Need Help Getting 4 Month Old to Stop Eating in Middle of Night

My suggestion would be feed her. If she is going to bed earlier, around 8pm, then is still going the same amount of time through to the next feed at 1am, it's just that the evening feed and sleep is earlier. I would feed her at 1am (if the last feed is around 8pm) and then try and sooth her other ways if she wakes anytime before 6am.

Please stop w/ the rice cereal, the water in a bottle, etc., and follow the CURRENT guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics which clearly states: breastmilk or formula ONLY for the entire first 6 months. The rice cereal is LESS nutritionally complete, and studies show that this is NOT something that helps them sleep through the night.

Also, what is it with our culture that expects tiny, 4 month old babies to "sleep through the night" without any important needs being met like hunger (breast or bottle) or elimination (pee/poop) or social needs (comfort, nearness to adults)?

Please just follow YOUR instincts with respect to your baby - pediatricians are excellent for diagnosing ear infections and diseases, but often their "advice" on sleep and feeding is out of date and backwards.

S., just feed your baby when hungry, hold her when she is upset and needs your closeness, reassurance, and love, and enjoy every moment of these times that pass FAR too quickly. Trust me, you'll turn around and she'll be 2 yrs old, then 8 yrs old, and you'd give anything to be able to go back for just a moment to cuddle her baby body up in your arms in the middle of the night to feed her a sleepy snack and enjoy those tiny hugs!!!

I love my ped, but they seem to use the "one size fits all" for all babies. It seems like they make recommendations & really don't take into account the patient. Some babies just aren't ready to give up a night feeding. Just because your little one went for awhile without, doesn't mean that she won't need one once in awhile. If you think/want to feed her, do it. It's true that she may be going thru a growth spurt. It does seem that with all kids, just when you think you have them figured out, they change the rules. I think it's their way of keeping us on our toes.

4 months is still very normal for a baby to night wake for feedings. Cereal will not fill her belly more..if she's hungry offer her bottle. Babies NEED food to double their brain by 2 years...this requires normal frequent feedings, and for the vast majority of babies that is through the night. Sure there are those that sleep longer, but she's hungry and needs to eat. Hang in there, sleep will return before you know it! :)

S.,

Your baby is only 4 months old. Her body knows what it needs. If you ignore her needs just to suit your time schedule, then she will have a less attached relationship. She is not capable of understanding that she should wait until later to eat. That will come much later.

Sleep patterns change frequently during the first couple of years. It is just part of parenthood. Be patient.

Laura

Stop feeding her cereal and just give her a bottle. She's hungry. Babies do not cry to manipulate, they cry to communicate a NEED. If she is crying and nothing helps but feeding her, feed her!

I agree with Heather. Babies at this age don't cry to manipulate. They cry for a reason. She may be going through a growth spurt and she needs the extra bottle at night. Just give it to her. It will make every ones night lots more peaceful. Remember, YOU are the one that is home with your child at 1 am when the wake up. It's fine for the doctor to recommend something, but actually implementing it is a different story. My dd's dr tried to get us to stop giving her bottles in the middle of the night. I told him "fine, I'll call you and you can come over and make her stop screaming." He didnt' like that too well! And BTW, he's no longer our pediatrician. YOUR the Mom, do what you think is best, NOT what a dr that sees your child once every 3 months thiks is best.

Your pediatrician is wrong. The AAP says only formula for 6 months (no water, no cereal). Many babies are up every 3 hours to eat around the clock for 6 months and longer. Feed your hungry daughter and look forward to the future when you will get more rest:)

For the record, cereal doesn't "saticefy" babies longer, it is almost undigestible until between 6 and 9 months, so they sleep longer because it just sits in their stomachs and doesn't get absorbed into their bodies. Then, they don't wake up because they don't feel hungry but it DOES NOT mean they don't need the nutrition of another feeding.

Remember, a baby is only a baby for so long. Please respond to your LO's needs. You will have 50 years to sleep when they get past this stage. Give up a little sleep now so they can be comforted and nurished as needed.

I would try the ceral at the last evening feeding instead of at 6 pm. The one right before you put her down for the night. What is the feeding schedule now? If you give her a bottle right before you put her down for the night with cereal then it should help, I would think. I know I always gave the babies cereal with the last bottle and they slept through the night better.
P. R

My advice is to FEED HER. I'm quite puzzled why you would want to not give her her night feeding?

