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9 month old waking to eat still. Advice please!

mandyb78mandyb78
in Babies: 9 - 12 Months

My 9 month old is still waking up in the middle of the night to eat. Her doctor says that there is no medical reason, as she should be able to STTN by 6 months. He says it's a habit I need to break her of.  However, I tried to start breaking the habit last night, and she would wake up screaming, and not the "i need my pacifier" kind of screaming, but painful screaming that she will only stop once she has eaten again.  I'm not sure what to do, or if this really is "normal" for some babies.

As a side note to this, she is on the small side, and only eats 4oz of formula at most during a sitting. She is on solids, and that helped knock her down to 2 feedings a night, but not completely STTN.

 Any advice is appreciated!

 
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Re: 9 month old waking to eat still. Advice please!

  • EveryNameIWantIsTakenEveryNameIWantIsTaken member

    DD is 10 months and most nights is up twice, sometimes just once a night to eat.  DS didn't sttn consistently until he was 3 years old.  Not sttn is completely normal.  If you really want to break her of it, you're going to have to endure the hard nights of the screaming and crying.  I, personally, cannot do that.  There's nothing wrong with doing it if you want, but I don't.  I'd rather wake up and deal with the quick 10 minute wakings than an hour+ of screaming in the middle of the night.

    Some books recommend tapering off the amount they eat, so if she's eating 4oz start giving her 3 for a few days, then 2, then one or none.  Others recommend soothing them but not feeding at all cold turkey.  There are many different methods, and if you want to teach her to sttn you just have to find the one right for you.  We tried them all with ds, and he was resistant to every single one no matter how many days we tried them for.  Good luck.

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  • caseycritchleycaseycritchley member
    Ds is almost ten months and he doesn't sttn ever!! The only thing that puts him back to sleep is nursing. We tried crying and it lasted about 2 hours then he went back to sleep only to wake up a hour latter. We stopped that and i just get up every 23 hours nurse for 5 minutes then we are both back to sleep in 20 min. Gluck. You are not alone.
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  • mben1119mben1119 member
    Pediatricians should not be doling out sleep advice. Most of them have absolutely no idea what they are talking about-like yours. There is no magic age or weight at which babies will STTN. Every child is different. One of the first signs is that they increase their daytime food intake, to compensate for the overnight feedings they'll miss. Then, they'll often cut a nap. How much is your LO eating, in formula, through the day?  Also, if she's waking at night to eat still, she's not ready to STTN. Sorry.
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  • bunniekrissybunniekrissy member
    It's pretty normal. She may not actually be hungry but just needing help getting back to sleep and the bottle is what does it, although your post does not specify whether she then falls asleep on her own after eating. My 9 month old still wakes up a lot and he almost always nurses to get back to sleep.
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  • twocents6708twocents6708 member
    My 9 month doesn't STTN either. She wakes at least twice nightly to nurse. While I really wasn't too worried about it, our pedi told us that some kids don't STTN until they are past their first bday but there isn't a specific age where they should be doing it, it depends on the kid. He also said that since DD is still small, she needs the extra feeds. Lastly, from what I have read, it is typical to have some sleep struggles or even regression around this age as they are learning so much and teething. Hang in there and this too shall pass. Try reading "The No Cry Sleep Solution" if you are looking for some sleep training techniques.
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  • semicrunchysemicrunchy
    I agree that all babies develop differently. It sounds like yours still needs that feeding, or maybe just the comfort of having you there. My 10.5 month old still wakes once a night every night, and even though I'm exhausted sometimes, I try to stay positive and remember that he'll only be little for a short time. Easier said than done, I know! Hang in there!
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  • MrsKM82MrsKM82 member
    My baby is almost nine months. He sleeps through the night sometimes and sometimes he wakes up once or twice. Occasionally he just needs a little soothing and his paci but most of the time he is hungry so I feed him. There isn't a normal when it comes to babies and STTN really. If she is hungry, feed her. This phase doesn't last forever Smile
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  • janinekrausejaninekrause member

    You can do a few things. Track how much your LO is eating during the day. Also, you can start reducing the amt you give during the night. With my first, I started at her 6 ounces and when I reduced to 2 ounces, she didn't "need" it anymore and it was for comfort. She was younger though- 5 months or so.

    I am from the school of thought (flame away) that babies at that age absolutely do not need to eat twice a night and it is more habit than anything. And they really should be able to make it at least 8 hours. It is really up to you what you want to do. If you choose sleep training, it will 95% work if you still with it.  It is hard on the parent but it does work. for me, sleep was VERY important. I work full time, couldn't see straight, and am not fun when I am tired- net net, it wasn't making me a good mom losing consistent sleep.

    Another option if you really don't think your LO can make it all night, is to do a dream feed before you go to bed. That way, you are only asking for 8 hours without eating.

    As for a baby being little and needing to it because of that, my 2nd was 5 1/2 pounds at birth adn slept through the night way earlier than my 7 1/2 pound first baby.

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  • Cebs222Cebs222 member
    imagemabenner1:
    Pediatricians should not be doling out sleep advice. Most of them have absolutely no idea what they are talking about-like yours. There is no magic age or weight at which babies will STTN. Every child is different. One of the first signs is that they increase their daytime food intake, to compensate for the overnight feedings they'll miss. Then, they'll often cut a nap. How much is your LO eating, in formula, through the day?  Also, if she's waking at night to eat still, she's not ready to STTN. Sorry.


    this. It is frustrating when people ask me if she is sleeping through the night yet and if i say no they tell me i need to fill her up with cereal or more food. DD is EBF and she has only slept through the night a handful of times. our pedi is wonderful and said what the above said.. if she is waking up then there is a reason. You can take time at night and try to rock LO's to break the habit if you'd like, but what's the harm in some cuddles at nighttime ?  I do understand not all mammas are like me though lol. I really enjoy when she gets up at night for cuddles and nursing time lol.
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