hi Jessica,
As you know Tatum has been doing really well for the last couple of weeks no feedings at night and only two night wakings. One night last week she woke up at 5 crying I went in and saw her and she settled down. She never went back to sleep and fused on and of till about 6:30 when I got up and feed her, she then went back to sleep till 7:45. Well last night the same thing, but she woke at 4 I really didn't want to feed her so I tried everything else and she finally feel back asleep at 4:30 only to wake up at 5. I really didn't know if she was hungry but she was very upset and nothing would calm her down . I ended up giving her about 4 oz which she drank,she then slept till 7:15.
The last few nights she hasn't been finishing her bedtime bottle she has only been taking about 3-4oz insteed of the usual 8oz. I was thinking about dropping a bottle but know I'm not sure. Do you think she woke from hunger? Or did I just screw things up by feeding her that early, I was going to try to hold of till 6  and just give her her full bottle but she was really upset.
Is this just a blip in the road or do you think she is going to start eating at night again? She had been doing really well having 4 8oz bottles a day plus she has been eating three good solid meals a day.(she still isn't really into her solids but is getting better).
Any thoughts on what I can do or what you think is going on?
Thanks
Kim

[Kimberly®]

Kim when Kayla was that age she started doing the same thing. Only having a half feed before bed and then waking hungry. Turned out she need a bottle dropped. Not sure if its the same for you.

How many bottles does she have? and how much?
how many meals and how much? Have you tried solids first then bottle yet? you may find she'll eat more that way and she is old enough to start doing that now.

[Tatumsmom]

Hi Kimberly (just have to say love your name.LOL)
To answer your questions.....
She has four bottles a day. they used to be 8oz and she would drink all of it. The last few days she is only been drinking about 6 oz for her 7,11,3 bottles and then only 4oz at bedtime.
She has three meals a day. She usually has 3 tbsp of cereal, 2 tbsp yogurt and some fruit and cheerios for breakfeast and lunch.
For dinner she has 3 tbsp cereal, 1 egg yolk(scrambled) some cheese and fruit sometimes I will give her some cheerios or avocado to eat well we finish dinner.
She doesn't like meat or vegetables so I've been trying to work on that.I always give her a bottle and then solids.
What do you think? should I drop a bottle and if so how. Could you give me an example of a feeding schedule with solids first and then the 3 bottles.
Thanks.
Kim

[Kimberly®]

I love your name too

I think its time to go to 3 bottles and swicth to solids then bottle.

What we did (trying to remember its changed so much LOL)

7am solids
7:30am Activity
8:00 bottle
8:30am Activity
9:00am nap
11:00am Solids
11:30am activity
12:00pm Bottle
12:30pm activity
1:00pm nap
2:30pm snack (cheerio's or crackers)
3:00pm activity
4:00pm cat nap (not always but when she needed it she got it)
5:00pm Solids
6:00pm bedtime routine
6:30pm bedtime bottle
7:00pm bedtime

Now this is a rough outline of a day for us at that age. Watch your LO as she increases her solids she'll natually wean away from the milk, thats ok, but make sure what she does eat is balenced. This should ensure she takes a full feed for both solids and liquids. Now by 10 months my DD was down to a morning bottle and a bedtime bottle, not saying you will, but be prepared for change as it will come quickly now. Keep trying with the meats and veggies, even if you only find one or 2 that she likes thats ok, just keep trying and eventually she will try them.
As she drops a bottle its not unusual for her to wake for a nighttime feed, just keep giving her more during the day untill it balences out.

HTH

[Lana]

Here is what our day looks like at 9 months

8 solids
10 bottle
10:30 nap for 1.5 hours
12 solids
2 bottle
3:30 nap for 1.5 hours
5 solids
7:30 bottle
8 bedtime

HTH

[Colin Macs Mom]

LOL Kim, don't worry, you didn't do anything bad. I agree with Kimberly and Lana though, it sounds like it's time to overhaul the feeding routine. 

[debo620]

Hi Kim ,as you know we are also struggling with night feeding(x1) truth be told we still are ....now down to 3oz formula mixed to make 6oz of fluid. This I can handle... that being said, I decided to actually drop to 3 fluid feeds to see if he will eat more at each feed. I was finding it very difficult to fit in the last 2 feeds plus supper since dropping the catnap.  Quite often I was bf at 3:30pm, solids at 5pm, and then he wouldn't bf that well at 6:45pm (bed).

