Need Help Getting Baby to Not Eat at Night...

This is very much a personal choice, I come from the thinking that when a baby cries they are crying for a reason and it deserves tending to. I know that when I am hungry I get up and eat, unfortunately they have tinier tummies and lack the capability to get up and feed themselves, I fed my sons as often as they chose to be fed and eventually they no longer needed to eat at night. I had decided that I was not going to try and teach my kids how I wanted them to behave for me as infants rather than what is it I can do to make you comfortable. that's not to say I do not provide structure and discipline for them now but as a baby with such little understanding of the world around them and inability to get a point across with words or comprehend why they are feeling one way I just tended to them. the theory being you can not spoil a baby. Like I said each parenting style is unique and you have to do what you heart tells you is right, know that whatever you choose, if you are trying your best and have that Childs best interest in mind that everything will work out. good luck!

I have a big problem with a pedi who says let him cry it out.
I feel that teaches your child that he can cry his heart out and nobody is coming. How cruel!

I would try the cereal and walking him around rocking him.

C.,

Your ped. is correct on a certain point. Once a baby reaches 13 lbs or so, they no longer have a biological need to eat during the night. They are capable of going through the night without food, and won't starve.
That said, it doesn't mean anything to your little one who is accustomed to eating at that time. Your body learns to give hunger cues when it is used to being fed. If you are looking for a kinder, gentler approach, try gradually cutting his formula at night with water. Increase the proportion of water in the bottle avery couple of nights, until it's just water. This will help your son get used to not eating at night over time, so he's not laying there with his little belly rumbling while you tell him to hush and go to sleep. After a while, he will get used to the idea of no food at night, and most babies decide that it's not worth waking up for just water.

I don't understand what kind of doctor would tell you to not feed your son, if you knew he was hungry. I think that's just wrong. Unless he has some kind of eating disorder, to where he wants to eat consitantly. Follow your instincts. Your the momma, not the doctor. It just makes me really upset to hear that doctor's thinking that they know what they are talking about when they really don't. I had a doctor tell me that my son needed to be circumsiced, when he was just fine. It made me so upset. the doctor even said that because he was a urologist, he knew what he was talking about. geesh!!!

Hello C.,

I had the same exact problem with both my boys and I understand your desperation. The second time around was more difficult since I didn't want my baby to wake up his older brother. I was told by my pediatrician to let them cry, which I tried. Things got quiet for a couple of days, but the problem reoccured quickly. My advice to you is do what's healthiest for you. Personally, I decided to cater to my sons until they grew out of that phase. The first one was 13 months old when he slept through the night (with one feeding at 5:00 am for months) and my second one was around 10 months old. Once your baby get more active and eats more solid foods, he'll need his sleep through the night. Hope that helped. Courage!

C..

Have u tried in his Last bottle before u lay down with him or lay him down put cereal in his bottle maybe he needs that fill and give him more forula.... at 6 months my daughter was teethin and was eatin what we were eattin and that is what the dor. said.. Its heavier so it makes there bellys full i guess... Hoped that helped sumwhat ..

J.

Can your son see you from where he sleeps?

Our daughter slept in the same room with us (but in her own crib) until she was 13 months. She went from a regular sleep schedule to one where she was up every 1 1/2 - 2 hrs. After a couple weeks of it, I finally put up a sheet to block her view of us. It did the trick. Out of sight, out of mind, back to sleep!

C.,
At six months, he may be going through a growth spurt and actually feel the need to eat every couple of hours. Or, he may just need you. When babies cry, sometimes moms misunderstand the cues and assume it's hunger. During the day, try everything else first- is he wet, need burping, uncomfortable, need holding and comfort, want his pacifier, or even bored and want a new view or toy? Once you have exhausted all other options, really watch him. What is his body language? It may give you a clue to what's going on at night. If he's arching his back, it could be gas or reflux. If he's rooting around with his mouth open, go with hunger or paci. He may just be looking for you to hold him for a minute and make sure you're still there. And in the course of his 18 years with you, this time is just a drop in the bucket. Keep responding to him quietly and lovingly, encourage him to sleep, and he will eventually.

