Has anyone managed to successfully drop the 5/5.30am feed?

[sezzolou]

Ds2 is 11 months and doing great. On 3 meals a day plus snacks and has 3 bottles in 24 hours. Naps twice a day for 1-2 hours a time. He self settles for naps and bedtime.

Bedtime is 6.30/7pm, has his 7oz bedtime bottle around 6pm (he won't wait any later for it). He sleeps well at night and currently wakes around 5/5.30 for a bottle then goes back to sleep until 7/7.30am, which so far I've had no problem doing. I am not sure if it's habit or hunger, if I leave him he may sleep an unsettled sleep on and off crying abit every 15 mins or so until I get him up or just stay awake but it is clearly still tired.

My concern is I am back at work in 3 weeks and will need to get up around 6/6.30 to get ready so ideally would like to drop this feed as we both won't be able to go back to sleep like we do now. Not too keen on a 5/5.30am start lol.

I've tried a dream feed before I go to bed but he gets terrible trapped wind so it was a disaster.
Has anyone had any success dropping this feed or did you just ride it out and wait for it to pass? He's been having the 5am feed for around 3 months now. A handful of times he has slept through until 6.15/6.30am, this is more preferable and suits his daytime routine better so I get him up for the day if he does this.

 

[MindUtopia]

What if you moved bedtime back a bit? I'm assuming once you start work this will happen anyway. I know I get home from picking my daughter up after work at about 5:20. At that age, she would have eaten early and then we would have eaten later, but dinner then would have been around 5:30-6, and then we'd get her ready for bed with a bath and then a bottle before bed about 7. Pushing that back by an hour, which will over time happen anyway as he gets older, might help give you that extra hour in the morning. Alternatively, what about feeding him extra in the afternoon, an extra bottle or snacks might mean he isn't so hungry in the evening that he can't wait a bit longer and go to bed later.

My daughter dropped all her nighttime feeds at 9 months, but this didn't mean she didn't still wake throughout the night (she just wasn't hungry). The 5am ish wake up is common though. She would just cuddle with us in bed until we were ready to get up. She would kind of sleep or at least dose or play quietly lying next to us and we got just enough extra sleep that it didn't feel like we were waking up in the middle of the night. I used to get up at 5am some days to leave for work by 6am and there was a time when she was waking at 4am. That was rough! It meant I didn't really go back to sleep after, but at least she would settle enough next to me that I could get enough rest to manage during the day.

 

[sezzolou]

Thanks. Just read through this and your are right when I think about it. Me and oh will be working until 6 so bedtime will definately be later. He has a meal at nursery around 4pm so he might need a snack when he gets in then his bedtime bottle around 7pm.

Tried it different today. He had been having a 5oz bottle around 2/3pm, dinner at 5pm then he would only drink around 5oz at bedtime. I gave him a snack at 3 instead, dinner at 5 then he drank a full 8oz at 6.30pm, bed for 7. I'll see how that goes. I'm contemplating offering water at 5am if he wakes to see how that goes down lol. Want to get it sorted before I'm back at work so I know he's getting enough sleep as he's barely napping at nursery (settling in sessions).

 

[izzlesnizzle]

Our routine is exactly the same as yours. Ds is 11 months too and waking at 5am and just will not settle without having his milk, even after that sometimes he won't settle back to sleep and just stands up in the cot crying until we get him up like he's done the last few mornings. I've pushed things back a bit today so instead of a 6.15/6.30 bed we put him to bed at 7. I have noticed that he doesn't seem tired at 6.30 anymore and chats away or sits up after his milk to look at the book we're reading to his older sister. Tonight though at 6.50 he was rubbing his eyes like mad so I got him into bed quick and he was out like a light by 7 so it will be interesting to see if it has any effect on tomorrow's wake up. These 5 am starts are killing us!

 

[sezzolou]

Our routine is exactly the same as yours. Ds is 11 months too and waking at 5am and just will not settle without having his milk, even after that sometimes he won't settle back to sleep and just stands up in the cot crying until we get him up like he's done the last few mornings. I've pushed things back a bit today so instead of a 6.15/6.30 bed we put him to bed at 7. I have noticed that he doesn't seem tired at 6.30 anymore and chats away or sits up after his milk to look at the book we're reading to his older sister. Tonight though at 6.50 he was rubbing his eyes like mad so I got him into bed quick and he was out like a light by 7 so it will be interesting to see if it has any effect on tomorrow's wake up. These 5 am starts are killing us!

Sounds like it's quite a common phase. We have managed to do what you did the last few nights. Kobi is also not as tired now at 6.30 (unless is a nursery day) so we have kept him up until 7/7.15 and distract him as much as we can to hold off the bedtime bottle to around 6.45pm which he isn't always pleased about waiting for. Last night he was out like a light at 7.15pm and slept through to 6.15am (same the 3 previous nights too since making the change). I just get him up for the day if he sleeps past 6am. He was in a good mood aswell this morning so 11 hours must suit him ok. He's in nursery today though and doesn't nap as well there as he does at home so he may end up being ready for bed at 6.30 tonight. I've done 3 nights now without the 5am feed and I really don't want to restart it. Hope the later bedtime works for you too.

 

[izzlesnizzle]

It didn't work sadly. Pushing him to 7 meant dd was pushed back to 7.30 which I was hoping would make her sleep until 7 as she gets up on the dot at 6.30 every morning but she still started calling out at 6.30! Ds was up at 5 again. He was mumbling loudly to himself which developed into a cry we could no longer ignore by 5.50 so he had his bottle then wouldn't resettle and wanted to get up. We went back to the old routine tonight and he was in bed at 6.30. Putting them both to bed half an hour later just meant they got half an hours less sleep last night!

I remember dd going through this 5am phase around this age and I don't know what changed but it just stopped but I remember it lasted about 10 weeks! You're right, it is a very common phase.

 

[londonangel]

What others have said is sensible. I was never able to get our eldest to bed before 8pm when I went to work after Mat Leave. Little one goes to bed at 8.30pm or a tad earlier which is fortunate as big one gets so exhausted she is asleep by 7.45pm on a school night and it is hard to make our dinner and get both of them in bed given I have terrible back problems and hubby has to do most things. I am back at work in six weeks -arrgggh!

Our eleven month old has three bottles a day but only started formula a month ago. She has them at 10am, 4pm and 7.30pm.

 

[Demotivated]

I am exactly in the same boat as you guys. EXACTLY. DS is 11 months old. Goes to sleep by 7.30 aftr dinner & 7oz bottle, wakes up for bottle at 5 can then goes to sleep till 7.30.

I have tried binky, water, rocking him.. all failed

just going to wait it out i guess :\

 

[sezzolou]

Well soon after i posted the original message lo started sleeping 7-7 but this last week he has been waking at 5.30am every morning again and will no longer go back to sleep after a bottle so its early mornings for us.
Ive tried earlier bedtime/later bedtimes/more milk/more food. He is on cows milk in stead of formula as hes just turning 1. Im back at work now and feeling preeeety tired lol.