My 8 month old son has been eating solids for the last 2 1/2 months and is being breast fed. He isn't sleeping through the night and still wakes every 2-3 hours for a top up feed. The clinic nurse suggested I try and give him a bottle of formula at night to help him go to sleep and sleep a little longer. I tried and he won't take the bottle. I tried a sipper cup and he wouldn't take that either. He is currently eating 2 jars of baby food a day and seems to want more. Should I give him a meal at lunch also? Do you think it may help him sleep a little longer at night having 3 solids meals a day?
2007-12-19 14:30:28 · 10 answers · asked by Onyx ♠ 5 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
Thanks to all who have responded already. I am a big fan of routines myself and have tried so hard to keep a routine going for my little one but I have 3 other children I have to get to school mornings and to pick up. Also, I o know that sleepless nights are all a part of parenting... I have done it before. But my other children started on formula at 5 and 2 months respectively and they slept very soundly and for longer periods from much earlier on. My first slept through from 8 weeks old. I was looking for ideas as to why this child may have decided to do otherwise.
2007-12-20 09:04:49 · update #1
Yes... babies that age should have 3 or 4 solid meals a day... I would check the Nestle baby website... they have a very good solid feeding schedule for babies.
I feed my 6 month old fruit and cereal for breakfast.... meat and veggies for lunch... meat, veggies and fruit for supper, and then cereal before bed... and he gets a bottle between each meal. He sleeps through the night, and wakes up early in the morning for a bottle.
Listen to your baby... they are too young to over eat, if he wants more, feed him until he his full.
Also, maybe your guy is just used to getting up at night... have you tried getting him back to sleep without feeding him. That's what we did, and slowly he got used to not getting up to eat, and eventually slept through the night.
2007-12-19 14:38:18 · answer #1 · answered by Mommy_2_b 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think at 8 months you could at least add another meal. My 5 month old eats a big "solid" lunch. At 6 months we are going to start doing "solid" dinner. Then maybe 7 month breakfast. With milk in between of coarse!! So by 8 month my hope is to have 3 meals with snacks.
Start by giving him his solids close to the end of the day to SEE if it helps with his sleeping. Also, if he is still opening his mouth good at the end of 2 jars hes still hungry. Offer him a little more. He will quit opening if hes full,, I PROMISE!!! As for it helping him sleep, I dont believe that food helps too much. I think that comes with maturity. My little guy and some others slept through at a real early age while others dont until a year. I do know that night feeds can also become habit for them. However, the only way to break that is not go to them. Which I personally could NEVER do.
Good luck to you both!!!
2007-12-19 14:43:21 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Meals For 8 Month Old
2016-10-13 08:28:20 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My son eats three meals a day, and breastfeeds. He also has rice cereal before bed. He is 8 months old, like yours. He does not sleep through the night. How much your child eats does not always contribute to the time they sleep. My boyfriend didn't sleep through the night until he was 5 and his mother tried everything, where as I slept through the night as soon as I got home. Keep trying, and introduce lunch if you want to. Keeping to a routine every day will help, if nothing else. Feed him the same time every day, the same number of meals every day and give him quiet time at the same time every night. A proper routine can help, but it isn't guaranteed. Sleepless nights are part of parenting I'm afraid.
2007-12-19 15:35:58 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
That clinic nurse is a fool that needs a re-education on how breastmilk works. It's fools like her that give medical professionals a bad name.
My 8 month old is also breastfed. He eats maybe 2 tablespoons of solid food a day. He usually sleeps through the night and has been for months.
Solid foods DO NOT influence when and if a child sleeps through the night.
A child sleeps through when they are neurologically and physiologically ready to sleep through. Even now, there are some nights where he wakes up to have a feed. He could be teething, going through a growth spurt, or have any number of other things that deserve an extra session.
At 12 months of age, a baby's diet should still be 75% breastmilk, 25% solids. Your milk contains everything he needs, in the correct proportion, for optimal development.
Are you putting him down drowsy but awake? Mine nurses to sleep, but I wake him enough so that he knows his surroundings have changed when I put him down. If he cries for more than a few minutes, I'll pick him up and start over. If I don't put him down so that he sees his surroundings have changed, he'll wake up crying in the middle of the night. I think the No Cry Sleep Solution is one book that explains this process.
2007-12-19 14:51:02 · answer #5 · answered by maegs33 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
My doctor told me that usually around the 9 month mark they could start having 3 meals a day. However, if he seems to want more, then give him more. In 4 short months, he will be on almost all solids anyway. The waking up at night might not be so much hunger, but comfort. Also, have you tried maybe giving him the bottle of formula when he wakes up in the middle of the night? Either he will drink it, and fill his belly up longer, or he'll realize that that's all he's going to get at night, and stop waking up.
2007-12-19 14:46:46 · answer #6 · answered by linedancer563 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
at 8 months, your son is probably waking up in the middle of the night out of habit, not bc he's hungry.
at 8 months, my breastfed child was having a solid lunch and dinner. around 9 months he also had a solid breakfast. if he seems hungry after feeding, try giving him a little more food. babies know when to stop eating. (not like me, i'm an emotional eater :)
just follow his cues. he'll let you know when he wants more food and when he's ready to sleep thru the night.
good luck!
2007-12-19 15:14:18 · answer #7 · answered by sanibrasil0428 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would give some cereal, with the veggies at night. I use the BeechNut Good Night multigrain cereal mixed with a little fruit for taste, and he also gets a jar of veggies. When its time for sleep I give him a little milk usually just about 2 oz. He sleeps real good.
My son gets two meal, sometimes three. With each he eats cereal and veggies. Meat seems to give him gas.
2007-12-19 14:37:10 · answer #8 · answered by Beth 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Between 6 months and a year, solids are mostly just for fun and practice. He should still be getting the majority of his nutrition from breast milk. Giving him formula or more solids won't help him sleep longer at night - he'll do that when he is developmentally ready to do so.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/index.html
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/sleep.html
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070200.asp
2007-12-19 14:46:06 · answer #9 · answered by daa 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My son has 3 breakfast - babies cereal, lunch - pureed fruit/dessert, pureed dinner vegies/meat also throughout the day he has small amounts of water a juice bottle with lunch and likes to suck on milkarrowtt biscuits, cheese sticks
2007-12-19 22:26:09 · answer #10 · answered by muz200419 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