how can i get my baby to sleep, he wakes up at least 4 times a night for a bottle and hes 11 months. HELP?

Question

He is 11 months old and wakes up numerous times during the night, how can i stop this my helth visitor says i shouldnt give him a bottle but how else can i send him to sleep i have a 4 yr old aswell and he gets disturbed

Answer 1

I agree with alot of the postings, your baby is old enough to eat solid foods and you should never send a baby to bed with a bottle. the one thing that worked well with my son was I'd give him a snack and a bottle before bed time he was full and would sleep through out the night. Don't take the bottle away til his first birthday. I bought my son a bunch of sippy cups and wrapped them when he opened it at his party he felt like a big boy and even helped me throw out all his old bottles.

Answer 2

Why have a lot of people presumed he's on just a bottle? If he's weaned and on solids then it is habit and nothing else. I know a bottle sends him off again but a doctor in a leaflet summed it up perfectly when he said we create these conditions and convince our children they need bottles, dummies etc. for sleep and then get upset when they wake and cry for them. Your son is merely asking for what he has been allowed to expect. He's had a bottle lots of times a night for months now - surely then he thinks this is how we do things?
Your 4 yr old is just going to have to be disturbed a little bit for a while. And make sure little boy is not hungry before bed. Bananas are good.
As for KatBs suggestion - cereal etc. to a VERY young baby - yes my auntie did that years ago. Cousins now got awful IBS they think is linked to that. So perhaps not the cereal for very young babies then everybody?

Answer 3

I may not be the best person to answer this question since my 21-month-old still wakes 1-3 times per night and often needs me to nurse her back to sleep. We also have a 3-year-old, so I completely understand about not wanting to disturb the whole household.

I do have some ideas you can try, though, that have helped my daughter sleep a little better (and helped us to get more sleep, too). She used to be much worse!

First, make sure he's getting enough to eat during the day -- formula, breastmilk, solids. Also, make sure that he gets a good evening meal with some protein and a good evening bottle so that he's not thirsty before bed.

Does he fall asleep on his own, or does he always need the bottle to fall asleep? If he doesn't ever fall asleep on his own, you could try some gentle, no-cry methods to help him fall asleep. (I've heard that "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley is a good book.)

Have you tried bringing him into your bed when he wakes? My daughter always starts the night in her own bed, but she joins us the first time she wakes, and she'll often sleep better snuggled next to us. I moved her into her sister's bed at 18 months, and that has helped a little bit, too.

You could also try playing soft music in his room, giving him a pacifier (if he takes one), or having some white noise (like a fan) running in the background to help keep him asleep.

Does he wake at the same times every night? If so, you could try waiting by his bed when he's due to wake the first time, and as soon as he stirs, softly "sshhh" him or put a hand on him to settle him before he fully wakes up. Eventually, he may start to skip that particular waking.

One other idea... start decreasing the amount he gets in his bottles each night, and work on the first feeding first. So, if he takes 4 oz. at the first waking, try just giving him 3 for a few nights. Then, decrease it to 2 and then 1, and then just try a sip of water. I've heard that that sometimes works b/c eventually, they're not used to getting so much food at that time anymore.

Hope you can get some sleep soon!

