18 months and still getting up in the middle of the night!

Discussion in 'The Toddler Years(1-3)' started by roadtocalvary, Oct 12, 2010.

  1. roadtocalvary

    roadtocalvary Well-Known Member

    Our girls were 29 weeks 2 days gestation when born, so our doc said it was okay to keep them on the bottles several months after their "1st" birthday since it was not really there true due date. They were also very tiny and still aren't hittin the charts for weight, even tho they are hams to us! So here we are at 18 months and I have them down to 2 bottles a day..once at bedtime and then unfortunately they are still getting up in the middle of the night. We have tried letting them cry, for nearly and hour but we have 5 other children besides the twins. The older kids sleep thru it, but the 3yr old wakes up if they cry too long.. What can I do to help them sleep thru the night and get off these bottles!
     
  2. vharrison1969

    vharrison1969 Well-Known Member

    What does their solid food intake look like? Milk/formula is calorie-dense, but it's much less filling and lasts a shorter time in the tummy than most solids. I might introduce a bedtime snack and see if that helps. If not, then the waking is not due to hunger, but out of habit. Your girls are certainly old enough to understand the concept of bedtime, so I would explain to them that nighttime is for sleeping, and reiterate that fact if/when they night-wake! :good:
     
  3. Minette

    Minette Well-Known Member

    I got Amy off the middle-of-the-night bottle at 14 months by watering it down gradually. I had tried just going cold turkey and not going in at all, but she would cry and cry and cry. Then I started reducing the amount of formula in the bottle by half an ounce every couple of days. After it was down to 3 oz, I started replacing half an ounce of formula with water, until we were down to 1 oz formula, 2 oz water. She drank that down for the first few days, then she started not finishing it. After a few days of that, I tried again with not responding, and that time, she just fussed for 15 minutes for a few days and then gave up.

    So, I think the weaning helped her, but it also helped me be sure that she was waking out of habit and wasn't really hungry. (The bedtime snack is a good idea too.) Until that point, I think she was actually hungry, and I wouldn't expect a hungry baby/toddler to go back to sleep without being fed.
     
  4. slugrad1998

    slugrad1998 Well-Known Member

    I would definitely recommend changing the middle of the night bottle over to water. You are putting them at huge risk of tooth decay if you are allowing them to have milk in the middle of the night. My rule of thumb has always been to brush their teeth after the bedtime milk and then nothing but water till AM. I actually let my kids keep sippies of water in their crib so if they are thirsty in the wee hours they don't have to cry out for it.

    As for STTN, are they putting themselves to sleep at bedtime? Do they fall asleep with the bottle? If they are not putting themselves to sleep at bedtime then you have to tackle that first. Mine were not preemie but I have worked with a ton of preemies and although correcting for gestational age helps with growth and development early on, after the first year they start to catch up with their peers. This means that your girls have now achieved ability to reason and manipulate, and you've got one heck of a habit to break! I know it is hard to let go of babyhood when they are your last ones and especially because they put you through a long road in the nicu, but I think you may have to go cold turkey with the bottles and explain to them that they are big girls. Give them their milk in a cup early in the bedtime routine, then brush teeth, read stories, etc. You may have a few rough nights but they will get on board and once they do they will probably realize the night waking is not worth their trouble.
     
  5. roadtocalvary

    roadtocalvary Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the advice...they eat very healthy! These girls can eat us out of house and home right along with their siblings. Between the 2 of them they eat 2-3 packs of Instant Oatmeal every morning for breakfast. Lunch consists of Beechnut dinners (or homemade baby food) for now Beechnut because we were given 2 HUGE banana boxes full. They eat fruit with usually plain yogurt and/or oatmeal added to it. The same for dinner. Plus they have watered down juice(usually 1/4 juice the rest water) and usually either cheerios or puffs for a snack. I think the diet is good, since they eat till the spit it out!

    Bedtime we have a routine of dinner, baths, and then of course the bottle at around 7pm then they are ALWAYS layed down awake between 7:15-7:30. We don't rock our babies to sleep.

    I think we may try the night time snack and see how that works. Just got to get thru this, as it is beginning to wear on me!
     
  6. Danibell

    Danibell Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    I agree with trying a bedtime snack, and also with watering down or switching to water for that middle of the night bottle. Once it's only water they may decide it's not worth waking up for.

    Have you tried feeding them regular food, like the same food you feed the rest of the family for meals? I found that the baby food meals weren't enough and weren't lasting as long with my two. By 14/15 months they were on all people food, I'd would sometimes use baby food mixed with yogurt or oatmeal, but that was it. That might last longer overnight as well.
     
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