Hello all I am new here and I was hoping to seek some advice/comments from other mothers. My daughter just turned one and is still not sleeping through the night. She is just like me in that she eats small amounts throughout the day and I beleive she is truly hungry and needs to eat. I feed her only 4 oz of formula and she rolls over and goes right back to sleep. This tells me she is not waking for me to pick her up or for her to play. I try to give her a pacifier but she spits it out and continues to cry. The feedings have gone from two times to just one in the last few weeks which gives me hope she will discontinue this soon. I try to feed her as much as she will take during the day without forcing her. She eats a very small breakfast, mid-morning snack, healthy lunch, afternoon snack and healthy dinner. I feed her 6-8 oz. of whole milk before her nap and bedtime. She is 30 inches tall and weights 19.3 pounds (90% for height and 25% for weight). I believe each child is different and only the mother knows her own child but I wanted some opinions....I am tired! :-) Thanks!
My little Angel is starting to make it till morning. There have been several nights when I wake up at 7:45 and realize she is still sleeping and not a peep since she first laid down. She still has some nights when she wakes but they are becoming few and far between!!!!! Thanks to all for your advice.
I would give my baby a bath and let him play in the water to get tired and then put some rice cereal in bottel before bed time, he would get fuller than just regular milk: )
My DD was like this. What I did was fill the bottle with water. After a while she didn't want it. She may not be hungry it might be a control thing. No she doesn't want to get pick up or played with but she wants you to go in tere. Try leaving the bottle with water after she's asleep in the crib and see if she will just take it w/out you there.
Hope this helps and good luck,
'L.
ps It took me a long time for my DD and I finally gave up and threw out all the bottles. I put them in a bag and told her I was giving them to the new babies.
I didn't see the back of my eyelids for at least 365 days after my two children were born. I think partly my fault. I nursed till they were 15 months and when they woke me up I just figured well while we're both up I might as well nurse and then we can both go back to sleep. I think it became a habit. It was wierd that when I hit my breaking point at a year with my second my husband said go back to bed and I'll hold her. I told myself I wasn't going in her room and it's as if she knew. She started sleeping through the night after that. I certainly wouldn't let her cry forever but just tough it out for about 15 min. and just see.
I know this sounds harsh but I would just let her cry it out, I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old so I definately know how you feel. Children are creatures of habit so she is probably used to crying and then getting a bottle in the middle of the night. If you take it away she won't starve and she might eat a bigger breakfast. Within a few weeks she will be sleeping through the night. Not to say it will be easy, she will definately cry and it might be tough for a few nights but in the long run whats a few nights compared to endless feedings in the middle of the night. I did this with both of my girls from the time they were 3 months old and they have both slept through the night since then.
Since she's eating a small breakfast I bet she doesn't really need that late night snack. My 6 month old sleeps 11 hours straight without eating. I know every baby is different, but the small breakfast is telling. It's probably a result of the night waking and eating. I know it's hard, but let her cry a little and see if she eventually learns to go back to sleep. I have a two year old daughter that only weighs 26 pounds. The doc tells me she looks healthy and not to worry. So I wouldn't worry too much about your daughter's growth either. Some kids just have faster metabolisms than others. My daughter obviously does, because she eats like crazy. Sounds like yours gets plenty too.
Okay - most moms think I'm nuts, but maybe you should try giving her something besides whole mile, especially before bedtime. Milk causes crazy gas (and will make your baby uncomfortable)...I am a vegan and I urge people not to drink cows milk - it wasn't meant for us - that's why you can't feed it to a newborn. We lack an important enzyme to digest it correctly. My son is 9 now, and he loves soymilk. They come in flavors, too, so it doesn't taste weird. Fruit juice, however, will also give your little one gas, so you could maybe try those vitamin drinks made for kids if you are worried about her calories or nutrition. There is also almond milk and rice milk. Ask your doctor, I have not had one disagree yet. Just a suggestion...:) Good luck.
hello I know bout the low weight. We are going threw that with my oldest. When she was a yr old she weighed 12 lbs and now at the age of 4 1/2 she is almost 33 lbs. She is veyr little. I thought thta I wasnt doing something right. The dr said that I was doing everything possible that I could do. Besides she will eat when she gets hungrey. Does she have a blanket that she really lkies to sleep with? Well, our neuroligst tols me since my 2 yr old want sleeping at night to get a herbal medicine its called metatonia you cang et it from wlagreens or walmart and such where. But, it helps them go to sleep just ask the pahrmist what dosage to give your child..... Noiw as for my newborn she will be 2 months old on the 22nd but, she eats and goes right back toi bed,,,,, If ya havent maybe ya need to make an appointment with her pediatricain.. HOpe that this is helpful for you...
