Dropping 2am feed

[bb]

Our 10 week old little man feeds prefectly at 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm, 10pm and 2am. The only concern we have is that the formula he is having says that he should be having 180mls, 5 times a day. This means that he needs to drop a feed ! Naturally, we would like him to drop the 2am feed, and everyone we ask says that he will just do this when he is ready. Is this true or is there some miracle trick that someone (anyone ???) knows to help this happen ?

[lucyp]

Hi Belinda,

In regards to the amount bub is drinking - we were told not to really adhere to what the formula can said but to go by the the advice (Australian Nutrition Foundation) that at each feed a full-term baby under 6 months needs 150mls for every kg of body weight, divided by the number of feeds in 24 hours.

Having said that - babies are just like us - sometimes they will drink more at some feeds and less at others and visa versa. As long as bub is gaining weight - there should not be a problem :)

As far as I know with dropping feeds - we have not found a miracle trick- my son (5months old) was also doing the 6,10,2 thing and actually started dropping the 10 o'clock feed all on his own and waking up at 2ish . You can try using the dummy at 2am but then that creates habits all of it's own!! Unfortunately , I found that you just have to tend to let bubby lead you in this one. :)

[jamb]

My little one was put completely on formula at 3.5 months. Now a month later he is still eating way less than reccomended on the tin.

He can have anywhere between 80mls and 200mls a feed, it depends on him and I let him guide me. He is putting on weight and is happy. He lets me know when he is hungry and we go with that.

I think your little one will drop the feed when he is ready. A friend of mine offered water at 2am and her girl dropped that feed, so that might be an idea. I dont know about this but it worked for her.

[Chickadee]

I'd ignore the advice on the tin about size and number of feeds. It's just a suggestion based an average baby. The 150-170ml /kg per day is a better one. I started formula/EBM at around 2.5 months - Chloe would easily have 7 or 8 bottles some days, just wanting "snacks" and not a big feed. Or she'd go through a growth spurt and want more. Generally we were always 1 feed more per day than suggested on the formula tin.

[mumofethan]

I have to agree with the others that the side of the tin is a "guideline". It 'should' say somewhere on the tin that it is only a guideline and some babies will need more or less...

My son used to always have more than the tin said, but i knew that he would give up one of those feeds when he was ready.

I wouldnt be trying to remove one of those feeds at such an early age, I would say that bubs is actually hungry, i dont think it is a habit thing yet.

:D

Michelle

[bb]

This is amazing ! I have (seriously) never done this chat-room/forum thing before and I am so impressed with the help you have all offered - and so quickly ! :D
I also feel much better about doing my own (or our own) thing now, knowing that others are doing (or have done) that too ! It is also conforting to know that there are women out there with formula fed babies - since we stopped breast feeding, I have become just a little "touchy" about the number of people who ask me "do you have him on the breast ?" - like it is their business !! All of the women in my parent's group are breastfeeding, and when I pull out that formula bottle at 2pm each week I feel the eyes of condemnation upon me ! :mad:
All in all, I am soooooo glad that I took the crash course in using this website and THANK YOU all for responding !! Phew ! :)

[mumofethan]

i also got the glareing eyes when i stopped breastfeeding at 5 weeks...

my milk was very weak and actually bad for my son... but no one asked me why i stopped, just glared... i felt so bad...

now i dont care, we do the best for our kids, what ever that may be!

:D

Michelle

[jess09]

my best answer to this is before u go to bed offer a bttle of formULA and wake the baby up before u go to bed.using purr or nuk teAts try on the bttle trust me it works and your droppin the 2am feed.

[dee dee]

Hey Belinda,
when I stopped breastfeeding my daughter, I too was very touchy about the whole bottle feeding thing. I couldn't believe how many people would ask if I was breastfeeding. I felt that it was really rude of them to ask, and absolutely none of their business. I just wish that I had the guts to tell them that!! Switching to formula was the best option for my dd and myself and no one should have the right to judge someone for their very personal choices.

[bb]

Ok ... now let's try to work this one out ... and help !!

Hamish has now started to sleep from when he goes to sleep (at about 7pm, after the 6pm feed), and sleeps through until about midnight (when either hubbie or I give him a "roll-over" feed). Then he sleeps from midnight until about 4am (his usual 4 hour sleep, but just at the wrong time). Stranger still, he wakes at 6am, ready for his normal feed (or so I would think) only, he is not interested at all in drinking - he only drank 60ml today ... didn't really seem worth it.

Is this what happens ? Will that 4am feed get later and later, until eventually it merges with the 6am feed ?

I would love to have been handed my little man with a manual - but this website is working pretty well for me at the moment !! I have to say, that the advice and words of support from people have helped me get over that "OH MY GOD, AM I DOING THE RIGHT THING ?????" panic that I am sure all parents are familiar with. A little confidence makes a huge difference !

B :)

[jamb]

I have found that my bub goes through patterns, he was sleeping from 6pm through till 4.30am, feeding then sleeping till 6.30am- this lasted a couple of months.

3 weeks ago he started waking at 11pm but was happy to be resettled with dummy then feed at 2am, then awake 6.30am.

He has since started sleeping through till 2am but is definitely wanting a feed. He will then sleep till 6.30am.

I have given up with trying to get a routine or understanding why he wakes, I have worked out a hunger wake up as opposed to a wet nappy, lonely, cold etc. I figure he knows when he is hungry and wants to eat and I just go with it- maybe just growth spurt related??

From what I've read here some babies hold onto night feeds longer than others- its just pot luck :p

[bb]

Thanks for that advice !

I must say that this parenting caper is a steeper learning curve than I have ever been on ! I am just starting to detect that subtle difference between Hamish's cries, but my instinct (at this point) is to feed him when he cries through the night. Last night he fed at 6:00pm, then midnight (for a roll-over feed), then at 4:30am, and then I had to wake him at 7:40am ... and he is back in his cot now (8:50am), fast asleep ! This is a real change, as for the first 10 weeks of his life (pretty much) he has worked perfectly on the 6am/pm-10am/pm-2am/pm timetable !

Do you think that the change in his sleep pattern is due to the fact that we have given him his roll-over feed later (ie, we usually do it at about 10pm, but we have been waiting until midnight) ? Or, is Hamish changing his pattern by himself ? I am just seeking another opinion really, as ... well ... it makes me feel better to know what other people think !

B

[jamb]

Whats a roll over feed? Is that waking him for a feed?

[TLCC]

Hi Belinda,

Yes, thats exactly what happened with my DD and her early morning feeds, She would wake at 3am ish for a feed and eventually it went from a 30 minute feed to a 5 or 10 minute feed then back to sleep straight away.

Eventually one night she just slept straight thru!!! It was a great night for all of us but I must admit we raced into her room in the morning to make sure she was okay. She started sleeping thru at about 10 weeks or so which was fantastic, but still for a couple of weeks would wake up every other night or so till she was fully into the new routine.

Good luck, sounds like your doing everything right.

Cheers,

Carol

Mum to Tayla 17/9/04 :p

[bb]

"Mummajack"

I learned about a roll-over feed from my sister, who has a two and a half year old. Her little boy, Harrison, is the BEST sleeper I have ever known ! My sister went to sleep school with her little man, and learned about the roll-over sleep there. I am sure that the "idea" has many different names.

Basically, it is one of those feeds when you sneak into the room, have no communiation, and feed the baby, while he is pretty much asleep. Hamish does not even stir now - it is just a matter of going in, bottle in ... suck suck suck ... bottle out, leave ... done. Easiest feed of the day !

Have a good day !

B