How to get rid of the 2 am feed?

[coralina]

Hi there.
My lo is now 11 weeks, started with EASY when he was 7 weeks old. We are doing well with the feeding, every 3 hours. I have tried to stop the 2 am feed but I just mess the next day. He wakes up and I leave him while he is not crying in case he put himself to sleep(he does it when not hungry). I tried give him a dummy but what it does is to delay a bit the feed, he doesnt fall asleep, just suck the dummy for a while, one day he was doing that for an hour. Then he cries because is hungry, he wont settle without a feed. I tried to up his feeding in the day but he is not having it, there is no way he will drink more than his usual amount, about 4 or 5 oz. I do the dream feed but not cluster feed because he wont drink if he is not hungry.
I'm reading the BW books but so far I havent found an answer to this (maybe is in the books, just havent finished reading them yet) . should I just leave him to stop this feed on his own or can someone give me an idea on how to do it ?

[*Jo*]

hi there, I think at 11 weeks a nightfeed is totally normal, is he waking any other time in the night?

[coralina]

thank you for your reply. yes he wakes again around 5am hungry so I feed him and he wakes up for the day somewhere between 7 and 8

[*Jo*]

ok, im going to pop you over to NWings as im sure they will be able to help you out better

[LovelyLilyandJack]

No answers I'm afraid but I'm having the same problem with my 13 week old!  She used to go longer at night but now will only manage 2-3 hrs between feeds at night (despite going longer in the day) and I'm also keen to see if there's anything I can do in the day to help.

Sorry I can't help - just wanted to say you're not alone!  I'll be interested to see how you get on.

[heidijwhite]

Hi there, my LO is 7.5 weeks old, and was also able to go from a 10:45pm DF until 5:30am-ish, but the last two nights has been waking up at 3:20am and 2:30am and taking generally a full feed. I've been looking back at TBWSAYP and it seems like all of our LOs could possibly be going through growth spurts. I've been keeping her on a 3-hour EASY despite the last two nights...if she wakes up again tonight, I'll probably go to a 2.5 hour EASY for a few days and see if that changes things (TBWSAYP, top of p. 118; other pgs. re. growth spurts: 30, 115-119, 197-199) . If your LOs are waking every 2-3 hours at night, that sounds like a feeding schedule. Perhaps you could take your EASY down a half hour (if you're 3.5 hours, go down to 3, etc.)? Maybe that will help your breasts to produce more milk. My LO seems full after one breast, but I'm trying to get her to eat from the other to get more calories in. Not successful at the moment, but we'll see.

Hope you find a solution soon!
Heidi

[First Time Mom]

It sounds like you and your lo are doing well for the age. Many los are not able to sleep through the night at this age, I'd give it more time. If you find he's not taking a really good feed then you can work on eliminating it (or let him eliminate it himself when he's ready). If you are offering the bottle you can reduce the quantity bit by bit until he's not taking anymore. However, make sure he's getting the extra in the daytime and watch out for the gs's where they do require more. Once again, it does sound like you're doing a great job and have a good routine going.

[babybarr]

Maybe he's having a bit of a growth spurt.  He probably is still a bit too young to be going without a feed.  I assume he's bottle fed?  I used to do a mini cluster feed around dinner time with a couple of extra ounces thrown in between evening bottle and bedtime bottle and this did help - so maybe that's worth a try?