Formula Fed - Will not settle at certain time of night

[jennifer1981]

Dylan is just over a week old and is really restless around 9pm-12am. He gets really agitated and will not go to sleep. He also takes his 3oz bottle and needs another ounce an hour later and half an ounce a bit after that - which messes up his feeding times.

He is generally waking for a feed every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. He usually takes 3 to 3 1/2oz.

This night time restlessness is driving me mad as he is really inconsolable until we give in and give him more bottle. It doesn't happen throughout the day.

He is fine bringing wind up so i dont think its that.

He is on cow and gate 1.

Do you think i need to change his formula or does anyone have any suggestions what could be wrong with him around this time?

Im at my wits end.... hence the time of post! xx

 

[valentine]

I haven't formula fed so can't advise on that but know that it is common for young babies to be very unsettled or want to feed a lot in the evenings - don't worry about the timings between his feeds, why does it matter anyway? I have always fed on demand = happy baby to me.

There might not be an easy answer I'm afraid, but hopefully he'll settle soon tonight for you!

Valentine Xxx

 

[fran_23]

yes was going to say what Valentine said about feeding on demand- i remember trying to feed every 4 hours but it would always get messed up at night as he wanted more- so i just fed him when he wanted it- much less pressure!

 

[daftscotslass]

Ditto to the above. Especially that young don't expect that he'll be like clockwork wanting food so if he's willing to take more at that time and is able to keep it down then give him it. It does take some time to settle down (ha - Becky has only been predictable for about 3 weeks now!), I know it's exhausting but I promise there is light at the end of the tunnel . I wouldn't change his formula unless he has an upset tum, is constipated or isn't gaining weight.

However we had exactly the same happen to us and gave her a bottle in the evening only to have her projectile vomit straight after. Spoke to the HV about it and she said she was probably just comfort sucking and not able to keep the food down because her stomach was too small. She suggested we try a dummy (which I'd been totally dead set against before) which really, really helped. If you think he's genuinely hungry then give him the bottle but the dummy might be worth a try if he seems to be just sucking for comfort. Last week Becky almost completely ditched the dummy and has probably had it once in the last 6 days.

Unfortunately the unsettled/colickyness in the evening went on for us up until about 10 or 11 weeks but there is an end to it, I promise!

 

[muppetmummy]

Like us sometimes babies will want a big meal other times just a snack. I just use timings between bottles as a guide so I have a rough idea of when Logan will want feeding. On average he'll go 3 hours between feeds. He will drink 5-9 oz at a time anything from 1 and half-3 and half hours apart. I find late evening he'll have several bottles close together before going down for a big chunk of sleep at around 11pm, then wakes up for a bottle around 4 or 5am.
The feeding every 4 hours on the dot malarky is old fashioned nonsense and is very bad for babies. Just feed him when he's hungry, as much as he will take