Now this is the routine I have been following for the last few days.--it can vary by 30min or so-----of course!

6:30am wake, bf
8am breakfast
9:30-11 nap
11:30 lunch
1:30--bf
2:30-4 nap
5:00pm-supper
7pm bf, bed

I'm not sure if this will help you or if it has even helped us yet...we are only on day 4, but I do feel less scared to feed him a good supper. He is definately hungrier at bedtime.

[Tatumsmom]

Deb~sorry to hear your still struggling with the nightfeeds. Since dropping to the three fluid feeds is he taking more at a time? The routine you have looks great I hope it starts working for you.

Jessica~ I just really don't want to stat taking steps backwards, as I am retuning to work in a month and don't think I can handle the nightwakings again.

Lana~Your routine looks good too. Did your lo have any trouble adjusting to it. How where the naps. We struggle some days with short naps do you think that changing her feeding routine will help with that.

Kimberly~ Thanks for the routine info. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and try as today Tatum would only drink 4 oz at each of her bottle feeds. I'm scared to see what time she wakes at tonight. If she does start waking at night to eat how should I handle it. Should I just offer a few oz and then try to get more in her in the day?
Thanks for all the help.
Kim

[Kimberly®]

for now try settlkeing first, if she wont she wont settle offer her a feed and try to add a little more solids or milk each day. The idea now is to shift her to a more solid menu for when she is 1.

[Lana]

He actually adjusted really well.  I think I was a bit late to do it KWIM?  He struggled a bit with naps and was starting to have short ones so i figured he needed more wake time.  Once I did that it was hard to fit in the four bottles so I could only do three and I offer 8 ounce in each one.

HTH

[Colin Macs Mom]

I felt the same way before I went back to work too, Kim. Don't worry, I think you just need to adjust the feeding and you should see a big difference 

[Tatumsmom]

Well I finally dropped a bottle. I decided to get rid of her 11:00am one as it was the one I was finding hard to fit in. It's been two days and I think It's working out well she is sleeping through the night and is even having better naps during the day. This is our schedule for the last two days:
6:45 wake bottle 7 oz
10:00 nap 1 1/2 hours
11:45 lunch
2:30 bottle 7oz nap 1 1/2 hours
5:00 dinner
7:00 bottle 7oz and bed
Does this loOK ok? Do you think she is getting enough formula? I can't remember the last time her naps where this long she seems to be adjusting well. Let me know what you all think!
Kim

[debo620]

Hi Jessica---it looks good to me. Great that she is going through the night! Noah is also doing better---usually going about 10.5hrs. This is unfortunately causing a bit of a early wake. Would like 7:30-6:30 but can't quite get there. Last night he was asleep by 7:15pm and woke at 5:50am. I'm not quite sure at this point if he is waking b/c of hunger or b/c he has all the sleep he needs. He used to wake after 6am--but that was when he had a night feed and  thus he was losing sleep in the middle of the night. Anyway, sorry to ramble.....
Good for you and Tatum!

[Lana]

Nice job

Looks like she was definitely ready to switch over.  Does she have cereal as well?  She will get formula from that as well.

[Colin Macs Mom]

Hi Kim - looks fantastic to me, that's plenty of formula. 

[Kimberly®]

It looks great Kim. If she's sleeping through the night then I would say she is deffinitly getting enough formula. Great work

[Tatumsmom]

It's happening again........ She has started waking around 4:00am. The last two nights have been really off. She is waking again and I don't know why. I don't really think its hunger but after an hour and a half of trying to get her to sleep I have resorted to offering her a couple oz (she would probable drink more if I offered it)and she will then sleep till 7:30 or 8:00. She still drank her usual amount at 7:30 when she woke.How do I know if it is really hunger.I really don't want to start feeding her at night..... things where going so well
UGH why o why is she waking again. It's screws up our whole day when she is up during the night. Our routine was perfact and I'm returning to work soon.................
Sorry I started to whine, were was I...Oh yeah ....... HELP!!!!!!!!!
Kim