Sleep Deprived

My 9mth old is still waking at night for feeds. I see there's quite a wealth of expertise on this forum and was wondering if anyone can help?


My daughter has no problem getting to sleep. She settles herself for two naps AM and PM and in the evening.


I have always woken her for a dream feed at around 10.30-11 in hopes that she would drop the 2-4am feed but without success. I am now offering diluted formula for this feed and she takes a lot less and goes back to sleep with a bit of a protest but not much.


I've tried not waking her for a dream feed and this only backfires on me! Normally a midnight feed followed by a very early 5am wake up call and no hope of getting back to bed!


Leaving her to cry it out is not an option as my 2yr old will wake up and then there's no hope of any peace!!


Has diluting the formula worked for you? Or have you got any other tips you could share?

Hi!!

I resorted to sleeping my 7month old in the bathroom in a portacot! I also have a two year old and he would wake crying if Elijah woke him in the night.

This way I could sleep train Eli to sleep through cause our 2 year old couldn't hear him when he was in the bathroom. Problem is this was back in New Zealand and it's not hot and humid there so no health risks.

He is really only now sleeping through properly at 8 1/2 months and I don't wake him for the dream feed anymore and he sleeps through from 7.30pm to 6am.

One thing I was always told is make sure they are getting 4 bottles and their 3 solids during the day then they don't need anything extra. Maybe try water.

Also I always think that my two year old will wake up when the baby cries but I'm surprised by how often he doesn't wake up and I can leave him crying for 10 - 15 mins. He got off schedule after our move here so we had to retrain him.

Good luck,

For many parents, a final obstacle to an uninterrupted night is that middle-of-the-night feeding. If your baby no longer needs to be fed at night simply stop giving her the bottle when she calls for it. Alternatively, you can use a sequence of progressive steps,which might include offering her diluted formula for a few nights and then gradually replacing it with water. She may not find it as appealing as milk, and, subsequently, won't cry for it.






Chances are, there's been some change, however subtle, in your child's routine. Everything from a vacation to an illness to an overnight guest can disrupt a young child's sleep schedule and cause her to awaken and need comforting.


At times like this, you may need to stay in your baby's room for a few nights, pat her down on awakening and gradually working your way back out.



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