Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

Last week, DD slept through the night 4 times!! Amazing!! so she doesn't NEED that 3 am bottle every night. The past couple of nights in a row she has woken up in the middle of the night crying for a bottle and didn't settle until she got it. Is she hungry? is it habit? Should I try to hold off on the bottle? Give her less?

She's 5 months old. Everybody tells me she shouldn't get a middle of the night bottle.

I wouldn't want to withhold a feeding if she's hungry, but the fact that she has slept through the night makes me think she might not need it. thoughts? suggestions?

My other problem is that i can't get her to increase her daytime bottles. She wont take more than 6. So she only gets 24 oz of formula a day and 2 tablespoons of solids when she does STTN. But she still slept through the night 4 times last week. So is 24 oz. enough?

Message edited 7/15/2013 8:44:30 AM.

Keep or drop overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

At that age NEVER wake a sleeping baby!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even as a newborn I never woke my DS for a feeding. He didn't sleep much but the few times he did sleep a bit longer I let him go.

Re: Keep or drop overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

My ped said once DD STTN (at 12 weeks) that I didn't need to feed her anymore if she woke in the middle of the night. So I just stopped then. Does she take a binky? She might just be looking to suck. or it might be out of habit. I'd skip the feedings and see how it goes.

As for the amount she's eating... Every kid is different. Some eat more, some eat less. As long as she's gaining weight, she's eating enough.

Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

I stopped giving her a motn bottle like 3 months ago. She would fall right back to sleep if i gave her the pacifier or if she was crying if i picked her up.

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

If she was hungry, trust me, she'd let you know.
If she is sleeping through, that means she is fine- enjoy it!!

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

once DD started sleeping through the night consecutively, we knew she could do it and didn't feed her if she woke up. Although, if she got up at 4/5am that's when we started our day. If she was up at midnight/1 am for example we let her CIO because we knew she could STTN

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

She's still pretty young so I think she needs the bottle. Also you are concerned she's not getting enough during the day... maybe some days its enough and other it's not so that's why she's starting to wake up a few nights. In my experience, this is exactly how the night time feedings tapered off.

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

To me, it seems pretty obvious she needs more calories during the day. If she wakes up crying and will only settle with a bottle, then feed her because she's hungry! 24 oz a day seems like a really small amount at 5 months old.

DS is the same age and he STTN, but a few weeks ago he started waking up crying so I'd feed him. To get him back to STTN, I tried upping his last bottle by 2 ounces and started him on solids and that did the trick. If she won't take more formula, I'd try upping her solids. 2 tablespoons the entire day is very little.

Message edited 7/15/2013 9:58:02 AM.

Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

thanks everyone!! When she starts crying, I think i'll pick her up, rock, sing to her. If she keeps crying, I'll assume she's still hungry (bc she hasn't increased daytime oz.) and i'll feed her... for now

Hopefully one day i'll sleep again :)

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

I went through this with my LO. She STTN (10-12 hrs) in spurts at a time starting at like 3 mos ... but it was never consistent (a few days here, a day there, sometimes even a week straight - but then lo and behold, she'd go back to waking again!). And when she DID wake up, it seemed she was hungry. I was so confused! I thought the same thing like "well I know she CAN do it, so why feed her?!" but the reality is, just bc they can sleep through sometimes, doesn't mean they don't wake up legitimately hungry other times.

So, my advice is try to soothe her back when she wakes, but if she's inconsolable, feed her. This WILL pass! (My LO started STTN consistently at 8 mos)

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

I would never wake her if shes sttn. On the nights she wakes up i think you have to gadge whether or not shes hungry or is looking for outside soothing. Most docs say cio at 6 months but everyone is different.

I know some days my dd eats less or doesnt finish her nighttine bottle she may wake up hungry. So maybe notice on the nights she waks did she eat drink same amount? Also at about 6 months and again at 9 months my dd went through a growth spurt and needed s feeding. She would polish off a 6 oz bottle in the middle of the night so i know she was hungry.
Also i would notice with my dd she wouldnt settle down and it wasnt just a whiney cry it was screaming crying that wouldnt stop that is her im hungry cry so i would also take note of that.

You know your child best i know they say they dont need a night feeding anymore but dont you ever wake up hungry in the middle of the night? Dont you ever have a night where your restless? Their babies their gonna have some bad nights along the way.

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

This is the same for us. She usually goes to bed between 8 and 9. She usually get up between 5 and 6. If she gets up in the middle of the night which happens here and there I don't give her a bottle because she is capable of sleeping through the night. If she gets up from 430 on I will give her a bottle though. She is 5 months also.

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

My DD was going through a similar pattern at that age—sleeping through the night at times and at times waking around 5am for a feeding.

After a while, I decided to ignore the 5am wake-up. She cried/whined (she never got hysterical) herself back to sleep, and by day three she stopped waking entirely.

She's 8-months-old now and has been sleeping straight through from 8pm-8am consistently since 6-months-old.

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

My dd has not had a middle of night bottle since prob 8-9 weeks

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

Message edited 7/16/2013 7:42:59 AM.

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

I wouldn't wake her. She might be waking out of habit. My girls used to wake at 4:30 for feeding but I started not feeding them and they slept till 6:30. It took a few days to break the habit. They just eventually started taking more at day feelings. Now they wake at 4:30 or 5:30 and still don't eat til 6:30. They are just on an annoying wake up patern.

Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

Thank you all... I prepared 7 oz bottles and left them for her for today so we'll see how it goes. usually she doesn't finish the 6, but sometimes she does, so I wonder how much more she might take the times she does actually finish it all... maybe she will take a couple of 7 oz bottles, we'll see. i may end up wasting a few ounces of formula, but if I get a few more ounces in her, it'll be worth it.

Another question. if I do feed her a nightime bottle and she falls asleep whle eating, should I keep feeding the rest. I know she would take it. Or should I pull the bottle away when she falls asleep in the interest of weaning her off that night feed? Last night she fell asleep after 3 oz so I didn't give her the rest. In the past I would have, but I wanted to see what would happen. Any thoughts?

thanks again

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????

As soon as my kids STTN, I did away with the middle of the night bottle forever. Even if they had some random night where they woke up, I would hold them and cuddle them to sleep but no bottle. Ever. Worked for me,

Re: Keep or hold overnight feeding once baby has started STTN????