8 MO wakes early for feeding

[JDeMelo]

Hello,

I am trying to sort out how to best deal with my daughter's early waking. She typically goes to bed at 7:30 and will wake somewhere between 4:30 and 6. She is usually pretty happy when she first wakes, so we leave her to see if she will settle back to sleep, but when she starts crying I will feed her. Sometimes she won't actually cry until 6:30. Now, when I feed her at this time, she is still extremely sleepy and I can tell she's not ready to get up, so I put her back down and often she will sleep until 8 or 8:30 when she wakes happy.

I can't say I mind this late waking, but I'm worried by feeding her and putting her back down this late in the morning she may develop a habit. Do you suggest I get her up when I feed her and then stretch her out until her first nap?

It may be helpful for you to know that she usually does a 4 hour easy, with a nap in the morning (usually 1 or 1.5 hours) and a nap in the afternoon (usually 1.5 to 2 hours). We have dropped her catnap, so her last wake time usually from about 4 until 7:30.

Any advice you have would be great!

[Erin M]

Hi there!

Is she eating at night at all?  Do you do a dream feed?  What is she taking in terms of milk, solids during the day?

[JDeMelo]

Hi Erin,

She doesn't typically have a dreamfeed. We had tried them awhile ago when she was about 5 months and they didn't seem to make a difference in her night feeds so we dropped them.

She is BF so she is currently nursing 4 times during the day and then this additional early morning feed. I'm not sure what that would equal in ounces, but I assume it is about 20oz. Any idea how I can tell for sure?

Solids she typically has
Breakfast: 3tbsp oat cereal with BM and 1/4 cup of fruit or yogurt
Lunch: 1/2 cup of different veggies
Dinner: 1/4 cup veggies, 1/4 cup fruit

Thanks for checking this out

[Erin M]

You can never tell how much they're getting unless you weigh them before and after.  It's definitely the trickiest thing about bfing!  I'd say it's probably genuine hunger at that point -- whati did at that age was try to feed one-sided or feed for a short time so as not to add too many calories at that point.  With all of mine, the waking got pushed out farther and farther until it was gone. 

[JDeMelo]

What is it that makes you think it's hunger? Would you suggest increasing her solids during the day? Or just continuing as is and expect her to wean off the feed on her own?

I plan to try dream feeding for the week to see if it makes any difference. If I don't see any changes over the week, I will drop that idea.

Now, my remaining question is, what should I do about a morning feed? Should I treat this one as the start of the day, even if she goes back down for an hour or two? I don't expect to have much milk left for her if it's just a short time before she wakes for the day. Thoughts?

[Erin M]

I think it's hunger only based on personal experience -- all of mine were still feeding at night at 8 months (1 with a dream feed, one with an early morning feed, and one with a deal feed and a night feed).  It's really not uncommon for bf babies to feed at night at 8 months. 

I would often try to do short feeds or one-sided feeds at the early morning wake up (made it easier to drop in the long run, less calories to shift).  I also always fed on waking too -- mine generally would feed well then too, especially if I just did a short feed to get them through.  Mill production hormones are actually at their highest between 2 and 6 AM so supply generally isn't an issue at that point -- is there something that makes you feel it might be?