Honestly I wouldn't listen to your pediatrician. If your daughter is hungry, feed her. My son is 6 months old and still gets up half the time for a night feeding. He seems to just be hungry. He doesn't want to play, he doesn't want attention, he wants to eat. As soon as he's fed he goes right back to sleep. Why deny him what I know he wants. It's certainly not hurting anything. Perhaps it's comfort food, but so be it, right? You do what you think is best. I give my son a bottle with a little bit of cereal in it at 8:45 and he goes to bed at 9. It works for him, find out what works for you and your daughter.
Good luck!!

I agree you should just feed her when she wakes up...she could just be going through a growth spurt. My son didn't start sleeping "through the night" until he was almost 8 months old!

S.
This is a VERY normal cycle for babies.. she will sleep through the night whense is ready again but until then feed her the bottle grin and bare it as babies hit growth spurts they are going to eat more and yes wake up at night to get what they need to grow.i have always been told however that water is not good for babies that young..If this helps any my LO is 6months old she used to sleep from 9p-6a and did this for a long time hit a growth spurt and got ear infection and has not slept like that sense on a regular basis. she wakes in the middle of the night stil to eat.Get used to it momma when it comes to babies they set there own schedul for the most part... HTH L.

If she's crying because she's hungry; feed her. Some babies like to eat more often, she may just need a snack at night to hold her over. You said yourself, 20 minutes and a bottle, then back to bed, or hours to get her back to sleep. At 1:00 AM, that's a no brainer! Your ped. isn't the one losing sleep, you are.

Hi,S., you may want to skip the 6 pm cereal feeding and try a 10pm feeding . It sounds like she has used up the earlier food and is ready for more. Tweek it till she can sleep through the night. Good luck!! D

ok I have just had this problem with my twins and they are now 9 and a half months old in steat of rice cereal I gave them oatmeal it made them fuller longer and a bottle about 7:30 pm and they are in bed by 8:15 or 8:30pm and it is great
How many naps does she take during the day my twins were taking 3 and their third one was about 6 or 7 sometimes and that helped getting them to stay up longer at night they went to bed at 9pm for a long time and now 8:15 or 8:30
try the oatmeal I promise it will work my twins sleep from 8:30 at night until about 8 in the morning

Don't know her nap schedule, but our daughter seemed sleepy after supper. I let her nap for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours after supper if she wanted to. I then got her up and played with her or she would watch us as we did things that evening. I then gave her a bottle with about 2 teaspoons of rice cereal in it at about 11:00 when we were getting ready for bed. It worked for us. She slept from about 11:00 or so until 6:00 or so when we got up. Just an idea.

Hi,

What helped us with our twins when they were little was to add cereal to their last night time bottle. If your baby goes to bed at 8pm....I would change the diaper and feed your baby the bottle. We had to split the nipple (make an x or a + sign by cutting with the scissors. Once the tummy was full with the cereal...it held them through the night. Hope this may help.

Cheers,

Susie

I read this trick once and it has helped me quite a few times. Feed her when she wakes up, but every night cut the amount back by 1 ounce (if you are nursing cut back by 2 minutes). Within about a week, their bodies get used to not getting the food in the middle of the night so they are able to sleep better. Right now her tummy may feel hungry - this will help ease her out of that.

I had the same problem with my daughter when she was about that age. All I did was push back her cereal time. You said that she is wnating to go to sleep at 8pm after giving her the cereal at 6pm. Maybe push it a little to like 7 or 7:30pm, then she'll want to go to bed around 9 or 9:30 and it could keep her sleeping longer. Have you stared feeding her any veggies or fruit? It could also be time for her 1st foods. I realized with my girls that if they had a fuller belly throughout the day, they would sleep better at night. Introducing these other foods would also help in being able to push the cereal to a later time also. GOOD LUCK!!!

Sounds like a growth spurt!
Go ahead and feed her and she'll eventually even out again (I think!).

S.
Feed her... It is ok. You said it only takes 20 minutes if you feed her. Ok do it. She will out grow this..Or try giving her cereal a little later in stead of 6:00pm do it at 7:30 pm. It will help her sleep longer.I used to mix the cereal in a cereal bottle and feed my kids. The later I gave it to them the longer they slept. Enjoy the time with her, they grow way to fast. My daughter is now in her 30's and I still remember the nites I sat in the rocker feeding her. I will always cherish those times. Slow down and enjoy all the time you can.Things will fall in place. She just may need to be held or kissed. Who knows! Hope this helps.
B. , Indiana

Sounds like you are a wonderful mom!!! My oldest did the same thing at about 3.5 months...i did a feeding in the middle of the night and then she slept until 7ish...this became our routine for a few months...we were both awake for about 15 minutes and then back to sleep.

