My 5 1/2 month daughter has been sleeping thru the nite the past month and one of the things we do is give her a bottle of my milk or formula at 10:00pm (she goes to sleep at 8ish). At what point should we eliminate that feeding? or should we just back it down to 9:30, 9:00, 8:30, 8:00? i'm afraid to drop it because sleeping thru the nite has been heaven!
Try putting less and less milk in the bottle maybe after a few weeks she won't even wake up for it. At the same time if that doesn't work and you are fine with the sleeping why stop. sh is only 5 1/2 months. Once she starts eating solid food things will change anyway. Just wait till then.
It's what ever works for you.
J.
I did the same thing (10 p.m. feeding) with my little guy and he basically let me know when he was ready to give it up--about 6-7 months, I think. He started rejecting the bottle by pushing it out of his mouth and just generally made it obvious that he was no longer interested in that feeding. So, after a few nights of that behavior I eliminated the feeding and that was that. Good luck!
I did the same routine with my boys (late night feeding after they went to bed and they would sleep till morning). Since you are giving her a bottle, you can slowly decrease the amount you offer her. Reduce it by an ounce every 4-5 days. If she has no reaction to that, then I think you could feel pretty confident about backing up the feeding gradually also. It was right around 5 months when I did this with both of my boys (15 months apart). I think when I was giving them only 4 ounces and I had backed up the feeding to about 9:30 that I dropped it altogether. And with both of them, it was kind of like I was "brave" enough and just decided, tonight is the night! I didn't wake the baby for a feeding. With both of my boys, they slept right through the night as usual with no interruption, and that was the end of the night time feeding. I hope it goes just as smoothly for you!
Dr. Jay Gordon has good information about sleep. Check out his website
http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/ap/sleep.asp
At 5 1/2 months, she still needs that feeding. You're lucky she is sleeping so many hours at a time at this age.
First, I say do what works. Sleeping through the night is great....But, I was doing the same thing and at around 5 months I just stopped and she never knew the difference. Try it one night. Good luck!
Let her be, and go with her pattern. She sleeps well. My boy had the same pattern..don't worry, it will lengthen as they mature.
ALSO...she will be going through a growth spurt soon...at these phases, they get hungrier and need to feed more...and yes, at night too. So feed her, at these spurts. Also, teething will be coming up.
Sleep patterns will not be static. Babies change and grow and develop and go through many phases. Since she is a good sleeper now...go with it. You are very luck she is a good sleeper.
Take care,
~SUsan
www.cafepress.com/littlegoogoo
I did the "dream feed" as you are doing until my baby was almost 8 months. Maybe she could have gone sooner, but she really wasn't into solids until around 7 months. I stopped it over the course of about a week. I just gave her less and less in the bottle. She didn't seem to mind. Good luck :)
DO NOT STOP what your doing!!!! Keep her sleeping and keep your sanity... no joke :-).. enjoy the fact that she's sleeping through the night... because soon she's most likely giong to start her separation anxiety stage and wake up at night... (just a warning... sorry).. if you are that upset with feeding her at that time you can try diluting her milk .. but i honestly don't suggest it... if she's drinking it... she most likely needs it at this stage...
The best advice I could give you is to go with the flow.. because I use to try to do things so perfect.. and all it did was frustrate me and my daughter...who is now 20 months... sometimes they want to eat/drink all day and then for a couple of days nothing... they're bodies know when to have how much.. don't worry...
Hi, I'm an advanced aged mom as well with a 5 month old little girl and we dropped the feeding around 4 months and she's been sleepign thru the night ever since...we just slowly stopped the feedigns and going into wake her up and feed her and now she actually will wake up, play with a toy and go back to sleep. Good luck and just go with your gut.
It sounds like you have the right idea in trying to back it down to see how things go. We did that with our daughter when we were trying to drop a feeding.
As soon as 1st tooth pops in stop the bed bottle. The milk can sit in mouth and harms teeth.
If she's solely breastfed, she could need a night feeding for awhile. I would back the feedings down, as you suggested and see what happens. Are you waking her to feed her or just putting the bottle in the crib? you could also lessen the amount of milk/formula in the bottle gradually. I think typically at your daughter's age she has the ability to sleep thru the night w/o a feeding. Occasionally during a growth spurt or something she might need one.
I'd say if it's working for you and she takes the bottle then go for it. If she's not hungry she won't eat... that will be your best indicator.
I think what you're doing is great. My daughter is the same age and her doctor just told me to do the same thing. She goes to bed at around 8 as well, but I hadn't been waking her for a feeding. She was always waking up around 3 or 4 to nurse and I was exhausted. I say if this is working for you, stick with it. I am going to try it and she if it will work for us. Thanks for sharing your experience.
K., One of the great things about breastmilk is that you can not over feed your child with it.
Let her sleep, only feed her if she wakes up to be fed.
That way she is eating on demand which is what you should do with a breast fed baby.
Hi K....Congrats on the sleeping!!! I would say,,,if it's fixed,,,,don't break it!!!! Yeah, if she is sleeping all night with a bottle at 10, thats great. Breast milk doesn't stay with babies as well as formula, so something is agreeing with her. I nursed my son thru the night til he was one, then cut him off, but let him nurse at bedtime, I still get up with him at least once a night, and he's 2 1/2! I just help him get back to sleep, tho once is a while he will go back on his own. I would say that if you do want to wean her back, try some cereal mixed with baby fruit or your milk and then a bottle, to help her sleep. Good luck, J.
do whatevr makes baby happy and you too
eliminating feedings when baby is growing is dangerous for development and emotional security
follow your baby's flow
Hi K. -
My daughter is 1 year old and I still breastfeed her before I go to bed sometimes - it depends on when she had her last meal and how much she ate/drank during the day. Also, she's a bit on the slim side, so I figure she needs all the calories I can get into her. You can always try stopping the feeding and see if your daughter wakes up. I say just do what works for you and for her.
Good luck!
We always stopped the dream feed around four months. I would give her an ounce less every night until she's not eating anymore. She certainly weighs enough at 5 1/2 months to sleep through the night without the dream feed. Good luck! :)
