I really need some help and advice with my wee man as I really don't know if I am doing the right things.Hes just gone 9 months and hes a reflux baby from early on.Hes breastfed mainly with one bottle of formula at night when his dad puts him to bed and one in the morning from his dad also.At night his routine is hes asleep at about 6.30 and wakes normally 11/11.30 when I feed him that hes awake again usually 2am and then about 5.30am and I feed him both times.Is this the right thing to be doing??Also throughout the day he feeds approxiamtely every 3 hours but hes also having some solids 3 times a day.My question is at this age should he be breastfeeding every 3 hours and with the solids should he be having them before of after hes breastfed and should I be cutting out one of them in exchange for the solids??I just feed like I don't know what I should be doing and keep getting different information.Do most babies just cut out nightfeeds themselves or do I need to do it for him?
My DD is 9 months old also and I decided to cut her night feed out a few weeks ago, I knew she wasn't hungry and was just sucking for comfort to get back to sleep. When she woke at night I would give her a drink of water and pat, rock, walk etc her back to sleep instead of feeding her. It was quicker if DH did it because she knew he doesn't have any milk!
Perhaps you could try not feeding him at 2am and just settle him with patting/rocking, then when he wakes again at 5.30am you could give him a feed. Does he feed much at these times or do you think it's comfort?
This is DD's feeding routine:
7am: BF and up
8am: Breakfast
11am: BF
12pm: Lunch
3pm:BF
5pm: Dinner
7pm: BF and bed
10pm: Dream BF
She eats cereal for breakfast, fruit and yoghurt for lunch and vegies for dinner.
In relation to daytime feeding, do you think he would stretch to four hourly feeds? Does he eat much at his meals times? HTH
Thanks so much for your reply.I have thought about trying to give him water at one of the feeds but just know hes going to scream the house down so have chickened out.He does eat a lot at the nigthtime feeds and does seem hungry.I kind of feel hes behind other 9 month olds with his solids etc because of the reflux.Its just recently we are trying some foods as before this everything except pear made him scream in pain at night.So far we have tried avocado,banana.toast and marmite,rusks,peach and they all seem ok.We are doing to try some vegatable soon but in the past these had the worst reaction.What quantity do you give for each meal thats another thing I am not certain about.He has about 8 to 12 teaspoons at each meal.At the moment he has pear some oats and peach for bfast either mashed banana avocado with pear for lunch and just pear for dinner.He does see a specialist for his reflux and he said to only give new foods in the morning.I think he might be able to go 4 hourly during the day I just haven't tried it.
Your little one does not sound behind at all, it sounds to me as if he is doing exactly as he should! If he is screaming when you give him some foods, it is definitely a sign he is not ready for it.
My DD never suffered reflux but she did not start eating any solids until 8 months and then it was only really playing with it. She didn't really get into eating until more like 10 months so in effect she was behind other babies in my mother's group. However, by 11-12 months she was off and racing! She eats really well, really enthusiastically and proper meals. I really think babies know what is best for them so if your DS is not into solids but is still taking milk (BF or formula) go with it. Remember the ABA say "food is for fun till they are one". Just think of solids as play for the time being.
FWIW I think it always sounds as if other babies are having much more than they really are. Sometimes when a mum says that their baby has 3-4 meals it means they sit down for 3-4 meals. It doesn't mean they eat the full meal put in front of them. Always keep that in mind when comparing .
BTW have you looked into Baby led Solids(BLS)?? It may work really well for you guys as your baby is obviously letting you know what he wants with eating?!? With BLS your DS will decide how much he wants to eat so there is no issue about how much you should give him. It is a really nice entry into the world of solids as it matches breastfeeding in having the child in control of what they ingest and it heavily involves the senses and sensory play - excellent for babies development. There is a great thread about it on this site I will try to link to it in a min.
The last thing I wanted to mention is about the night feeding. In my experience, I found that my DD at 9 months was still feeding through the night and seemed to be getting most of her breastfeeding done in the wee hours. The problem was that she was hungry then because I kept feeding her then! I was sure she should be able to sleep through but was nervous about cutting down as I didn't want to deprive her. I was soooo sleep deprived and really at my wits end. I got some advice that she is was absolutely developmentally ready to cut out night feeding and it could help her day feeds/eating to get into a more realistic routine. I was advised to simply drop all night feeds bar the 11ish rollover feed and simply offer water or other sleep settling techniques. Would you believe, it worked. There was a little bit of protestation and I was committed to working through that, we had a few long nights where I was up comforting DD when she woke up but within a week she was sleeping much better and feeding better during the day. Over the next few weeks we rolled back the 11pm feed by 15 min each night until it was gone completely. Now DD sleeps from 7-7.
Remember that this is only my experience, but I recommend that you consider that your DS is most likely developmentally ok to sleep without feeds at night and you can help him wean off that habit. I really think it can help get everything more settled as he moves from a baby sleep pattern into more of a toddler one. But only try it if you feel it is going to work for you. YOU have to feel comfortable about it as you have to help him work it out.
Last edited by jackrose; March 13th, 2009 at 10:45 AM.
Thanks for all your advice.Yes I think you are right about the solids and I will just go with the flow and not worry so much about it.I think sometimes we put ourselves under pressure as we are told by people that by 9 months he should be eating this etc.The one thing I wondered is that I am a bit nervous when he is eating and bites off a big bit( he has 2 teeth) that he will choke.Does he just know himself what to do or should I take the big piece out of his mouth?I don't want to give him a complex with a neurotic mother!I tried giving him some bread with marmite and he loved it but I was worried about him swallowing big pieces.
About the night feeding I think what you suggest is definantly worth a go.I don't know why I am so nervous about doing it.I think I have kind of got into some kind of routine with him but its not ideal by any means and most night I only get about 5 hours sleep.Its just been so hard with him and his relfux he used to scream for hours most nights so waking 2/3 times to me is really good!I have a habit at night of when he wakes just feeding him without even trying anything else as I know he will drop back to sleep and sometimes I am hardly awake myself!I think also I have just been trying to get by and get through the night as there is so much else going on with my husband going through chemo but I really would be amazed if he slept for more than 4/5 hours at a time.
But I think I will try what you suggest.Just wondering do you offer the water in a bottle?
Thanks again
9 mth old feeding all night help!
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