My baby eats more in the middle of the night...

sporty

Thu, Apr 23 2009, 9:33 pm

Sorry to keep asking questions here but my dd has gotten into a pattern where she very hungrily drinks 5 oz. bottles in the middle of the night feeds (usually 2 bottles) but during the day she takes only 1 or 2 oz at a feed and then coos and plays and won't go back to the bottle!!!!! I'm so confused abt it all. Does she have her days and nights mixed up food-wise or is there any way to reverse this so I can work on eliminating a night feed or should I just let her do her thing and eventually things will change?
Has this ever happened to anyone?

SomebodyElse

Thu, Apr 23 2009, 10:18 pm

Wow, never heard of that! How often are you feeding her during the day?

If you gradually make the night bottles smaller, she should get hungrier during the day. This is a good idea anyway, as you probably want her to sleep through the night eventually. Maybe she's sucking for comfort at night and would take a pacifier, if you're okay with that? Also, try feeding her in a dark quiet spot during the day so she doesn't get distracted.

sporty

Thu, Apr 23 2009, 10:38 pm

Haha, I know it's so weird!!!

She wont be satisfied if I just give her the paci bc when she wakes up, I have to set up the bottle so I always give the paci to her and dont turn on the light and 30 seconds later she's screaming for the food and when I give her the bottle she is visibly ready and waiting for it.

But I think you are on to something...maybe if I start decreasing the amount she will start taking more during the day?
It's worth a try...

I do try to feed her in a peaceful atmosphere during the day....it's always at home....not too many distractions. But today, for example, I fed her and she took one oz. and then started smiling and cooing at me and I couldn not get her to take any more bottle after that. I tried and tried and she wouldn't suck anymore.

rexie

Thu, Apr 23 2009, 11:13 pm

sporty wrote:

Oh and during the day I feed her when she asks for it so it can be anywhere from 2 hours to 5 hours between feeds.

5 hours is too long for a little baby to go without eating.
When I had this problem of my baby constantly having night cluster feedings, the pediatrician told me not to let him go more than 3 hours during the day without eating. I tried that and it helped. He started to eat more during the day. he still ate at night, but not as much.

sporty

Thu, Apr 23 2009, 11:23 pm

Is it ok if she goes 5 hours at night in between feeds though? Last night she went from 12AM-5AM....

Then again - what happens if she is napping for a looong time during the day, would you wake the baby to eat? Today she took 1 oz. at 8:30AM, 11ish and again 1 oz. at 1:15 and then I took her out and she slept the entire time we were out and only woke up when I got home around 6 and then she ate and that bottle she took 5 oz. (she was very hungry for it and it made sense bc she hadnt really eaten all day) and then had no interest in eating again (I tried) and went to sleep at 8ish and I assume she'll get up to eat around midnight again tonight. Should I be trying to get her to eat more?

rexie

Thu, Apr 23 2009, 11:32 pm

sporty wrote:

Is it ok if she goes 5 hours at night in between feeds though? Last night she went from 12AM-5AM....

At night, its okay. If she sleeps at night, let her! Try to sleep too.

sporty wrote:

Then again - what happens if she is napping for a looong time during the day, would you wake the baby to eat? Today she took 1 oz. at 8:30AM, 11ish and again 1 oz. at 1:15 and then I took her out and she slept the entire time we were out and only woke up when I got home around 6 and then she ate and that bottle she took 5 oz. (she was very hungry for it and it made sense bc she hadnt really eaten all day) and then had no interest in eating again (I tried) and went to sleep at 8ish and I assume she'll get up to eat around midnight again tonight. Should I be trying to get her to eat more?

During the day, when it was getting too long between feeds, I would pick him up from his nap and start to feed him. Sometimes he didn't really wake up, he would just stir and then when I was finished feeding him, I'd put him down again to finish his nap. Sometimes he did wake up when I fed him, but he didnt seem to mind because I was feeding him and he enjoys that.

In the scenario you describe above, 1:15 till 6 is a very long time for a baby to go without food during the day. I would give her a feeding during that time slot, whether or not she was sleeping. She can eat while she sleeps, you don't have to wait for her to wake up.

rexie

Fri, Apr 24 2009, 12:04 am

sporty wrote:

oh....ok....I will try that, making sure during the day she is fed every 3 hours even if she's sleeping...maybe that will make a difference for the night.

good luck

You don't have to worry about it being on the dot, like clockwork. Just in general, to not let her go 3 to 3.5 hours during the day without eating.
If a baby has a looong stretch during the day without food, they will cluster feed during the night. Thats what you want to try to avoid.
After I started doing this, my baby began sleeping during the night 7-8 hours!