Feed her more cereal before bedtime. That should keep her tummy full longer. Trust me, this is not over feeding. She is probably waking because she IS hungry but should get cereal at this point rather than more formula.

Good luck,

C.

She may just be going through a growth spurt. If she is when the spurt is over she will go back to sleeping through the night. Give her some cereal a little closer to bed time and it may help her. You could try water at night or even a little bit of juice. Right now it is something that unfortunately you have to deal with but it shouldn't take too long for her to get back into the routine.
D.

I am 31 and have been married for almost 12 yrs. My husband and I have 3 boys ages 10,7 and 4.

I didn't let my baby cry it out until she was 6months. Our pedi told us the same thing because she was eating every 4 hours. At 4 months I felt she still needed to eat every 4 hours. She would finish every bottle. But when I did let her cry it out, She cried for about 40 minutes. It was terrible. Then she went to sleep, the next night she cried for about 10 and ever since she sleeps through the night and goes to sleep without a problem. She never cries when we put her in her crib. She only wakes when she is sick or something is wrong. Best of luck. The rice cereal never helped my baby want less either. I think they are used to you feeding them. I wasn't ready until she was 6 months though.

M.

don't rush infancy...it goes soooo fast. Babies are all different and go thru phases. Night-time feedings are a norm for this age and well past, sometimes.

Just don't ever count on sleep when you have young children, and be grateful when you get a good night. God will pull you thru, no matter what.

God Bless, M.

With my 4 year old, I was getting up with him 2 and 3 times a night until he was about 7 months old. I finally had to turn the monitor down and let him get himself through it. I talked to our very well respected peds Dr and he said that kids only think they are hungry in the middle of the night because that is what they are taught. I also read this in an article online. So, with my next child, who is 3 now, I never allowed her to eat before 4am. If she woke up before that I put her in bed with me, which I am not a fan of, and kept giving her her pacifier, by the time she was 3 weeks old she was sleeping all night long and still to this day only occasionally wakes up to potty at night. With what they don't get in the middle of the night they will make up during the day. Also, I agree with the one other post as to pushing the cereal time and bedtime back, that probably would help a bunch. Good Luck! = - )

____@____.com

Try putting about a teaspoon or two of cereal into her bottles. You'll need to use a pin to widen the hole in the bottle's nipple to allow the formula to flow through. The heavier formula will satisfy her longer and take longer to digest. That was the only way I could get my two boys to sleep through the night. They are now 3 and 4 years old.

Your daughter is only 4 mos old and she is growing so much so feed her. There is no reason to with hold food at this age at all. Also you are a stay at home Mommy so so what if you are up at night, you can nap when she naps. Please dont take what I am saying in a bad way, I too am a sahm and trust I love my sleep at night and it is difficult for me too to get back to sleep after being up in the middle of the night. But ultimately I do think you should feed your baby when she wants to be fed, if you think about it she has only been here for four months and needs you for everything. So good luck and like I said I completely understand your sleeping needs!

i'm totally inline with "M". ultimately do what you truly feel is right. sometimes we feel too tired to do what is necessary and believe me i know i have twins, but you know what, it doesn't last forever. there are guidelines for a reason, introducing these foods too early can cause digestive (gi) problems later, i believe it is definately too early for the cereal. i always fed on demand and my children are in line with their growth charts. if your baby needs a nightime feeding then that's something you'll need to sacrifice (comfort of your bed and a few minutes time) to gain the peace of mind your doing what's right for the baby, you'll work it out, everything will be great!

When our daughter was 4 months old...she was probably having 2-3 naps per day and we would let her stay up with us until about 10-11pm. It was fine for us, we didn't usually go to bed until then anyways. But what we started doing when she was 4 weeks old is we started added rice cereal to her bottles. Ever since we started doing that she has slept through the night. We told our pediatrician after the fact and she was completely fine with it. We just switched to the fast flow nipples for the bottles and usually used about 1 teaspoon of rice cereal per ounce of formula/breast milk. In fact, we started doing that for all of her bottles and it made life so much easier for all of us. I also talked to other mothers and they have done the same thing. I hope you find this information helpful :-)

For me at 4 months here's what happened.
Research shows kids to wake up because they are 'hungry'. Cereal and food do NOT help them sleep longer.
Mine started teething and woke up and couldn't get back to sleep because her teeth hurt and she wanted mommy to feed her. Bottle or breast at that age sucking is a babies primary source of comfort.

