I have a 5 1/2 month old son. He wakes up about one time in the night to be changed and fed. My husband and I were wondering if we should stop thins night time feeding. We would like some others' input on this topic.
My son has Acid reflux so he's been getting rice cereal in his milk since he was 2 months and has been eating some solids off and on since 4 months. He only gets a 3 oz bottle at night (and only three oz since he was 3 months). He is about 14 lbs so we are going to first cut back to a 2 oz for about a week or two then we'll cut it out all together. Thank you everyone for your insites and suggestions.
I wouldn't. Five months is still young to be going 10 or so hours without eating.
hi,
If he is waking up in the night because he is hungry you r not going to be able to stop this feeding, he wont let you...lol. If he is waking up it is for a reason and I would not worry about it too much...he will sleep thru the night soon I promise :)
Hope I was able to help
Hey J... I'm thinking this is Aiden's Mom! It's Kelsey's Mom.. Kelsey stopped having a nighttime feeding around 2 months.. since she started sleeping through the night. I think you can stop that nighttime feeding, but he may still wake you up. Have you started solids yet? Besides the milk with cereal... if you start feeding him solids 2-3x a day and still feed him the milk, he should be able to make it a lil longer through the night. If you're feeding him that already, it may just be him wanting to be up in the middle of the night. And he might very well be teething. Kelsey's teeth pop'd out of the blue! Try the teething tabs again. They should melt in food or milk. Good luck.. and call me if you want!
My daughter woke up at night till she was almost a year old and her dr told me that "not all babies sleep through the night until they are older...and that is all there is to it." Also, my daughter hated that full night time pp diaper,,and I hardly blame her :-) I would change her and she would go right back to sleep. I am a firm believer that when our children cry for us (before they can talk) there is a REASON they are crying. A 5 1/2 month old is not old enough to manipulate you. He/she is crying because the child is counting on Mommy/Daddy to fullfil a need. Could just be the baby needs a cuddle/some comfort. At 5 1/2 months, the child may very well be hungary in the middle of the night. Do you nurse? Bottle feed? have you started cereal yet? You could try cereal right before bed to make sure he is good and full. I have heard that works with lots of kids. Best of luck. Jenny
Hi J.,
From what I understand, it isn't the age of the baby that determines if they sleep through the night, but the amount that they weigh. I had my son in to see the pediatrician yesterday for his 2 month visit. My son weighs a little over 14 lbs already, and she is encouraging me to cut out the middle of the night feeding b/c he weighs enough to do so. He generally sleeps from 11 to 7, getting up once around 4 to eat (and play if truth be known). From what his pediatrician is saying, if he is 14 to 15 lbs or more, he should be able to make it for 8 hours if he is good and full before he falls asleep. I think I'm gonna wait another couple of weeks and then start to gradually decrease the amount of time I am letting him nurse at night. Hopefully, he'll start to not need any. We'll see!
If you haven't started solids, I would put some cereal in his bottle before he goes to bed. I know that you really shouldn't put cereal in the bottle, but my little girl has reflux and the doc told us to start her on solids at two weeks.
If you have started solids, then just get up with him. Try to wait a little longer each time you do it. Eventually he will sleep all night. Just remember that your version of all night and his may not be the same thing. He may think that 5 hours is enough at night and you want 8.
Also, try to limit the amount of sleep at his afternoon nap. He will be cranky for the first week or so, but that should help him sleep too.
On both of my children. I let them wake me up within reason. I tried to feed formula with rice cereal just before bed time and feed them before I do anything else in the morning. My first one was a preemie and she did fine. She is now 5 yrs old, 4.2 ft and 60 lbs. and my 10 mth old is right at 19 lbs and doing great.
Good luck.
Hi J.,
By 5 1/2 mos, my son was sleeping 7-7 straight, however, he was in the 75% for weight, so I think he could physically go the whole stretch without waking up. Some babies take longer. It really depends on weight, I was told. If you want to try something, you can try giving him a pacifier instead of the bottle and see how he reacts. If he is like my son, he will get madder and madder until he gets his bottle (if he is truly hungry). It could be that he justs wants comfort.
I also never change my son's diaper in the middle of the night, as long as it is just #1. :) It used to just get him wide-awake (and then we would have to feed him to get him back asleep.) Just use some diaper rash ointment before bed to protect his skin from the moisture, and he should be fine throughout the night.
Hello. I am L.. I have a 3 1/2 year old and a 4 month old. My little one is sleeping through the night. now. We do this...it may help you but every child is different.
We feed her every 3 hours during the day. Around 7 or 8 is gets a bottle. And we give her a bath and then put her down. We don't get her up again until the morning.
