Feeding FAQ: 4-6 months – Formula Feeding

My 4 month old is demanding more milk at 10pm and waking early in the morning

I have a hungry baby and cannot seem to get the balance of milk and solids right to stop her waking early in the morning, despite still having a 10pm feed.
1 month ago (weight: 8lbs 7 oz at birth) she was taking 7-8oz Aptamil-2, 5 times a day. She then started showing all the signs of needing to be weaned early. We monitored it for a while and checked with the health visitor. She was started gradually on solids at 14/15 weeks at the 11am feed with the basic purees recommended by CLB for her age. She loved them. Two weeks later she began to be fretful around 5-6pm, so I started her with a little solids around 5pm. As I also have a 3 year old, I find 6pm chaotic.
I noticed she was beginning to cut back on her milk, so I switched her back to Aptamil-1 in the day, but stayed with Aptamil-2 at 6.45 and 10pm.
She then began to lose interest in her 7am feed, so I changed the evening bottles to Aptamil-1 as well, hoping she would increase her feeds by day. I also felt as it was getting warmer, the no2 may be too rich for her. At 10pm she has either 4ozs no2 or 5ozs no1.
I read in the Contented Baby Book to try to give her 6oz at 5.45pm with solids and then a top up at 6.30pm. This did work for a while but she is now refusing the 6.30pm top up. She takes 5ozs no1 at 10pm but has begun to wake at 5.30am hungry. She will take 6-7ozs and settles back to 7am and then is happy to have a top up of 3ozs at 7.30/8am to keep her on track.
She sleeps from 9-9.45am, 12-2pm and 4.45-5pm.
At present she weighs 18lbs+ and takes 7oz at 5am, 3oz at 7.30am, 7oz at 11am, 5-6oz at 2.30pm, 6oz at 5.45pm, 1oz at 6.30pm and 5ozs at 10pm. She has the equivalent of 2ozs of solids at 11am and 5.45pm; these are basic purees combined with potato at lunch and rice at tea.
It has all become very confusing for me; is it better to give less milk but use Aptamil-2 at 10pm? Does she need more solids such as breakfast? Or should increase her Aptamil-1 at 10pm?
I am so tired of her waking in the early morning, although this early start means she is sleeping two hours at lunchtime, but I think I preferred it when she slept through the night. What should I do?

Getting two children ready for bed in the evenings can be hectic, but with a little restructuring of the times you feed your daughter she should begin to have a better feed before bedtime.
Cut back on the 2.30pm feed a little, offering 4-5ozs. This will help her to be hungrier in the evening.
Go back to giving your daughter a “split feed”. Let her have 5ozs at 5pm along with her solids. This could coincide with your 3-year-olds tea. Let her have a break and then offer her a 4oz top up after her bath at 6.30pm. By doing this, she will have already increased her intake by at least 2ozs. Having this break of an hour between the two halves of a full feed in the evening, should help her increase her intake.
As your daughter has weaned early, it is very important that she does not cut back too much on her milk too soon. But she needs to be taking most of her daily requirements between 7am and 7pm. The feed at 10pm should not go above 6ozs. Keep to Aptamil-1 so she will be hungry for her 7am feed. Once she increases the amounts of solids given, you can begin to cut back on it.
If this increased intake helps her sleep longer in the morning then you can begin to offer a small amount of cereal. Until you get the large feed at 5.30am reduced or pushed to 7am, giving her cereal then will just begin to put her off her lunch at 11am. Have you tried to settle her with a smaller feed at 5.30am to get her nearer to 7am at which time she could take a full feed?
If she is taking two to three cubes of vegetable puree at lunchtime and two to three teaspoons of rice with fruit in the evening along with four good milk feeds, then she really should not need to feed before 7am. If you feel it is becoming a habit rather than hunger, then try to settle her with a much smaller feed or cool boiled water.
Once she is beginning to get through to 7am then offer her a small amount of cereal after her milk. Don’t increase the cereal too quickly as this will affect how much she takes at lunch.
As she is quite big you may have to consider introducing her to a small amount of protein before six months. Check with your health visitor first.
Using Aptamil-2 at 10pm does not seem to have had the desired effect of her sleeping longer in the mornings. By sticking to Aptamil-1 and offering her a slightly larger feed of 6ozs at 10pm, she should begin to sleep better.