Did I just open a whole new can of worms?

[Anonymous]

So as many of you know my ds is a horrible sleeper waking 6-7 times a night. I tried CIO when he was 6 months and the next day he woke up coughing and stuffy. Thought it was just coincidence. Last Thursday I tried it again and the same thing happened so now I think his reflux is being horribly agravated by the CIO so that is no longer and option. He has a white noise machine, goes to bed awake and falls asleep on his own for almost all napsand bedtime. Last night I put my pillowcase in with him so that he would have my scent. He eats a ton of food during the day and tons of formula also. he usually sleeps decently from 7:30 to 11:30 and then from 11:30 on is the issue. Last night I decided to just try feeding him when he woke up. He woke at 11:30 and the pacifier didn’t work so I gave him a bottle even though he was half asleep. He took 5 ounces in under 5 minutes. He burped and went right back into his crib and slept until 4:00 when he needed his paci. He then woke at 5:15 (normal time for him) took another 4 ounces (usually 6) and went back to sleep until 6:30. Do you think I just started a whole other issue by feeding him in the middle of the night? it really seemed to help…. He also didn’t get any Zantac last night either.

[Anonymous]

I know this is going to sound silly, but maybe he’s just waking up because he’s hungry? We were definitely still feeding Owen in the night sometimes up until the time he was a year, or maybe even after that. It wasn’t every night by any means, but if he’s taking that much and then sleeping it seems like maybe he just needs to eat. I guess if it happens every night I’d worry about it being a habit but if he wakes up and takes that much I wouldn’t feel bad about it at all.

[Anonymous]

Really, Robbie is 10 months on Friday and he still eats once a night. Some kids are just super hungry. Not all of it is habit or reflux, etc. My older brother ate in the middle of the night until he was 2 and a half. He was hungry!

[Anonymous]

Thanks ladies. I am jsut having a hard time believing he is hungry after all he eats during the day but it does seem that way. I guess we will see what he does tonight.

[Anonymous]

The thing that struck me from your post was “five ounces in less than five minutes.” He must be hungry!! And he slept so well after that.

I know you are probably looking forward to putting him down for the night at 7:30 or 8pm, and hopefully that will come soon. Have you tried keeping him up a little later so he gets his last bottle around 8 or 9pm? Maybe some cereal in his bottle at bedtime.

[Anonymous]

Ryan sounds just like Zach. We do end up feeding him in the
middle of the night but he always goes right back to sleep. For
the last couple of weeks he has been pushing that middle of the night
feeding a little later each night and last night he FINALLY slept until
6:00 which is about his normal morning wake up time. (And he’s
almost a year). I guess if it helps, it’s worth it. Zach
always used to be a horrible eater so I was glad when he wanted to eat
through the night. Now I just think he is hungry because he
doesn’t sit still at all!!! Good luck…..

[Anonymous]

I have thought about keeping him up later but he naturally tends to fall asleep around 7:15 so I don’t want to mess with that. I definitely could try the cereal in the bottle though.

I plan on giving him another bottle tonight and hopefully that will help. If that is the case for why he has been sleeping so badly I am going to feel bad that I have been starving my ds at night.

[Anonymous]

Don’t feel too bad. it is all trail and error with these little guys. You just have to keep stumbling along until you figure it out.

When Sebastian is fussy and people ask me what he needs I feel like an idoit because half the time I have no idea. As soon as it looks like he is getting a schedule he changes it on me. He could be hungry or tired or he may need Mylanta etc..

Sebastian still eats ounce or twice a night. It is a pain, but I figure as long as he eats I will just keep giving it to him. My sisters baby had a night time bottle for the first year. He was also a really active baby. think these busy guys just burn it all up.

[Anonymous]

I think it’s smart not to keep him up later – I’m a big fan of early
bedtimes for our LOs. Maybe not always convenient for us but I think
more natural for them. Marisa is just now getting to 7:45 – close to
8pm now at 9 months.

Could he need a stronger dose of Prevacid or more Zantac at night also?

[Anonymous]

Well, last night i gave him his bottle at 7 and he fell asleep by 7:15 after drinking his 6 ounces. Not a peep out of him until midnight. He was fussying around and I could actually hear his tummy rumble so I fed him 6 ounces (took it all very quickly) and then put him right back to bed. The whole process took 20 minutes. He then slept without another peep until 6 am so I think it is definitely hunger. I didn’t give him his Zantac again either because it doesn’t seem reflux related just hunger related. I will get up 30 minutes each night 1 time if it means he sleeps the rest of the time. It is so much better than him getting up 6-7 times. The other great thing was that he woke up so happy at 6am instead of his usual screaming.

[Anonymous]

That’s great! He will be a great sleeper (already is, really). Eventually he’ll eat enough during the day to go all night without eating. For now, like you said, once per night is not bad at all, and he’s sleeping a lot better than a lot of babies his age.

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