4 mth old ?

cantwait7

So my lo eats her last bottle anywhere between 630pm- 730 pm and there is no holding her off. She goes to bed at 8pm and I have tried to keep her awake and also that is not possible lol.  She gets up once in the middle of the night to eat a bottle. She is moving around and acts hungry and actually eats 4-5 ozs. SO with that being said my peditrician said I really should be trying to get her to sleep 10-14 hrs at night and she doesnt need the bottle but if I needed to I could give it to her till 5 mths but I should try and stop it now. UHHHH so frustrating she said that when she gets up in the middle of the night to let her cry and she will go back to sleep and not give her the bottle. Also, to start putting her to bed awake so she can self soothe herself. Ok the self soothing isnt so bad so far just a little crying but I am so stressed about her screaming when she wants that bottle and I am supposed to just let her cry. Anyone elsee lo still eating once in the middle of the night at 4 mths and is your dr ok with it? Or are you gonna have to do what I have to do? I need all the help I can get lol. We are trying oatmeal this weekend so maybe the foods will help her. Thanks!

AggieGrl

Hunny, first off, you don't have to do anything.  Its a suggestion from your doctor, and if you aren't comfortable with it, you don't have to take it.  Please do not let a doctor pressure you into a parenting style that does not feel natural to you.  

Some babies need that extra meal, especially around the 4 month mark.  My DS was sleeping through the night, but recently stopped and started wanting a bottle.  He isn't doing it every night, but when he wants food, I give it to him.  He is eating 4-5 oz too and to me, its not comfort eating/nursing.  At 4 months he's going through a lot of growth and a lot of developmental changes.  I don't mind getting up, so its a non-issue.  I don't talk to my doctor about it, and she does not offer advice.  

How much is she eating during the day?  Have you tried dreamfeeding her right before you go to bed? 

cantwait7

She eats 4-5 oz every 3 -4 hrs during the day. SOmetimes 6 if I am lucky. No I havent tried dreamfeeding her because once she is out she is out lol and with her reflux she needs to burp and sit upright after feeds. Thanks though for listening and the advice

melissa2468

don't worry, my 5 month old still wakes up for a bottle at 2am, actually she was sleeping through the night and then at 4 months she started getting up to eat, i think shes just going through a growth spurt, thinking shes almost ready for solid food so hopefully shell start sleeping through the night again if nothing else will comfort her shes probably hungry, most lo's wont eat if there not hungry, she'll stop when shes ready. as for establishing a sleep routine weve recently tried the same thing. Weve been putting her to bed at the same time every night awake...until tonight its been a disaster she screams as soon as she's out of our arms and doesn't stop until we pick her up and rock her...our solution...the baby einstein great barrier reef soother/music box that attaches to the side of the crib!! im telling you it works wonders...we just bought it today, put it in her crib, put her to bed awake, she didn't cry out at all, cried out once when it shut off after 25 mins but we put it back on and shes been out since. lol as soon as we put it on she was mesmerized by it and didint even realize we had left the room...it even comes with a remote so you can turn it on without entering the room disturbing her, its quite exspensive, 59.99 plus batteries but in my opinion totally worth it!

melissa2468

lol just wondering whats dream feeding?

jenny1980

Wtf? Your doctor is advising that you withhold food from a hungry baby?

It's biologically normal for babies to wake to eat for the first year, sometimes longer.

 

AggieGrl

My DS is eating around 32-37 oz total for the day.  He only started sleeping through the night when we could get close to that amount in him before bedtime.  I'll tell you, at first, it was REALLY hard to do during the day.  He has reflux too, and would only take 4 oz, so he was eating every 2 hours.  Now he is able to take 6-7 sometimes, so it helps A LOT.

Good luck! 

AggieGrl

melissa_2468:

lol just wondering whats dream feeding?

It's where you offer the bottle to a sleeping baby...eating in their sleep, to basically "top them off."  Generally you do not move them or do anything that would wake them.  When I've done it, I fed DS on his back still inside the crib. 

melissa2468

huh..thats interesting i might try that maybe then i can eliminate the 2 am feeding!