8-month-old wants to eat in the night but won't take milk

Question

Our 8-month-old girl eats lots - she's almost completely weaned because she has no interest in breast or formula milk during the day. She has breast milk once a night at the moment but my supply is almost gone and she frequently needs more at night. She won't take a bottle (she did during the day for a while but never has at night and doesn't during the day now either) but is definitely hungry rather than waking for another reason (I can hear her tummy rumbling just holding her). I can spend an hour or more feeding her solid food in the evening just stuffing more and more in but it never seems to satisfy her past midnight (and that's a really good night. Sometimes she's awake by 9 or 10).

Her weight is a little on the high side but not massively and she's recently been ill which ramped this up even worse temporarily, but seems to have died back to normal levels of crazy.

What do I feed her? At the moment I grab whatever I can get my hands on easiest in the middle of the night but I'd rather she have something healthy. I also need something I can pre-prepare before bed and that's quick and easy to feed her with little to no light and minimal mess.

Answer 1

For all three of ours we gave them a bottle of formula last thing at night so that I could help with feeding and give my wife a rest. A nice side effect of formula is that it takes a lot longer to digest so the kids really slept through once they had fed.

Answer 2

Are you aware of something called a supplemental nursing system? You can put formula into it, then there is a tube that you run to your nipple, so if she is willing to latch, she can nurse it through that tiny tube. It works for many babies that do bottle refusal, though I find them a tad more hassle of course.

Answer 3

I'm a little concerned that your healthcare provider doesn't see a problem with this. At that age, breasts milk or formula should be your daughter's primary source of food. Could you get referred to a nutritionist? I think it's important to make sure your daughter has all the nutrients she needs for her growth.

For one thing, fat is very important for young children's brain development. Milk supplies enough fat but it is most of the time missing from the solid diet we feed babies. If you are giving her dairy, like yogurt or cottage cheese, make sure that it is made from whole milk (aim for the fattest you can find). Proteins are also very important and longer to digest, so they will make her feel full for longer. You could try to feed proteins to her at night (chicken, fish, tofu, etc.)

I'm sure you tried many things, but we had great success with sippy cups for our breastfed baby who wouldn't take a bottle. There are ones for 6 months+ With handles which he was able to hold himself. Keep experimenting with different sippy cups and formulas, and you might find something she likes.