Was told to stop night feeds????

[Tristans_Mum]

Hey i would like some advice. I was told by health nurse to stop feeding Tristan during the night and to have his last bottle should be between 6-7 and then at 5 in morning. i told her that during the night he drinks a whole bottle so he must be hungry.
He is only 4 months old, is what she is saying normal or will bub learn not to wake for a night feed when he is ready?
Im so confused. would love to hear everyone's comments

thanks Rachael:confused:

[Refresh]

If it goes against what is working for you and bubs and it doesnt feel right, dont do it!! Go with your instincts and you can't go wrong. You know your baby waaaaay better than any nurse:) It is perfectly noraml for babies to have a nightfeed -mine did until after 12 months.

[melfunction]

K is 8 months and still has a night feed. If he is hungry, he gets fed. Trust me, you can't settle a hungry baby at night, if he hasn't been fed.

[Tea Lady]

I'm pretty sure the "official" reccommendation is to stop night feeds at 6 months (mind you I've been doing night feeds again for the last month and my bub's 13 months :rolleyes: ) but I would say if you think he's hungry then feed him. You can always talk to a different nurse and see what they say too. :)

[mylittletwins]

My twins are 4 months old as well and they still get up during the night. If the baby is crying during the night of hunger then you cant ignore that.

I think once they start eating they may become more fuller and may not need that feed at night.

The last thing you want is a distressed baby at night

[drewid]

Hi there :)

First....take all advice from health nurse's with a grain of salt.

Second...going from 6 or 7 until 5 without food at 4 months old seems like an awfully long time for me. If your bub is waking up during the night and having a whole bottle, I'd say he is hungry. So feed him :)

There is plenty of time to work on eliminating night feeds later on...I would wait until AT LEAST 6 months before even thinking about it. And you will probably find that it will start to happen naturally from this point, as your bub grows bigger and sleeps more solidly.

Don't stress, do what works for you and YOUR baby. You know him better than anyone else! :thumbsup:

[Charlie]

You should suggest she come n try setteling him in the middle of the night while he screams the house down!! :laughing:

You can't ignore a hungry baby!!

[Refresh]

LOL....and ask her if she denies herself a drink if she wakes up thirsty in the middle of the night:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[DB&O]

I agree with what all the other lovley ladies have said, if your babe is hungry during the night, feed him. Your CHN is there for advice & support but you know your babe better than anyone else & so you should follow your gut instincts, trust me, mummies are rarely wrong when it comes to there little ones. :)

[brooke]

Paige is 9wks old and no longer wakes for a night feed.. she sleeps from 7 until 7... we didnt do anything to make it that way..she just done it her self!
Every baby is different If he still wants it then give it to him.. you cant make the poor little one scream if he is hungry!
Every baby is different.. Just do what is right for the 2 of you... If he wakes then feed him if he doesnt then I wouldnt wake him up for a feed:)

[Ana Gram]

:rolleyes: I always loved the "should" stuff they always came out with. I always felt the need to tell her what I thought she should do.

Take it just as a suggestion and if your son needs a night time feed, he needs a nighttime feed. Your health nurse is not the one who has to look after your child nor does she have to listen to your hungry screaming child in the middle of the night.

[rockabye]

Hi tristans mummy,

at 4 months, do whatever you've got to do. If he wants a bottle I say give it to him.

My little man was sleeping through but then he got really sick and started waking in the middle of the night for a bottle the only way I could settle him was to give in. it carried on for a while so I rang that trisillian place for advice and the nurse basically yelled at me, firstly for giving him a dummy (mind you he only has it in his cot) and secondly for giving him a bottle during the night. She told me that i had to take it off him cold turkey and let him cry it out and that some kids will cry till they vomit or poo. So I tried it the first night he cried for 2 hours, I constantly tried settling him. Then the second night he cried for 1/2 hour and 3rd night slept through. He slept through for probably 2 months and starting waking again. Some nights I can get away with just giving him his dummy but probably once a week or once a fortnight he wants a bottle, and he's 18 months.

Don't be too hard on yourself or your baby.
I'm with all the other ladies. Do whatever feels right and don't feel pressured by what the nurse says.

[misskittyfantastico]

Amelia's 5 months and still wakes for a feed some nights:)

[nkenward]

Hi there,

My little boy is just on 5 months, he started sleeping through about the 3.5-4 month mark from about 7.30 to 6.30. But he did this on his own, it wasn't forced.

However, having said that, occassionally he will wake during the middle of the night. Knowing that he has slept through without being hungry, I have just gone in to resettle with his dummy - and he just goes straight back to sleep. I think on 2 occassions he has woken up 3 times within an hour - I have assumed this means he is hungry - I then will give him a bottle.

I think at 4 months you need to do whats right for you. If you want bubs to sleep through then follow the nurses advice, but if you are still happy getting up - then continue. Just an idea for encouraging sleeping through rather than stop altogether - may just start weaning him off a little at a time, that is start dropping the feed off by about 20ml at a time over a month - and see how you go.

[Tristans_Mum]

Thanks for everyone's help its great to have so much advice from what seems are very nice people.
I guess i will continue with night feeds but every week give him less milk and see how we go. Thanks again. :yelclap:

[Baby Girl]

Personally I think that at 4 months babies are still to small to be EXPECTED to sleep through. If it is not a problem for you then I would not cut out his night feed, if he is drinking the whole bottle he obviously needs it!!

I think the better solution to your problem would be to find another health nurse who knows what she is talking about - good luck!!

[ETsMum]

Are you waking the baby to feed him (or dreamfeed) or does he wake up himself? Once we got down to 6 bottles a day I only fed DS at night if he woke up.

[Sarie]

I bottle fed both my boys Nat dropped his night feed at 3 weeks and PJ was 7 weeks, but every baby is different.
We had an episode with PJ after he'd been sick waking at around 2 or 3am for a feed so we would get him up at around 9pm and give him a bottle and he would sleep striaght through till 7am.
I would only feed him at night if he wakes, but if he's still wanting it go for it.
Best of luck!
Sarie

[dee dee]

I think you need to do what feels right for you. I think if a bub that little is waking through the night, they need to be fed. I continued to wake dd for a dream feed until she was six months old. After that I decided to stop and see what happened. Most nights she slept through, but some nights she still woke for a feed.

All the chn's at my clinic gave me the irrates, hence Sienna hasn't been to the clinic since she was a little bub. I trust my instincts and would much rather go and chat to my gp if I had any concerns. Just go with what you feel. A happy bub= a happy mum.