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Sleep versus feeding
Cnudje_1Guest ·
Hi
Our girl is almost 4 months old and has been drinking formula (fm) for a short while now (about 3 weeks now).
At first she drank 150ml bottles, now she sometimes drinks 180ml bottles.
We now give her a bottle every 3 hours from when she wakes up, and she asks for it too.
After the bottle she plays a bit and then sleeps for 45 minutes. Longer hasn't really happened yet...
After that I keep her busy until the next bottle, sometimes in a carrier so I can do some things, otherwise a little walk, reading, talking...
Now she is happily busy during the day, laughs a lot, coos and gurgles something back, but of course you can't do much with such a little one yet.
In the evening after the 7pm/7:30pm bottle she invariably has a crying fit (not for an hour, but sometimes for hours...)
I assume this is blowing off steam after a day full of stimuli? She seems truly inconsolable, soothing doesn't help, we carry her around until she 'calms down' and falls asleep. We lay her down with us in the armchair on a sort of baby cushion until the last bottle (10pm, 10:30pm). Then we wake her up.
Then she sleeps 'through' until about 6:30 or 7am and gets another bottle and then sleeps until about 9:30. Then her day starts.
My question is now whether we shouldn't give her a last bottle around 8pm or so? Or just no more bottle after the 7pm one and just lay her in her crib when she sleeps?
My husband and I sit like sheep by her, watching a nearly 'mute' TV for an hour or so... it's cozy otherwise of course.
Now we also took her with us from last Friday until the day before yesterday for a 'week' in the Ardennes.
She cried the whole way there! My husband almost drove himself to death because she really wouldn't stop... so sleeping in the car, yes for about half an hour or so... but then...
We stopped on the way for a bottle, but it didn't help. The rest of the trip she was also used to...
In the Ardennes itself she was very alert during the day, looking at everything...
We did some walks with her in the carrier, she liked that. We also did some city visits (a terrace was also possible for half an hour), but in the evening I had to walk around with her for hours by the pond at our chalet. Probably too many stimuli in one day?
Was it too early to go on holiday? We also had no luck on the return trip, got a flat tire and got a replacement car in Namur... so we couldn't get all our luggage back into the replacement car... luckily our child and dog were fine :-)
I also wondered when we should best start with some spoonfuls of baby cereal? I don't want to start directly at 16 weeks, rather at 18 weeks or so. Let the intestines mature a bit... who knows?
What do you give best then? Carrots, cauliflower, ...and when do you give this best? We eat warm in the evening because my husband goes to work and he takes sandwiches with him. We also eat quite late (after 7:30pm)...
Or do I prepare some vegetables in the afternoon for her, and we eat the rest in the evening?
I also wondered what you all do with a little one of 4 months or younger who doesn't sleep much during the day? Do you go out a lot during the day?
I try to make sure she sleeps 45 minutes at least 3 times a day... so I am somewhat tied to those times.
After that I still have an hour for the next bottle so yes... going out becomes more difficult
So what do you do? Walk?
I am still at home until the end of August (parental leave) since this will be our only child (after years of IVF we are super happy that we finally have a child...)
Our girl is almost 4 months old and has been drinking formula (fm) for a short while now (about 3 weeks now).
At first she drank 150ml bottles, now she sometimes drinks 180ml bottles.
We now give her a bottle every 3 hours from when she wakes up, and she asks for it too.
After the bottle she plays a bit and then sleeps for 45 minutes. Longer hasn't really happened yet...
After that I keep her busy until the next bottle, sometimes in a carrier so I can do some things, otherwise a little walk, reading, talking...
Now she is happily busy during the day, laughs a lot, coos and gurgles something back, but of course you can't do much with such a little one yet.
In the evening after the 7pm/7:30pm bottle she invariably has a crying fit (not for an hour, but sometimes for hours...)
I assume this is blowing off steam after a day full of stimuli? She seems truly inconsolable, soothing doesn't help, we carry her around until she 'calms down' and falls asleep. We lay her down with us in the armchair on a sort of baby cushion until the last bottle (10pm, 10:30pm). Then we wake her up.
