16 Month Old Girl Still Waking 2-3 Times a Night to Eat

You don't say what time you put her to bed or what time she gets up or what her sleeping habits are during the day so it's hard to try to give some advice. Perhaps she's getting enough rest and it's time to put her down a little later or shorten her daytime nap(s). I didn't really understand your last sentence, something about holding bottle at night with bad results. Does that mean that you can't just give her a bottle to hold herself and go back to bed? If so, then she's probably not really hungry, but more than food wants mom and is just in the habit of waking at these times. Try going in to her room, no light, no sound, no eye contact and just pat her back and try to help her soothe herself back to sleep.

D.,
Is your daughter on any medications? Her middle of the night hunger and/or fussiness could be a side effect. Or, with her seizure disorder & low blood sugar, she just may not feel well at night. Her whole body may be off. My husband has diabetes (which is the opposite: he has high blood sugar), so I know that blood sugar swings--either high or low can throw a person's system off. I would try the cereal as another mother suggested. For blood sugar swings, nothing works except food or medicine--it's all about body chemistry. I would not withhold food/bottles.
In the middle of the night, I would keep it low key. I would keep lights off or dim (for the most part.) Perhaps some soft soothing music playing, if you have to . And no playing with her either. Minimal talking too. If none of these ideas work, talk to your doctor again or to a pediatric nurse. You may have to ride this out with your baby until it passes.Good luck!!

Hi there,

Our 14 1/2 month old was waking 3 times a night recently, and I don't think it's hunger. Are you sure that she's really hungry? Our daughter wants to breast feed but falls asleep quickly at the breast. We've been trying some of Elizabeth Pantley's techniques and last night Violetta slept 9 hours without making a peep! Some nights she wakes a lot, some not. Of course, I don't know about your daughter's medical condition.

www.pantley.com/elizabeth/

Good luck, and hope you all will be having sweet dreams soon!

H.

If your daughter seems to get seizures when she doesn't eat for a few hours at a time she could have a metabolic condition. I recommend that you speak with a knowledgable person about this possibility. If your daughter's pediatrician doesn't know how to test for metabolic conditions, have him/her send you to a specialist that does.

D.,
You should speak to your physician to find out if the night waking is metabolic or behavioral. Most children that weigh more than 12 pounds have the capacity to take in all of the calories they need during the day time and do not need to eat at night, however you stated she has siezures related to low bliid sugar so I would be cautious about not responding to her.
You could always get a second opinion from another provider about the siezures.

A.

My daughter is almost 15 months and wakes at least 3-4 times a night. I also work full time. I don't think it's true that all children can go all night. Maybe they don't "need" it in that they won't lose weight without it, but I do believe that their bodies know what they need.

Can you try going to bed earlier so that you get enough sleep even with the night wakings? It sounds to me like she needs the nighttime feedings - I wouldn't be inclined to withhold food from her.

I'm usually in bed by 10 and wake up at 7, so even with a few wakings I am getting around 7 hours of sleep, which is enough for me to feel human.

hi D.
I give my daughter..16 months too...rice or oatmeal
Cereal with milk before bed.
Maybe try this?
Take care bye K.