Feeding FAQ: 6-9 months – Breast Feeding

How can we get our 8.5mth old son to drink from a bottle?

I’m not sure if my 8 1/2 month old gets enough milk at the 10.00pm feed. We would like my husband to give him some formula from a bottle but every bottle we have tried has been unsuccessful and he won’t take hardly any. It’s not too bad if we take the lid off and let him drink straight from the bottle but even then it’s still only about 2oz.

He presently is fully breast fed taking 5-10mins at each feed throughout the day and night. He feeds at 7am, 10am, 2pm, 6.30pm, 10.30pm, 2am and 4am.

8.30am Breakfast; 1/2 weetabix, fingers of toast. 12.30pm 1/2 jar savoury and 1/2 yoghurt. 5pm 1/2 jar savoury, fruit puree. My son weighs 17lbs 11ozs.

He naps at 9-9.45am and 12.30-2.30pm. He settles at 7pm.

Are you aware how much milk you are producing? If you are tired by the end of the day, and your supply is running low, it may be worth thinking about giving your daughter a formula feed at 10pm to get her through the night. This should be kept in place until she is sleeping through the night and not needing feeds to settle back to sleep. Then begin to gradually reduce the 10pm feed until it is 2ozs. Once she has slept through the night after this small feed for 1 week you can drop it.

Once she has had a good 10pm feed you can begin to use the “core night” method, whereby you drop the night feeds one by one and gradually push your daughter on to sleep for a longer stretch.

If you know that your daughter has had a good feed at 10pm you will be able to allow her 10 minutes of crying at her first waking in the night, to see if she is able to settle alone. Then go in to her and offer her cool, boiled water and a cuddle. If she settles for another hour or so then wakes again, feed her. By pushing her on in this way you are setting her “core night”. If she wakes again later in the night, offer her a feed. You are trying to get rid of the first feeding before attempting to eliminate the second. As she pushes herself on you should get down to one waking in the night rather than two. Then it is time to get rid of that feed in the same way.

Your daughter’s continued night-time crying suggests that she is hungry, which indicates she is not taking enough food and milk during the day. To help her drop her night time feeds, encourage her to eat more solids in the day. If your daughter struggles to eat her lunch cut back on her breakfast a little to encourage her to be hungrier by 11.15am.

Always offer your daughter a top up feed after lunch, whether your daughter has eaten well or not.  This should help her to sleep better, until nearer 2pm/3.30pm.

It may help you to look at two case studies: Dylan in Contented Child’s Food Bible, page 89, and Thomas in The Complete Sleep Guide, page 123.

If you feel that you need further help with getting your daughter settled at night look on the website for the link through to Dr Phillipa Rundle.