tried CIO last night

Okay - so I posted the other day that Natalie is waking up at 12 - 1 am then again at 3am. Everyone WITHOUT twins are telling me to put them to bed later - feed her cereal at 1am??? :rotflmbo: I'm keeping bedtime at 6:30 as they are tired then - rubbing their eyes - yawning, and go right down without protest. The night before last, Natalie woke at her usual time - I let her fuss/cry for 15 minutes. Gave her 4oz in crib - she sucked it down and went back to sleep. Last night I wanted to try a little longer cry session. let her cry / scream for 1/2 hour. picked her up - changed her diaper, made a 2oz bottle - she grabbed it from my hand and sucked it down!! she was probably finished with it by the time I got to her crib! Put her back down - let her cry for another 1/2 hour warmed another 3oz - gave it to her in her crib - she drank it and went to sleep. My question is - does this sound like she's hungry and just needs that 4-5oz at that time or is it a habit?? I hate to not feed her if she is truly hungry and when I gave her the 4oz she did drink it and go right back to sleep. I'm just so confused. My gut feeling is that she is hungry. Carley is about a pound heavier and she's been sleeping through for the past week. (except last night when Natalie woke her - but a paci worked and she went right back to sleep w/o a bottle etc.) I need advice from the all knowing twin mommies!!! would you let Natalie CIO - or give her the 4oz???? TIA!!

 

I've had the same thing happen with my first born and then I posted something similar with my newborn DD. It might be a growth spurt but I know how you feel. It is very confusing and frustrating when you have to keep making a bottle - 2 oz here another 2 oz and then a 4 oz when they ate 1/2 hour prior. You feel they can't be that hungry but maybe they are. I mean I used to struggle like crazy with that telling myself if a bottle will help them go to sleep then do it. But I don't want to overfeed or make my baby sick. Augh, I hope someone has the answer.

 

I guess I am just a sucker. If it gets her to go right back to sleep then I would give it to her. Eventually you may have to wean her from it, but if it is working then I would do it. I know mine are only 5 months but when they wake during the middle of the night and I don't give them a bottle they are just restless till I give them one.

Missy

 

I know yours are a little older than mine but we are in the same boat with the night wakings. This is what I have started doing, because mine were fussing litterally every hour and I would go soothe them back to sleep and I was never sure if they were hungry. So as long as it had been 4 hours since they ate I would feed them but if it is before that I let them fuss. Usually they will be back to sleep after 3-5 minutes of fussing if they aren't hungry, if they keep going I'm pretty sure they are hungry. Have you tried to just soothe her back to sleep, rubbing her belly or patting her back or even just picking her up and trying to get her to go back to sleep. I think your choices are to either do a total CIO where you leave her in her crib no matter how long it takes or soothe her and then walk back out of the room. I think it's easier to just feed her and let her go back to sleep, I'm a total sucker though. That being said unless you are ready for a few days of listening to her cry for a while I would take the easier route and just feed her and let her go back to sleep.

 

How much does she eat during the day?

 

QUOTE(seamusnicholas @ Oct 26 2007, 02:03 PM) [snapback]468550[/snapback]
How much does she eat during the day?

You know what one of my girls is doing the same thing and she is 9 month, I think it may be she is teething! she had one tooth come in, I will wait it out until 5am to feed her and then she ends up waking her sister and they both end up in our bed, so I am curious what answers you get from people..

 

QUOTE(seamusnicholas @ Oct 26 2007, 02:03 PM) [snapback]468550[/snapback]
How much does she eat during the day?

She's a great eater.
Oatmeal and fruit for breakfast
6oz bottle
1 tub stage 2 veggie 1/2 tub stage 2 fruit - usually cheerios / dried fruit - yogurt as desert for lunch
6oz bottle
3:30 - 6 oz bottle
My girls split this for dinner:
2 jars stage 2 dinner - sometimes I will mix barley cereal(mixed w/ formula) in with one jar (usually chicken & apples) - or 1 jar stage 3 mac n cheese
1 stage 2 tub veggie
1 stage 2 tub fruit
I will cut up canned carrots or green beans - they love to mash and chew now
or 1/2 a banana
I follow their cues - if they still seem like they want to eat - I'll give them some yo baby yogurt
7 oz bottle at bedtime wich is 6:30 pm
They nap good too. usually 2 hours in the am and 1 1/2 hours in the afternoon.

