OK- 8.5 month old - still waking 1-2 times a night?

Question

I bring in bottle he grabs for it and goes right back to sleep. and drinks the whole thing. Is he hungry? Yes- but I probably trained him to be hungry at night. What should I do to stop this? I feel bad crying it out when he is actually hungry.

Answer 1

let him cry. he should be sleeping all night at this age. like you said, you've gotten him on a pattern of waking and drinking a bottle. i know it's hard, but you have to let him cry. eventually, he'll get out of this mode.

Answer 2

yea I would try giving him water in a bottle right when you're laying him down for bed, just put it in the crib with him, then maybe if he does wake up instead of waking you up it will already be there

Answer 3

try putting a teaspoon of rice cereal into his last bottle of night. this will fill him up a little more before goes to sleep. it works for me so i hope it helps you.

Answer 4

ooooh I really feel for you, that's gotta be tough because you want to do the right thing as a parent!!! I would suggest feeding him a little more before bed and maybe if you have started solids giving him a solid shortly before bedtime. Some babies just wake up a lot regardless, I hope you have support and help!!

Answer 5

my son does this sometimes to he is 9.5 months and sometimes its almost like something scared him and all he wants is to cuddle for a minute and then he'll go back to sleep other times he is hungry.

try just cuddling or try a soother.  but if he is still hungry then there is nothing to do but feed him

Answer 6

No he probably isnt hungry. If you are feeding him plenty of food during the day - he shouldn't be needing that bottle for hunger, it just is a soothing sort of thing.

I'm guilty of this! oh yes - I did this too with my daughter.. and she cried so hard sometimes she'd throw up when i had to break her of it. It killed me. No one ever told me don't put your baby to sleep with a bottle... *sigh*

BUT the thing is you should never use a bottle to get them to sleep

1, it stops that whole self soothing thing right in its tracks. He will always need that bottle as long as it is offered to him.

2, if your child doesnt swallow all the milk/formula it could rott his teeth and cause cavities in his teeth.

3, it's probably not fun to get up that often and make a bottle... etc. ( i know it wasnt fun for me... my sleep was constantly interupted by her screaming "mooooore"...)

The best way to break away is to just not offter a bottle. Just put him down to bed regularly.. and do not speak of the B-O-T-T-L-E.. :)

If your child is verbal - make sure you tell him that he is becoming a big boy and big boys dont need bottles to go to sleep. Give him a ton of praise for being a good boy and not drinking a bottle at night etc...

don't waiver - he will cry and cry (bless his little heart) but it will benefit everyone. Including your pocketbook if its formula... i bet you change alot of diapers at night too? *wink*

hey good luck - it might seem for a while that it'll never work, but it will.

Answer 7

how close to bedtime do you feed him??  i would feed him at like 8pm and give him something big to eat.  DON'T EVER PUT CEREAL IN A BOTTLE!!  THEY CAN CHOKE!!  if he wakes up in the middle of the night i would try water and see if that works.  my oldest was like that and it was a "security issue"  

Answer 8

put cereal n the bottle it'll full him for a  couple of hours

Answer 9

I never changed my child's eating habits to have them go back to sleep.  I just let them cry starting at 5 1/2 mos.  They have to learn as some point to be able to sleep through the night and as long as your still getting up to feed him, he'll continue to get up.  I have four children and one is only 8 weeks old and believe me I know how it feels to get up.  He gets up 3 - 4 times a night but at 5 1/2 mos I'll do the same w/him.

Answer 10

My 8.5 month old son did the same thing too. But what i usually do is that feed the same amount of food and do his routine everyday. Last thing before he go to bed is give a full 8oz of milk to feel full. If that is not the problem and still waking up,it might the tired sleeping in one position trying to find a confortable way.

Answer 11

Give him a big bottle just before bed, and a good breakfast in the morning. make sure he has a pacifier and let him cry it out. Sucks but it'll work. GL!

Answer 12

hes still young i have a roommate and her 10month old still wakes up in the middle of the night for a bottle. its more of a comfort thing. as long as he has a good dinner and bottle befor bed he really isnt hungry thats just what he uses to fall asleep.  

Answer 13

Give him water instead.  It sounds like he just wants the bottle to soothe himself.