Answer 4

Let me see if I understand.The child is eleven months and wants more bottle food than is given. Is that correct? Remember that even though the child is an infant,the ability to control you is quickly learned.Most people allow it to continue until the child is eleven years old and wonder why he cannot get along with any of his teachers.Your child will continue to play "demand & fetch" as long as is possible and the skills will continue to improve as the child ages.Please understand that I am no pidiatrician and have never seen your child so please check with a specialist before you take my advice totally.It worked with myself and my son as well.If you haven't started feeding the child solid foods then start. If the child needs a bottle for thirst then allow it to drink as much juice as is needed.Don't allow the child to use the bottle as a pacifier or as a security thing.This is , afterall , an infant so the flexability factor is yours to bring out...as you see fit. Don't allow the child enough of a glympse to break your code. What I mean is that if you bend the "eat with the family ..not in bed" rule, don't be consistent enough so that the child can abuse the priviledge.Comedian,Bill Cosby has some marvelous insights into the mind of a child .Their mind is like a sponge and if it is a sneaky and underhanded way to get something and thats what they learn...it'll stay through life. So...stop the bottles(gradually,but not too long)and have the baby eat when everyone else eats.You will be forced to hear a bit of crying at first,listen to what I am about to say "No baby in the history of the world , has ever died from crying".The child will not be scarred for life if you let him cry because he can't get his way any longer.Remember that one of you is supposed to be in control of the house.The child will learn as quickly that the game is over and that this crying stuff ain't working...nor is it fun.When this happens,you will know that this is to be a wonderful person in life. A more valuable lesson could not have been taught and then you can sleep.Good luck

Answer 5

If he is getting enough solid food through the day then the only reason he is waking is habit. You should do what your health visitor says or this will go on and on and will get harder as he gets older. Leave him to cry for a bit, go in, don't pick him up, tell him it's bedtime and go out again. You will have to keep repeating this until he eventually tires himself out.

I know it will be a pain for a while and everyone in the house will be disturbed for a bit but this really is the only way to break his habit. I did it with my son and now he knows when its bedtime he goes to sleep, very rarely he wakes through the night.

Good luck.

Answer 6

truthfully, that's going to be yet another couple months in the previous you may fairly get some close eye. Even then, it is going to easily be for variety of 5-7 hours in the previous infant wakes up for yet another feed. We started our daughter on a bath recurring besides: tub @ 7pm, final bottle and bedtime at 8pm. on the start she could fuss as quickly as we laid her down and we could %. her up in the previous we found out she could only fuss for a tiny bit and could nod off quickly. We only have been choosing her up too quickly to enable her nod off on her very own. She's now 5 months previous and eats approximately each 4-5 hours. besides the shown fact that, after her tub, she'll sleep for variety of 6-8 hours in the previous waking up for a bottle returned. yet, I never sleep that long via fact i'm paranoid and finally end up getting up a pair circumstances to study on her if i do no longer hear any sound coming from the baby visual show unit. enable's settle for it, once you grow to be a determine - sleep turns right into a factor of the previous. Who is acquainted with, all toddlers are distinctive - stable success.

Answer 7

start putting cereal (rice, oatmeal or mixed) in his bottle at his last feeding of the night before you put him down for the night. Maybe he's not quite full when he goes to bed. Try also keeping him awake and active in the last few evening hours between 6 - 9 pm. After playing for awhile then eating until hes full, he should be nighty night for a little while any way.

Answer 8

I know it's tough and it is going to cause everyone a few rough nights, but your health advisor gave the best advice possible. Start out skipping one bottle a night. You might have to let him cry it out for a night or two, but babies usually learn fast. Get him used to that and then get him down to two bottles a night. You might find that he weans himself off the others.

When my little girl was a baby whe'd wake up like that (though usually wanting to play, not eat) and the worst thing I did was respond to it. It just makes it last longer! I know it's tough with the four year old, but he'll survive. I know it makes for a rough day after, but he'll survive a couple of bad nights better than you'll handle years of them, lol! Good luck!!!

Answer 9

i know exactly how you feel, i have a 8 month old and a 19 month old, but rather than giving bottle of milk try water, pre boiled and cooled, also try giving a bottle of milk just before you go to bed and if baby wakes up in night give the water, as water isn't as nice as the milk, and not worth waking up for, it worked with all 4 of my kids, what ever you do, good luck

Answer 10

See, I gave my children cereal from a spoon at a VERY young age..and I made sure they had a bit more than normal~ BEFORE bed...and they all slept through the night within turning 3 months old~ I'm thinking that he's NOT getting enough to eat during the day..