My Soon to Be One Year Old Consumes 5 6-8 Oz Bottles a Night!!

Why not formula? She's about the age to handle cows milk, but she will still need the highest fat and calorie rich milk out there until age 2. I don't get the milk and water thing at all. Not at this age. If it makes you feel any better, I went against the bottle "rules" and let mine suck to sleep. It was painful later on to wean her off bottle, but thats one kind of battle and right now you have a bigger battle to deal with. My kids did not rot their teeth out taking a bottle to bed. I broke the rule for a good reason and I think you may need to do the same.

She's starving mom. Cows milk is NOT formula that is completely full of nutrition. She needs food. Now, not milk, food. In child care we mix milk in the formula gradually so their tummies will accept the milk and they won't have stomach issues for a month.

She's too young for straight up milk in my opinion, I'd have put her on straight formula instead but the doc knows the whole child and has their reasons I guess. Perhaps even that formula for toddlers. But formula is complete nutrition. Milk is a drink to go along with food. It's not anything like nutrition.

She is literally starving mom. YOU need to feed her as much table food as she'll eat. I certainly hope you are NOT feeding her baby food. That has no nutrition in it either. It's flavored goo to get her to chew and swallow. The nutrition in baby food is so minimal it's like giving a starving person a piece of gum. The sugar in it will make their tummy stop growling for a moment but it is not food or any kind of nutrition.

So to me it sounds like your child is starving, literally, and is drinking that many bottles to keep her hunger pains away because the milk is not feeding her. It's just a drink...like water is a drink.

She needs you to make her mashed potatoes, smashed up peas, green beans, carrots, and other veggies that can be boiled until they're really soft and can be mashed up a bunch. Avocados are a great food for her too.

She needs to eat 3 meals per day plus some snacks now that she's not on breast milk or formula. She is getting her complete food nutrition from what she eats now.

For good ideas on what she might like borrow these books from your local library.

How to feed your baby and toddler for Dummies.

Idiots Guide to feeding your baby and toddler.

Both of these books were staples in our house when the kids were little. They are awesome and inspiring.

Again, to get a baby off formula we start when they're 11 months old and mix in 2 ounces of whole Vitamin D milk with their regular formula. So they're getting 1/4 milk and 3/4 formula. Then when that is going well we go half milk and half formula. That usually takes a few days for their tummies to adjust to. Once they have stopped the diarrhea and upset tummy we go to 6 ounces milk and 2 ounces formula. Once they take this well we can usually go to straight milk.

So they're off formula by age one but not until they're chewing and swallowing okay. A lot of people feed baby food but they have no idea how gross it is for babies. They'd do so much better on processed table food instead.

So again, milk is NOT food in any way. It's a drink...like tea or juice or pop. NOT FOOD. She is STARVING and drinking that much during the night is her way of telling you she is not getting any nutrition. Give that child some food or have the doc do a line and feed her through that tube so she gets some nutrition.

1/2 milk 1/2 water. That's nuts. Never heard of that. She is hungry. Give her all milk.

Your child is screaming because she is hungry.

" Dr. suggest we start her on cow's milk mixed with water, about half and half."

You need a new doctor. This is something an older doctor might suggest, based on obsolete and disproven medical advice.

Milk is an optional beverage to be had as part of a regular, varied diet of solid food. Formula is a complete liquid food.

Watered down (or even straight) cows milk doesn't have the nutrition your child needs. That is why she's so hungry for more and more bottles. Go back to formula until she is getting 90% of her nutritional needs from solid foods.

Hello TD,

What has happened here is very simple. You were nursing and your daughter preferred to nurse rather than take a bottle. So she would nurse all night - very normal for breastfed babies who have working moms. Your co-sleeping basically solidified that she would choose to nurse all night. Again, totally normal. When you stopped nursing, she just substituted the bottle for the breast.

She is too old to not be taking solids. At her age, she can manage most anything that you eat - just don't introduce it all at once and make sure it is cut to a good size for her. Avoid the usual choking hazards.

She is used to eating all night - so she basically has her food intake mixed up. Is she in daycare during the day? If so, she should get used to the food routine there... If she is home with a caretaker, they need to be giving her breakfast, AM snack, lunch, PM snack, dinner, before bed snack along with bottles.

Her other issue is she uses the bottle as a way to soothe herself back to sleep. You need to help her learn how to put herself to sleep. No more falling asleep drinking a bottle - she starts to get drowsy, she is done with the bottle and goes into her crib or your bed still awake - but drowsy. Do you do a nighttime routine with her? Bath, pjs, song or book, prayers, to bed? At her age, she needs the routine so that she knows what to expect next. Then to bed. I will admit that if she is underweight she may still need to eat at night - either a bottle or something else ---we used plain Cheerios. Then diaper change and straight back to bed. No playing. You have to be strong. It is hard to hear your child scream but they will learn - it might take a few days - and then it is better for everyone. It only gets harder - they want other things and you have to be their parent since you know what is best.

Hang in there and good luck! C.

She's hungry.
Don't let her cry & scream.
Pick her up & feed her.
Milk seems to go through young children.
Need something more formidable like formula.
Again, she shounds hungry.
She's crying because she needs something....more food.
You say "if you don't give her a bottle, she screams & screams"...yes
because she's hungry so you need to give her formula.
During the day, try to give her more food. Try lots of diff foods until you
find what she will eat.
Also, look in the baby aisles at the store, they sell puffs. Easy for them to
eat.
Try giving her Cheerios during the day, mashed banana etc.