I know my nephew didn't sleep thru the night until he was almost 2 (not very encouraging, I know!) But my daughter was sleeping thru the night at 3 months (most nights.) If she's actually eating and not really wanting anything else (holding, binky, whatever), I'd not suggest she cry it out since she truly seems to be hungry. In her bottles, maybe try putting some baby rice cereal? That went a long way in helping my daughter sleep thru the night since she was more satisfied when she DID eat.
Babies that age will eat what they need. They will not starve themselves, so just try to get her to eat as much as possible during the day. At your baby's age waking up for a bottle at night is no longer a need, but a habit. Both of my children stopped waking up pretty early because when they would wake up at night I would tell myself just 10 or 15 more min. and would put the pacifier in there mouth ( this is when they were a few months old). Now it probally wasn't right, I was being selfish, as young as they were but it actually worked. They were never malnurished. My son never had a problem sleeping through the night but my daughter was about 4 or 5 months old when she slept 8 hours.From there it went to 12 hrs. If she takes a pacifier try that. She's old enough to not need a bottle at night.
Maybe you can try feeding your daughter a bowl of oatmeal or rice cereal a few minutes before bed. I had to do that with my son to keep him asleep all night. Also, you could try putting a bottle of milk in her bed after she falls asleep at night, when she wakes up later you won't have to get up, she can drink the bottle and fall back asleep.
Hi K.,
My baby boy is now 17 months old and eats like a bird. He still wakes up once a night for a bottle of milk. (There are some nights that he won't.) I have never been able to let him cry it out, I favor attachment parenting. I have to wake up once and it takes me longer to get him to sleep than if I just threw him in the crib and let him cry...but that's what I believe I'm here for. Nurturing, calming etc. Your sweet baby will most likely outgrow this bottle at night phase...although you might try some cereal in the bottle or feeding her right before bed. I try to give my son a jar of baby cereal w/ fruit right before bed. He usually eats the whole thing which tells me that he would have gone to bed hungry....Best of luck and God bless.
Yes, every baby is different!
Your baby will eventually sleep through the night, and you aren't doing her any harm by giving her a bottle at night.
My son was also in the 90% for height and the 25% for weight (My husband is 6'8 and 200 pounds - I think I know where my son gets it ;D ) He didn't go all night without eating until he was nearly 2. He needed the nourishment.
Eventually, he stopped waking up.
Ask yourself this: do you want to stop feeding your daughter at night because you feel she doesn't need it, or are you really worried about convenience?
Then ask yourself this: what if she really is hungry?
I think you should feed your little girl (I bet she'd agree).
Best of luck, mom, and congrats on doing such a great job!
K., my daughter used to do this all the time and what we found was that she was thirsty. What we began to do was putting a sippy cup (spill proof of course ) next to her bed for her to drink when she got thirsty. Since she is still in a crib, because she is still so little we just place it at the head of her crib so that if she wakes she knows it is there for her. Even my older children keep a bottle of water by their bed at night in case they get thirsty. You might try this to see if maybe that is what is wrong.
The other thing I did with my daughter was to give her dinner without her milk & then give her the milk right before she heads for bed.
Hi K.
My son's nurse told me it could be as late as 2 1/2 years old before they sleep threw the night.. Yeah I know thats what you did not wanted to hear, sorry.. =( But I disagree with sending her to bed with a bottle or sippy cup bad habit to start and that will be the only way she knows how to go to bed/sleep and it be hard to break or worse the liquid could build up in her mouth and she could choke on it if she falls asleep with it in her mouth.
Good luck
D.
I have heard to lessen the amount in the bottle each night. So go from 4 oz. to 3, then 2, etc. With my oldest son, now 3, I would just wait as long as I could stand it before going into his room, usually about 10 minutes. Just as I would get to his door, he would be back asleep. Anyway, try giving her less and less each night and soon, it won't be worth it for her to wake up anymore! Good luck!
That's a tough situation, because every child is different, just like you said. My oldest daughter did not eat well until she hit puberty. Now she eats regular meals like the rest of the family. At one point, I started putting hard boiled eggs, and cubed cheese in the bottom door of the refrigerator so that she could just graze all day. At age one, your daughter may not be able to get into the refrigerator, but maybe you could leave some calorie dense things on the table where she can just grab them when she wants? Maybe if she ate even more often, she would not be hungry during the night. If she eats small amounts at each sitting, it probably won't hurt to let her just snack all day. When my daughter was very underweight, I was instructed to feed her every hour. This was not easy, but it did help some. Their stomach is only about the size of their tiny fist.
