I think it's better to feed them if they want to be fed. DD still needed a nighttime feeding (we do whole milk or rice milk, depending on what's in the house at the time) up to about 15-16 months...and occasionally now she still needs it. Sometimes a drink of water will do, other times it has to be milk. Babies listen to their bodies, so I believe you have to listen to your baby, despite what friends, family or peds say. Just my $.02. PLus it's a lot better than letting them cry...which just makes 'em hungrier!
Nighttime feedings
My ds is 13 months, is weaned from BF and is now on whole milk. He's taking three 8oz bottles or cups of milk during the day and is waking up at night and taking another 7-8 oz. My ped said that 24 oz. of milk a day is plenty, so we're going way over that with the nighttime feeding.
Friends have said that he doesn't need that nighttime bottle. But the alternative is to have him cry and cry and cry (I haven't tried the cry-it-out approach -- it's just not in me). It seems to work just fine to give him the bottle and let him calmly fall back asleep on me.
Do I need to give up this nightly feeding, or let him call the shots? He used to sleep through the night just fine...
Thanks for any advice,
Rhonda
Friends have said that he doesn't need that nighttime bottle. But the alternative is to have him cry and cry and cry (I haven't tried the cry-it-out approach -- it's just not in me). It seems to work just fine to give him the bottle and let him calmly fall back asleep on me.
Do I need to give up this nightly feeding, or let him call the shots? He used to sleep through the night just fine...
Thanks for any advice,
Rhonda
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The only concern I have for the night time bottle is that it could lead to dental caries.
Maybe have him drink a little water afterward to rinse his mouth out?
Drinking that much cow's milk can also lead to anemia, so if there's going to be a night feeding you may want to consider replacing one of the daytime cups/bottles with some other kind of food. JMO, of course.
Maybe have him drink a little water afterward to rinse his mouth out?
Drinking that much cow's milk can also lead to anemia, so if there's going to be a night feeding you may want to consider replacing one of the daytime cups/bottles with some other kind of food. JMO, of course.
Dd is 18 months and loves her milk! She only will drink a little water and doesn't like juice at all during the day, so I water down her milk. This way I know she's not getting over 24 oz per day. Maybe add a little water to his milk at night and slowly increase the amount if you're worried about his teeth.
It's great you're not doing cio. Ds may just need a little Mommy time in the middle of the night too. Completely normal. Life is changing so much for them at that age.
It's great you're not doing cio. Ds may just need a little Mommy time in the middle of the night too. Completely normal. Life is changing so much for them at that age.
We tried a phase-out approach and it worked really well. Every few days, we'd put 1 oz less in the bottle. By the time it was down to 2 oz (she was little) she stopped bothering. It was a gradual approach & didn't have any cio's!
Good luck!
Good luck!
I gradually watered down dd's bottle, around when she turned 15 months. I had exclusively pumped and was stopping, and I didn't want to give her cow's milk at night. She never had any problems with it. She still takes an ounce or two of water a couple of times a night, I think it's more sucking for comfort than hunger. I'm fine with that, I was just worried about cavities. My brother and I both had problems with cavities as young children and the dentist said it may have been partly genetic, since we had identical cavity patterns.
You might try watering down and see how it goes. If he's really hungry, the water probably won't cut it and he'll let you know.
Good luck.
You might try watering down and see how it goes. If he's really hungry, the water probably won't cut it and he'll let you know.
Good luck.
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
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