 

I personally think she is eating enough and that the feeding at night is out of habit. I dont know if you are open to CIO. My boys were eating out of habit and after a few nights of CIO, the feedings stopped.

 

I think she is eating enough too. None of mine ever got a bottle in the middle of the night after 6 months. We did CIO with all 3. It is really hard, but works. All 3 of my kids are great sleepers.

 

If she has just had a bottle at 1 a.m. and this is the 3 a.m. waking you're trying to get rid of, I'd say you will need to stop feeding her. (It is totally normal for a baby to need a feeding at night up to 9 months or even a year, but two feedings, probably not.)

QUOTE
I think your choices are to either do a total CIO where you leave her in her crib no matter how long it takes or soothe her and then walk back out of the room.

Ditto this. Having her cry for 1/2 hr and then feeding/soothing her is just encouraging the behavior. (I know, I tried it!) I know you are hoping that eventually she'll give up, but you have to be prepared to wait her out essentially forever.

So, if you don't want to do that, you can go in right away and soothe her without feeding. If you are the one who usually feeds her, it might work better for DH to do the soothing. Personally I never tried this, as I felt that it would just make Amy madder to have someone come in and NOT feed her. But it depends on the child.

It sounds like you've already tried making the bottle smaller and that doesn't work. I did the same thing with Amy at about 9 months (she was down to just one night waking by then, though) and it also didn't work -- if it was less than 3 oz, she would scream for more. 4 oz and she'd go back to sleep. I gave in and just kept feeding her, then tried it again at 13 months, at which point I was able to wean her off of it by gradually reducing the amount and then mixing it with water. We did still have to do CIO in the end, but she only cried for ~20 minutes and it only took 3 days. I could tell it was time to do CIO because she didn't seem nearly as eager for the bottle anymore and sometimes didn't even finish it.

 

QUOTE(Minette @ Oct 26 2007, 04:18 PM) [snapback]468770[/snapback]
If she has just had a bottle at 1 a.m. and this is the 3 a.m. waking you're trying to get rid of, I'd say you will need to stop feeding her. (It is totally normal for a baby to need a feeding at night up to 9 months or even a year, but two feedings, probably not.)
Ditto this. Having her cry for 1/2 hr and then feeding/soothing her is just encouraging the behavior. (I know, I tried it!) I know you are hoping that eventually she'll give up, but you have to be prepared to wait her out essentially forever.

So, if you don't want to do that, you can go in right away and soothe her without feeding. If you are the one who usually feeds her, it might work better for DH to do the soothing. Personally I never tried this, as I felt that it would just make Amy madder to have someone come in and NOT feed her. But it depends on the child.

It sounds like you've already tried making the bottle smaller and that doesn't work. I did the same thing with Amy at about 9 months (she was down to just one night waking by then, though) and it also didn't work -- if it was less than 3 oz, she would scream for more. 4 oz and she'd go back to sleep. I gave in and just kept feeding her, then tried it again at 13 months, at which point I was able to wean her off of it by gradually reducing the amount and then mixing it with water. We did still have to do CIO in the end, but she only cried for ~20 minutes and it only took 3 days. I could tell it was time to do CIO because she didn't seem nearly as eager for the bottle anymore and sometimes didn't even finish it.

She takes only one bottle at night and it's the 1am time(unless she doesn't wake until 3am) If she wakes again at 3am - it's just the paci and I let her CIO - I know she can't be hungry again! . WHEN I have given her a full 4oz bottle at 1am - she won't wake at 3am. It's only if I do not feed her at 1am will she then wake at 3am. Last night her sister slept from 6:30pm until 5:15 am and didn't even finish her 5oz morning bottle. go figure!

 

You know your babies - if your mother's instinct is telling you she's hungry then she probably is. You could try adding an ounce to all of her daytime bottles. My babies take 8 oz. at a time now.