interrupted sleep

[mamaqueen]

HI there I'm new to mumsnet and using this as a last resort. My son is 9 months and only has 2 20mins naps a day and has always been a good sleeper since 3 months. But now like clockwork he wakes at 3am for a bottle - not that he drinks all of it! He eats 3 meals a day and have tried porridge and rice pudding to fill him up. Can anyone help me????

[mrspoppins]

Just a little thought...perhaps the waking at 3am is a new routine that he has got himself into and because you are feeding him a bottle, he is stuck in it?

If he doesn't want it all then it may not be hunger and so why not try simply settling him without feeding and try to keep the stimulation to the bare minimum, ie no light on, very little talking to him etc... so as not to reward this nightime waking.

Welcome to Mumsnet by the way....don't think of us as a last resort. There's loads of good stuff on here...rubbish too...that's the great thing...diversity.dd2 never slept either in the daytime...little devil!!

xxKaren

[mamaqueen]

Thank you MrsPoppins for the advice. I will be starting to comfort him at the weekend when daddy is there to help me with any sleep deprivation. Will keep you informed and thanks again.

[mamaqueen]

MrsPoppins I need you help again.My son is now draining his bottle at bedtime and still waking up during the night for more and when he gets the milk I can hear it hitting his tummy as if its empty. I don't want to deny him food if he is genuinely hungry. Any suggestions?

[mrspoppins]

Hi there...all babies are so different, you really have to pick and choose what you do food and bottle wise. Perhaps give him his last meal of the day later...protein has been shown to stave off hunger longer than carbohydrates so scrambled egg, sausage , fish etc... and then his evening bottle.

I'd seriously be inclined to increase his daily calorific intake slightly and feed him later. What you don't want to be doing with a baby who has previously slept all night is to start night time feeding again if you can help it!!

Did the previous advice help at all or has it continued?
xxK