gradual reduction in milk in night feed bottle?

[CertainTurton]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has done this and if it was successful? Also what do you do when you reach 30ml or less?

We have been reducing for a couple of weeks (doing it slowly) she had been waking for 2 180ml bottles (around 10.30-11pm and between 2-5am). its been a bit hit and miss if she wakes for both or just the later one. for example the night before last she just woke at 1am and had 90ml then woke at 6am for the day. Last night she just woke at 5am and i gave her 90ml but she then really refused to go back to sleep should I do CC at that point?
We are planning on reducing to 60ml tonight...
thanks

 

[ke29]

Would be better to dream feed ie feed as you go to bed so that she doesnt hopefully wake a few hours of you going to bed. If shes waking to feed then shes surely hungry!!

 

[CertainTurton]

Thanks. Yeah we tried giving a bottle between 10-11pm and she still woke in the night

 

[Maviyildiz]

Thanks. Yeah we tried giving a bottle between 10-11pm and she still woke in the night

Dream feeds do not help me at all! In fact, they make it worse. I don't know why, but it seems feeding loses its "magic sleepy power" after two feeds. Basically, the later I can push her first and second feeds, the later she sleeps. So, if she feeds at 12:00 and 4:00, she will wake at 6:00. But if I can convince her to go back to sleep without feeding (or she stays asleep) and she feeds at 1:00 and 5:00, she will sleep till 7:00. If I feed her at 10:00, she feeds again at 2:00ish, then wakes around 5:00 and won't go back to sleep! Something to do with her internal rhythms I guess. That is probably specific to my LO though...

 

[Chezzz]

My LO reduced his on his own a d started sleeping through at 7 weeks. I'd let your LO do it at their own pace. Xx

 

[missmayhem]

My LO reduced his on his own a d started sleeping through at 7 weeks. I'd let your LO do it at their own pace. Xx

uninterupted sleep lucky you!!!! But some kids need help in learning to sleep from 7-7


at nearly 15 months my DD still has a night feed (was 4 last week, we are down to 1 at the minute and are slowly dropping the oz down)


unless you've got a child that doesn't sleep for a good night you have no idea how tiring it really is over such a period of time

Our plan is to drop down to 1oz, then make up a bottle at half dilution, then a quarter, then just water if it gets that far, and hope she will take it.....

at 11 months you could maybe do 15ml water, 15 cows milk.


I've found my little one is sleeping better since we started to add in supper usually she has a bottle and bed, but now it's half bottle, solids, then the bottle offered again.....

also she sleeps better the more fresh air she has during the day

 

[CertainTurton]

Thank you missmayhem, you are right about the effect of a year of uninterrupted sleep! (in fact more coz 3rd tri wasnt easy!). We are currently at 60ml and she has only really been waking once. She had stomach bug last Fri which threw things a little, but on that night we only gave her water (as milk made her sick) and she was fine with it since then I have been making a really effort to offer water first (even when Im zonked and just want an easy life...), some nights she will take a few gulps and go back to sleep (woop) other nights she just fights until you give the milk, but still only 60ml!? However since giving water/less milk she has started waking around 5.30-6am wont mind that if she slept through though.
We have tried doing watered down bottles before and she just drank them and never stopped waking so I dont think that works for her we also go out every day so she gets plenty of fresh air...Im a big fan of that

Im intrigued by your supper idea....she has tea at 5.30, then bath at 6.30. We normally go straight from bath to her nursery and do the bottle in her room. How would we fit in the supper? e.g. tea at 5.30, maybe bath at 6.15, downstairs for half bottle and solid, then back upstairs for rest of bottle? or tea, half bottle at 6.30, then bath, then solid downstairs, then rest of bottle in nursery? Thanks

 

[missmayhem]

We have tea at about 4.30-5.30. Bath at 6.00, solids at 6.30 with bottle before and after if she wants it. Then into bed and stories.

I've heard stories where mums drop the night feed but baby still wakes and refuses a bottle, hope neither of us end up like that. I rather like my sleep lol

 

[Chezzz]

I'm dreading when mine starts teething because I'm sure he'll have me up. Sleeps 9-9 now! I'd bring it forward but I love my layins lol!

 

[belle254]

At 7 months Evie was waking up anywhere between 10pm and 2am for a feed, then sleeping until 4/5, feeding then back to sleep until 6.30-7. I started lowering the oz in the 4/5am feed until there was 2, then switched to water, but the night I switched to water she started sleeping through that feed anyway.
So for a while she was going 6.30/7-12ish-6.30am. Lovely! Then she got a virus and it all went back to two feeds again... Gah.
Will be going back to it tomorrow now she seems a lot better! x