night time feeding question - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

expectant · 06-17-2006, 09:11 PM

Hi just a quick question and i am sure it has been posted before but i cant find it!!!

BUT ...what i want to know is a-iden is 13 and half pounds so in theory according to the nurses etc he shouldnt be needing a night feed anymore but he will go one week where he can go through the night and wont wake up for a feed and then the next week he will wake up for a feed. What i want to know is do i feed him if he wakes during the night or will this make him do it out of habit??? Or do i try and just settle him other ways apart from food???? Some people say once they show they can sleep the night you shouldnt be feeding them during the night.

I tried last night to give him a bottle of water but he seemed genuinely hungry even though he had his full daily intake of formula during the day. In the end i fed him a bottle which he gulped down.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how they got their little ones to go lonmger in the night more frequently??? I dont want him to end up associating a bottle of milk with going back to sleep if he doesnt really need it.

laura

Kiedy · 06-17-2006, 11:17 PM

You can try to settle him first w/ something else that works. For me I used pacifier first, if that didn't work, I would put him in the swing, b/c I just wanted to have him sleep w/o eating. Then I focused on having him stay in his crib. If that doesn't work, one way would be to decrease his intake at night. So if he drinks 3oz in the middle of the night, try taking the bottle away after 2.5 oz, than next time after 2oz, etc, hopefully w/ time he won't need it as often. I should tell you though, my son is 10mo old and has slept w/o eating at night since he was 3mo old, but there are still nights or times when he is teething, or sick or cranky where only milk will settle him down and make him fall asleep. So don't think that just b/c he slept w/o milk for couple of weeks that he should no longer need it anymore. His body is getting use to the change. Always make sure that he drinks enough during the day, b/c obviously if he doesn't eat enough during the day (or when he is growing) he will definitly wake up for more at night. Try to offer more in his last bottle b/f bed.

Hope this helps

expectant · 06-18-2006, 12:02 AM

Thanks I will try that method. He is 10 weeks by the way at the moment. I figured he must be hungry and need the milk at the moment perhaps as he is going through a growth spurt. He does seem hungry at night ie starts 'eating' his fingers. I dont know know if this is a hunger sign or he has discovered his hands????

debating · 06-18-2006, 03:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by expectant

Thanks I will try that method. He is 10 weeks by the way at the moment. I figured he must be hungry and need the milk at the moment perhaps as he is going through a growth spurt. He does seem hungry at night ie starts 'eating' his fingers. I dont know know if this is a hunger sign or he has discovered his hands????

10 weeks is still very young in my opinion. Still a new born. You're lucky he even sleeps through the night. I think at that age that they still need to eat when ever they are hungry, even if it is in the middle of the night. Keep in mind he'll be coming up on a growth spurt soon, which will mean even more hunger.

Quote:

Some people say once they show they can sleep the night you shouldnt be feeding them during the night.

Feed your babe when he's hungry. The sooner you learn his cues (ie; "chewing on his hands") and ignore what "people" say, the better off you'll be.

Their sleeping habits change so much in the beging, that you pretty much just have to ride the wave. DD has fooled me so many times. LOL. The other night she woke at 3:30 in the morning, which is unusual since she has been sleeping through the night for two months now, and I nursed her right back to sleep. As it turns out she just wasn't feeling well and had a slight fever the next day. So, I guess my point is that there was a reason she woke up - hydration/food and comfort. 10 weeks is still such a needy age, that if he's acting hungry, most likely he is.

I find I actually waste more time awake in the middle of the night goofing around with water bottles and "shhhhing" and rocking then if I just nursed her or gave her a breastmilk bottle.

Don't worry, he'll be sleeping through the night in the no time. Hang in there.

j baby · 06-18-2006, 09:09 AM

i agree with North. if the baby wasn't so young, it might be different, but at 10 weeks you should feed him whenever hungry. if he's just waking up with no signs of being hungry, i guess it's ok to just try to get him back to sleep without feeding... but if he's obviously hungry (chewing hands, rooting around, smacking lips, etc) at this age you should feed him. my first baby didn't sleep through the night until he was 9 mos old! i know all babies are different, but 10 weeks is still very young.