Why does she want so much milk??

DD is 2yo next month and for about a month now she has been having unsettled nights where she is waking and asking for milk. Normally she slepts through the night but some nights she is waking twice or at the very least stirring.

Sometimes I will hear her cry so I go in to her only to find she is asleep still. Generally this type of behaviour was when she has been teething so I assumed her 2yo molar's were playing up but she has never asked for this much milk before.

She is still on 3 milk bottles a day. She has a full 260ml first thing in the morning which she is now asking me for as soon as she gets up (she tells me "milkies"). Then she has one mid afternoon around 2pm and then one before bed. But the last month she has been having a 4th bottle in the middle of the night. I can count the number of nights she has slept through over 2 hands at the moment.

Tonight she had a full 260ml bottle then another half a bottle. About 15 mins after going to bed she was calling out and when I went in she asked for milkies. She just woke again after about 1.5 hours and asked me again. I resorted to giving her a bottle of warm water and she didn't complain.

Can anyone tell me what on earth is going on??

She has also had some nappy issues and issues with her eczema which seem to have flarred up also so not sure if that is related.

I was also not sure if the fact we moved in with my parents in early June had anything to do with it but she settled ok after the first 2 weeks and in all other ways she is fine.

Hun, that is a lot of milk at that age. The recommended maximum is 3 cups of milk a day (about 200ml to a cup), so it's a bit over that, and often babies at that age are having less than the maximum. How she is with eating solids? This might sound weird, but sometimes kids with an insensitivity to cows' milk protein actually crave milk. Ezcema can be a sign of sensitivity to cows' milk protein. A dieitician specialising in food allergies and intolerance could help you with an elimination diet to see if that's what's going on.

Can you try getting her to cut down by making smaller bottles? Or maybe if she wakes just offer the warm water in the bottle as you said she took that. it might just be a comfort thing that she is after. :hug:

Not sure about the excema. Mantaray has given some good advice.

I just wanted to let you know that DD1 is exactly the same. She has 200ml at breakfast, lunch and before bed, and then she wakes up around 3-4am asking for another one. We just give it to her because the alternative is her whinging and crying for 4 hours before she falls asleep - and we've had enough of that behaviour.

So nice to read this thread. My 17mth old DD is basically living on milk at the moment - she'll have a cup first thing, another mid morning, one in the afternoon, then one or part of one with dinner and one before bed.

If she wakes before 6am we usually do a nappy change and another milk - she goes back to sleep straight away. Like Arimeh, the alternative is upwards of an hour of screaming, getting out of bed, wanting to play and general misbehaviour, and we are sick of that behaviour.

Our problem is I don't think she is eating enough real food. Girl cannot live on milk alone - can she??

OP- When DD was not eating very much, I actually bought a tin of formula just to make sure she was getting some extra nutrients as I was concerned that living on milk and a few arrowroot bickies at 15mths was just not good. Since then I have stuck with doing two formula feed a day and one cows milk. She could seriously take one or the other and is not fussed. Not saying you have to give formula but just what eased my mind a little.

Thanks BB - something to think about anyway. I'm actually considering going to a "fussy eaters" course thing as I'm so worried about it!

Sorry to thread hijack...

It might be an idea to get her ears checked - my boss's son was going through heaps of bottles at night and it ended up he had an ear infection and drinking the bottles releived the pain. Just a thought.

Thanks for the replies ladies..

I'm not too worried about her food wise as she does eat during the day (3 meals plus snacks) so i'm not worried about her food intake or nutrients but more so just cannot work out why she is waking so often during the night and wanting milk. I've heard that the sucking releases a hormone or something that relieves pain and with that mixed with her nappy rash, yucky poo and eczema situation it is all pointing to teeth but just wanting some reassurance I guess. Tonight she was super tired after a big day and a bit whingy and had a slightly runny nose so I gave her some neurofen and so far not a peep from her. I'll see how she goes tonight but I'd say if i don't see any improvement that I might just take her for a quick check with the dr.

It was comforting to read that others also still give a milk during the night as opposed to the argument at 3am. I too have found that if i try to just make her go back to sleep, especially if she is specifically asking me for milk then she can have me up for a few hours versus just give her the milk, she drinks it, hands me the bottle back, rolls over and goes back to sleep till her normal 8am wake up, sometimes even 8.30am if she had a bottle closer to sunrise times.

I've tried to get rid of the mid afternoon milk but often she gets really irritable and sooky by about 4pm and i've found if i give her a small bottle, she lays and watches one of her shows , relaxes for half an hour and gets up all re-energised and her little happy self again. I've also tried going to a sippy cup for her milk and she won't have a bar of it so i'm not sure how i'll make that switch.

i just wanted to say i couldntve written that post any better!My DD is 18 months and she still loves her milk too,i feel guilty giving it to her but she always has 200ml before bed and i always make one for in the night which is sometimes 4am rarely earlier sometimes bit after quite often she to will sleep threw but the only thing she wants if she wakes and will setlle her is her bottle of milk,its easier for us to just give her it,i wondered if it a comfort thing but she drinks it then throws it out the cot so shedrinks all of it too,she also is having one in the day when she has a day sleep and if we having a bad day she will do the same lay with a bottle and relax in front of the tv etc.I find too she wants more when shes getting a tooth so maybe it is a comfort thing to or the sucking thing,my DD is still eating well too so i try not to worry and think if there happy?Like theres so many dos and donts but really,alot of older ones say for goodness ake who cares?she wants a bottle give her one,if i could still breast feed i would be and letting her have as much as she wants so whats the difference?sorry that turned into my own rant!My DD also has eczema,and it flares up too with teething.