Parents need control to help restless babies sleep

by Grainne Ryan ©Independent.ie
My son is nine months old and has never slept through the night. He used to wake up a couple of times for a feed when I was breastfeeding, but now he is being bottle fed and on three spoon feeds a day, he is waking up even more often and it takes ages to get him back to sleep again. Is he hungry?
Should I be offering a bottle when he wakes up in the middle of the night?
I WOULDN'T advise this for a few reasons. Giving bottles of milk at night is bound to affect his appetite for solids during the day, which will mean he will not be getting the range of nutrients he needs.
Secondly, offering a bottle when he wakes up at night will mean he will begin to associate having a bottle with settling down and won't learn to sleep by himself. Also, milk from a bottle left on teeth overnight can cause decay.
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