Forum From Baby to Toddler

Should I wake up for the evening bottle or not?

11 replies

SofieGuest ·
Hi ladies,

My little boy is now 12 weeks old and is on 5 bottles of 180ml NAN AR.
He reliably asks for a bottle every 4 hours during the day (at 6:00, 10:00, 14:00).
The problem is that he sleeps very little during the day (only naps of 30 minutes) and gets all his sleep from the evening until morning. Because of this, he usually falls asleep well around 16:00, but I have to wake him up for his 18:00 bottle (my doctor advised me to do this because otherwise he wouldn't get enough ml) and also for the one at 22:00.

I've let him sleep through, followed his rhythm, but then he seems to become completely irregular and restless (he would sleep from 16:00 until 12:00, or if I don't wake him at 22:00, he skips his last bottle and thus doesn't get the necessary ml).

What do you think? He's still too small to switch to 4 bottles. It doesn't matter to me either, but I always feel so bad having to wake him from his sleep each time.

Best,
Sofie.

Replies

  1. Nienke Guest #2

    Hi Sofie, drinking enough is really important for your little guy. I'd definitely keep waking him up for the next few weeks.

  2. madelene #3

    Hi Sofie, I myself didn't, for example, with my two little girls. I never woke them up to feed them. I wouldn't do that personally either. Because a baby regulates their own rhythm. If their body needs food or drink, they'll wake up on their own. I completely understand your worries as a mother, but I think it's not so great for the rest the body needs during sleep if you start waking them up. They become so irritable and upset then. Nature usually handles it very well on its own. But we always think we have to take control. Your child's rhythm gets thrown off balance if you keep disturbing their sleep. But anyway, this is just my personal opinion. And I've never done it myself either, waking them up to feed. The body will signal it on its own anyway, and you don't disturb their sleep. Best wishes, Madelene

  3. Sofie Guest #4

    Hi Nienke and Madelene,

    So we have a different opinion , it's sometimes a search, right?
    The thing is that my sleepyhead only asks for 4 bottles if I don't wake him up, and he doesn't drink more ml per bottle, so he ends up with too little during the whole day.
    Well, I find it difficult

    Greetings!

  4. madelene #5

    Yeah, you know, I still stand by my opinion that I’d never wake a baby for a bottle. It really throws them out of their rhythm. And you’re right, it’s sad to wake them up—you’re disrupting their sleep, which is so important for their development at that age.

    If a baby is hungry or thirsty, they’ll wake up on their own. Their body will let you know if they really need something; they’ll cry and wake up, then they’ll make themselves heard. If not, they’ll just keep sleeping. That simply means their body has enough at that moment and doesn’t need a drink.

    It’s very simple: nature takes care of itself. Every baby has their own drinking needs—some need a little less, others a little more. Every baby is different in that regard. You can’t compare one baby to another because we’re all different.

    So I’d just let your baby sleep peacefully.

    Greetings, Madelene

  5. madelene #6

    I meant you can't compare kids; we're all different. The mobile made it picky.

  6. Greet Guest #7

    Thanks AM
    Madelene: yes, I totally get you and honestly I agree with you, I want to follow his rhythm and let nature take its course but I'm always scared that he'll fall into too deep a sleep because he drinks too little when I don't wake him, due to SIDS I find it so scary

    P.S. those baby monitors do give trouble more often, right

    AM: everything you say is correct, we went to a pediatrician for reflux and because he regularly spits up part of his 5 bottles he felt it necessary to make sure he gets that last bottle fully and thus wake him up
    If I don't wake him he sometimes sleeps until morning and indeed doesn't reach his minimum
    I should discuss it again but probably he gets less per bottle not on

    Greetings to both!

  7. Greet Guest #8

    Hi everyone,

    My girlfriend Sofie just replied on this forum under my name . We got pregnant at the same time. I was due on September 30th and she was due on September 18th. In the end, I beat her to it by giving birth two weeks early on September 16th. Sofie went overdue and her little boy was born on September 21st. I had told her about this forum and was just replying and showing my responses, when that kiwi replied with my name .

    It's nice that she's also caught the babbling bug

    So, here are my greetings too

  8. Sofie started this #9

    Oh sorry!
    Babies do test your patience a bit, don't they?
    Cheers!

  9. madelene #10

    That's so lovely that you both became mothers at the same time!
    Wishing you all the best with your little ones
    You both seem like such cheerful girls.
    I'm glad I could help, and I hope it's easier now for you with your baby's feeding.
    Greetings, Madelene

  10. Sofie Guest #11

    Hi AM and Madelene,

    I think I've found the golden middle ground by now. I still give him a "dream feed" around 11 PM and don't wake him up anymore; I just check his diaper, but he doesn't wake up from that. At night he does wake up sometimes, but mostly because he's wriggled himself all the way across his crib .
    Everything's good this way here! Yeeees .

    With Greet, her little boy is still having trouble unfortunately . Now he mainly coughs himself awake, I hope it finally gets better soon.

    Greetings!

  11. madelene #12

    Super to hear, glad you're doing it this way now and have some peace for yourself
    I also used to give a Pyjama pap bottle before bedtime, they slept so well too.
    But that was only after the first few months; before that they really only had baby food.
    Nice to hear, enjoy your time with your little one, it goes by so fast.
    Greetings, Madelene

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