I would talk to the doc, possibly get a second opinion. As a mom of a kid who was underweight and considered "failure to thrive" (ugh, I HATE that label) at 9 months, I was told not to limit foods ever. At 11 months, we were also doing straight milk, not half and half . We can all give our opinions and advice about your situation, but your child has "medical issues", it's probably something you need to follow up on with a real MD.

Have you tried a formula instead of the milk? Without more solids or breastmilk, I wonder if she's getting enough from the cow milk and water. I would put her on formula, either for infants or one of the new ones for toddlers. I would expect she is very hungry. It sounds like she reverse cycled on you, which happens (for reference, people can go to kellymom.com). She made up for it all night instead of feeding during the day. But now that means she is not getting any breastmilk with all the nutrients in that, and I really question if the milk and water routine is enough for her. Infants should be primarily nursed or formula fed before 1 yr old. That sounds like sketchy info. MANY 1 yr olds are not eating enough solids to compensate for not getting formula or breastmilk, so I am not concerned about her solids intake per se. You say she's not yet 1 yr old anyway.

The other thing I wonder is if she has any sort of milk allergy, so the screaming may not just be hunger but a sensitivity to the milk itself.

Do not let your child fall asleep with a bottle in her mouth. Your dentist should tell you that as well. The sugar from the milk can rot her teeth.

She is screaming because she's hungry. Give her solid food. She should have been on some type of solid food at 6 months.

At one year, she should have a broad pallet of tastes: yogurt, Cherrios, waffles, pancakes, and a whole lot more. Have you tried Pediasure for her? It's packed with nutrients. Depending upon any allergy issues, cheesy scrambled eggs should be a hit for her.

She needs to eat. Present her with two different foods and let her try them. Keep a log on what you feed her so you can keep track of any allergic reactions to food.

To stop her from screaming? Feed her BEFORE bed. Get her on a schedule. While I support co-sleeping, you BOTH need a break right now. She needs to go in her crib in her room. She is not only hungry, but in a habit of waking up (because she's hungry) and just the habit of waking up.

I would stop with the half-milk, half-water routine. I see that you said her hematologist said that. Are they concerned about Iron Anemia? As that happens when too much calcium is ingested.

Good luck,

S.

At almost a year she should be eating mostly solids all day. I wouldn't be mixing milk with water, especially not half and half. Honestly, I think that is strange advice. She's old enough to have milk, especially if she's drinking two bottles of half/half, I'd just give her one whole bottle of milk. If you can, I'd go ahead and put it in a cup. Start weaning her off that bottle entirely. I would give her whole milk which will give her calories and fill her up. I would also make sure she's eating something before bed time. Protein is always good or at least some cereal, oatmeal or something to help fill her up.

I don't think a 1 year old should be drinking that much at night.
Make sure she's really, really full before she goes to bed.
After dinner snack about 30-45 minutes before bedtime?
Protein is filling.

I don't think any pediatrician would recommend giving a baby milk at night and letting her fall asleep with that in her mouth - tooth decay and all that.

I don't know of any pediatrician who thinks at 11 month old should be eating anything at night - they need their sleep, and they should be eating during the day. They will not starve. They will make up the calories during the day.

I think your child is in the habit of sucking on a bottle for comfort and soothing. That's not a good way to settle down - she needs to self-soothe and that needs to not be something other than a food-based method.

I know you don't want her to scream, but she's doing it until she gets her way, right? You can read up on the Ferber method or talk to the pediatrician, but basing a child's nutrition on liquids on at 11 months, and having her get zero quality sleep is not good for her health. And you being up 5 times a night is extremely hazardous to your own health (and to anyone else if you then go drive a car).

We did sleep training with our son at 6 months of age, on the pediatrician's advice. It took 3 days and it was awful - but then it was done.

Please be strong and do the right thing. There's plenty of good advice in every parenting book and from the pediatrician. I am positive your doctor does not want you giving 5 bottles a night!

Hmm...

Sometimes doctors used to say mixing milk with water in the bottles at night as a way to wean toddlers off night time feeds. My sister did this back 20 years ago. Gradually you'd add more water to the bottle, and eventually the toddler would reject having bottles at night. I wonder if that's what your doctor meant? Otherwise I can't really understand why they would recommend it.

So where your daughter is underweight - I would think upping your solids (start small, and mash or grind, or soft foods to start if she's not used to them) and make sure she's good and hungry before meals. Don't give her milk before solids - she will just fill up. So I used to time the meals as just solids with a bit of milk to wash it down after - and then formula or milk (after 1 years) with naps and before bed. And not diluted.

My doctor suggested giving a small bowl of cereal about an hour before bed to help them sleep through if they get hungry. Followed by a bottle (not diluted) and wake them up with a diaper change or burp if they fall asleep on the bottle.

I did breastfeeding, then formula, then at 1 years, formula mixed with homo milk, and then milk - but by then, milk is more of a drink than the food staple.

Hope that helps.

One other thought - my kids would not feed well if they'd had a cold - and then be up at night with pressure in their ears and want to suck to relieve it. Two of my kids had tubes put in later. Did they check her ears? Just a thought, where you said she screams at night. Mine did that when their ears hurt. Don't mean to alarm you, but maybe next visit if it hasn't changed, just ask them to look in her ears.

Good luck :)