I too had a little one that shared a room with us due to no bedrooms left (she was my fourth child). She would wake every few hours and I would feed her automatically thinking that was the issue, we bought a bigger house she got a room of her own and right off started sleeping, I came to the conclusion that she was waking because she would hear us, snoring, talking in our sleep, turning, when she woke I feed her.
That just might be a reason.

So my little moose was having the same problem at the same age at night. To get to his room you had to go through our room, so it was like he was in there too. My dr said that as long as we were comfortable doing it, keep feeding him. He is a very hungry little boy and growing rapidly. If he's hungry, and you're sure of it, mom's know...feed him. I was up every 3 hours or so feeding Marik. It totally sucked and I got no sleep for a while, but it does get better. I promise. He's a year old now and sleeps 12 hours straight. It took until about 9 months for him to sleep 6 hours and then eat. That still kind of sucked, but 6 is better than 2 right? So unfortunatly, my only advice is this: Feed him a jar of food 1 hour before bed, then feed him a large bottle and put him right to bed. When he wakes up, send daddy in to calm him and sway with him a bit(daddy may not like the idea, but mommy means food) if he's still cries, give him a bottle. Just remember, when he's older and decides that he's going to drink before going to school, you're the one who gets to wake him up at 7am!! Cheers!! Hope this helps, let me know if there's any other help I can give you.

Hi C.! First I just want to say I know how you feel. It is awful when you can't get any sleep. My daughter had a very similar problem. She would wake up 2 to 3 times a night looking for her bottle untill she was 2. She was not hungry, she used her bottle as a pacifier. My doctor gave me the same advice, to let her cry. This did not work. My daughter one night cried for 3 hours. Finally I said that is it, and we just gave into her. We watered down her bottles and found it made our life easier to just give it to her. After we took the bottle away she would still wake up, and we would just rub her back. Where your son is hungry, and still only 6 mos, I would try to put some cereal in his bottle mixed with the formula, and give this to him right before bed. It is completely normal that he still wakes to eat. I know a lot of doctors try to get you to let him cry, but he is still little, and I know I could not do it. I belong to a mommies group, and it is so funny to talk because every baby is so different. Hang in there, it will get easier.

Are you breastfeeding or formula feeding? The answer I think depends on that. My son is breastfed and we did Sleep train, but not till he was 8 months old. I used the method by Marc Weissbluth in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. In there, he does say that babies need to eat at least once during the night till they are 9 months old, so I think 6 months old it too early to let him go all night. If he is formula fed though, it takes longer to digest and could conceivably last all night, but I don't have experience there.

C.,
I am a mother of a 22 month old. I also went through the same problem when I was trying to cut the night feedings. I was getting up every two hours to feed him even if he was not hungry he still wanted me up.I also share a room with my son. My husband and I were also going crazy. We have two couches in our living room so my husband took one and I took the other and had to let him cry. We all sleep with a fan running so I put that on along with the TV without the volume and faced his crib towards my bed so he could see that I was not in it. I tried everything all the books said and NOTHING worked. After a couple nights he started sleeping more and more through the night. Don't get me wrong it broke my heart into little pieces but now he sleeps all night and is now in a youth bed. It will get easier trust me.
T.

Alright, maybe I am the mean mom of the group, but I have to say that for me, letting my boys cry for a couple of nights worked. I have never had a hard time since. Although your situation is very different. As long as your little one can see you it will be worse. Have you tried just putting him in the living room (I know it sounds awful) for the night, just so he can't see or hear you? It's worth a try, but when it comes right down to it, if you're not comfortable with letting the baby cry, and you are wiling to get up at night with him, and you want to feed him, then that's exactly what you should do!

To be perfectly honest i would get a second opinion from a different pedi. that doesnt sound right that your son wants to eat all of the time. Hope it works Kathy