Then she sleeps 'through' until about 6:30 or 7am and gets another bottle and then sleeps until about 9:30. Then her day starts.
My question is now whether we shouldn't give her a last bottle around 8pm or so? Or just no more bottle after the 7pm one and just lay her in her crib when she sleeps?
My husband and I sit like sheep by her, watching a nearly 'mute' TV for an hour or so... it's cozy otherwise of course.
Now we also took her with us from last Friday until the day before yesterday for a 'week' in the Ardennes.
She cried the whole way there! My husband almost drove himself to death because she really wouldn't stop... so sleeping in the car, yes for about half an hour or so... but then...
We stopped on the way for a bottle, but it didn't help. The rest of the trip she was also used to...
In the Ardennes itself she was very alert during the day, looking at everything...
We did some walks with her in the carrier, she liked that. We also did some city visits (a terrace was also possible for half an hour), but in the evening I had to walk around with her for hours by the pond at our chalet. Probably too many stimuli in one day?
Was it too early to go on holiday? We also had no luck on the return trip, got a flat tire and got a replacement car in Namur... so we couldn't get all our luggage back into the replacement car... luckily our child and dog were fine :-)
I also wondered when we should best start with some spoonfuls of baby cereal? I don't want to start directly at 16 weeks, rather at 18 weeks or so. Let the intestines mature a bit... who knows?
What do you give best then? Carrots, cauliflower, ...and when do you give this best? We eat warm in the evening because my husband goes to work and he takes sandwiches with him. We also eat quite late (after 7:30pm)...
Or do I prepare some vegetables in the afternoon for her, and we eat the rest in the evening?
I also wondered what you all do with a little one of 4 months or younger who doesn't sleep much during the day? Do you go out a lot during the day?
I try to make sure she sleeps 45 minutes at least 3 times a day... so I am somewhat tied to those times.
After that I still have an hour for the next bottle so yes... going out becomes more difficult
So what do you do? Walk?
I am still at home until the end of August (parental leave) since this will be our only child (after years of IVF we are super happy that we finally have a child...)
Replies
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Anonymous Guest #2
You can only start giving solid food at 6 months. That’s called the repley method, look it up on Google. -
Anonymous Guest #3
You can wait, you can wait. That sounds so strict, and even experts don't always agree on it. The Baby-Led Weaning method works for some and not for others.
From 4 months onwards, you can start with vegetable or fruit pieces if you want. However, don't expect too much from it. These are just practice bites; you have those baby spoons and can try one or three spoons to practice. So these spoons don't replace a bottle or breastfeeding; they're just to let your little one get used to a different taste than milk. You can give it whenever it suits you. Try it about half an hour after a bottle, then the little one isn't so hungry and is often more open to learning something new. They're also absolutely not necessary yet because your little one gets everything they need from milk until 6 months. The advice is to start with vegetables if you want to begin because they have a milder taste. Of course, you need to puree it completely at 4 months because your little one can't chew yet. Flavors like cauliflower, broccoli, or carrots are often good to start with. Ask for advice from the pediatric clinic if needed, but mostly follow your own maternal instincts.
Regarding your time for the last bottle, my maternity care assistant and midwife told me that you really don't need to wake them up for a bottle at 4 months; if they're hungry, they'll come themselves. My little one already had the last bottle quite quickly around 8 PM and then didn't come again until between 6 and 8 AM. -
Emma Guest #4
I don't wake my daughter up for a late bottle, but she does come back once during the night. She gets her last bottle between 7:00-7:30 PM and is usually in bed by 7:45 PM. She then sleeps until 4:00-5:30 AM - she gets a bottle then and goes back to sleep. This works for us because we still have some time in the evening, and I don't mind night feedings. But my daughter also sleeps a lot during the day; I mostly follow her own rhythm. I did try waking her up for a bottle at 11:00 PM, for example, but she still woke up during the night for a bottle. That will probably shift on its own - we'll see! -
anoniem22 #5
Uhm, what immediately came to mind were the three R's: Rest, cleanliness, and regularity.
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