Sleep training can happen in many ways and letting a kid 'cry it out' is not a first resort but can be used a LITTLE at this age.

The thing that helped me was "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." i was so tired of hearing opinions on this or that and no research to back it up. This doctor studies sleep and his opening section mentions that sleeping choices and parents choices are choices. co-sleeping, crib sleeping and how much you want to wake up at night are all choices you make. I liked it and used some of their ideas to train my kid to go back to sleep. I never let her 'cry it out' until I was sure she already KNEW how to go to sleep herself, NOTHING else (teething, food allergies, temparature etc) was wrong and she was old enough to handle a little of it. It even helped me know how long to start and what was too long.

Good luck!

Might try transitioning the amount you give her. Now....6 oz or whatever, in the next week-10 days.....5 oz and drop it from there. Some kids (AND ADULTS in some situations) just need the transition vs the trauma of going from some to none.

In my experience, and in the reading I've done, it is normal for babies to be hungry during the night. (I'm hungry at night sometimes too!)--and she may be going through a growth spurt too, and require more food. My girls all nursed at night (I have a 13-year-old, 3-year-old, and a 14-month old)--and the baby still nurses at least once during the night. I think it's an issue of what is best for you. If it doesn't bother you to feed the baby--if she is waking anyway--then feeding her is not wrong, or even bad for her. In fact, it may be what she needs. I'm a big fan of Dr. Sears (www.askdrsears.com), but he is an "attachment parenting" proponent, and this may or may not be your style. Either way, he is a pediatrician so he knows his stuff--and on the website you'll find medical support for feeding your baby at night. I'm a firm believer in following what feels right to you--and if feeding her soothes her, and you're up anyway, it seems like the right thing to do! Best of luck. I hope this helps!

J. in Indianapolis

Try giving her the cereal right before bed to help keep her tummy full. I would say it is a possibility that your little one is going through a growing spurt. I have always noticed a huge difference in eating patterns with both of my boys when they have their spurts. I hope this helps ya. Good luck, Shannon G.

At four months old they still are going to wake up at night, as well as possibly for the next few months. There are many things to come, such as teething, belly aches, etc. At this age there is no complete gaurantee that you can successfully get them to sleep at night. You can try different eating habits, longer play times, tring to keep the baby up for longer hours before bedtime really sets in. But there are no gaurantees. Just take some nice warm baths and relax to music and see if you can find someone who is close to you to take the baby once in a while so you can get some rest that your body needs to catch up on. And just keep in mind that you will get thru it and eventually you will be able to sleep some nights because your child sleeps longer. First time parents usually have a hard time adjusting to loss of sleep and can become real stressful. it was extremely hard on me my first and second year and even onto my third, having 3 babies in diapers by that time. Anyways, good luck. ( my kids didnt like water, but if you can get it to work than great. i personally think a passifier might help. )

I would wait until 8pm for her cereal. I think she's getting full & satisfied too early.

infant need to eat when they are hungry. she may very well be going through a growth spurt and NEEDS that extra feeding session. she'll go back to her normal routine when she hits another plateau, and then it will change again, as soon as you've gotten used to it. it's what babies do. you're ped said to give her straight water? that's nuts. feed your baby, she's hungry.

She's a very young baby, and she needs the nutrition at night. She's waking now when she didn't wake before, because she's growing. Especially with the rice cereal- it's pretty empty as far as nutrition goes.
Definitely do the 20 minutes of feeding and go back to sleep!

If YOU are hating the night wakings, then I'd say to do this (http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/ap/sleep.asp)when she's older. But if you are fine with the waking and feedings, then just dismiss anyone who tells you that your dd "needs" to be sleeping through the night.

Oh, and 5 hours is considered "sleeping through the night" for a baby, iirc.

Hi S.! Personally, after three kids, I say feed her. She's a growing little girl with a tiny little tummy that empties quickly. If she's hungry at night, feed her. It's not worth it to be up for hours when you can remedy the situation in 20 minutes. Take it from someone who has been up for four hours a night with a crabby 7-1/2 month old -- over and over again. Not fun! Don't get her body used to being up several hours in the middle of the night. It has really taken a toll on our entire family, and I would hate to see it happen to you and your husband too. Best of luck!