8 mth old - Is 4am/5am feed needed?

[Jennzed]

Hello,
After a few frustrating months when my little guy was 5-7 months old, we now, at 8 months, have his sleep pretty sorted out.

He sleeps about 8pm-7:30am, and 90% of the time, he wakes between 4am and 5am for a feed, then goes back to sleep for 2-3 hours.

From time to time, he doesn't wake at all for that feed. I'm just wondering if he really needs it? If you think it is just a habitual thing? Should I be just comforting him or giving him water at that time, to work on eliminating it, or is it needed?

He is healthy, over 21lb at 8mths, EBF (never had formula and is now on BF and solids) and his awake period is about 3.5-4 hours.

Example:
7am wake and eat
10am BF, sleep 1 hour
11am wake and eat snack
12pm lunch
2pm BF, sleep 1 hour
3pm wake and snack
5:30/6pm dinner
7:30 wind-down and or bath, BF
8/8:30 bed
4:30am BF and back to bed for 2-3 hours

I have a toddler as well, so a consistent and perfect EASY is not always EASY!!

Thanks for reading

[Skadiver13]

Hi Hun, if it was just habitual I would tend to think he'd wake every night for it and only take a small bit. But if he's still taking a good amount and going back to sleep after I wouls say he still needs it. It's not uncommon for there to be one feeding around that time at this age. Honestly if it's not broken I wouldn't tweak at this point. My LO was on that 4am feed (and it was a ff) until about 9.5months. It's really a personal decision if you want to wean him. My opinion is if he's taking a full feed and it's not affecting his morning feed by much than keep it for now. Or. you can try weaning it. People do this in a multitude of ways.
Night Feeds and the Breast Fed Baby

[Jennzed]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, a normal feed for him is 10 minutes and he's doing a whole 10 minutes. And when he wakes in the morning a couple hours later, he eats as usual, either a solids breakfast, followed by BF, or vice versa. I feel like, after reading your comment, I should leave it alone for now. (Even though I would LOVE to stop getting up at 4am!) I know it won't be forever.

[Skadiver13]

Hi hun sorry it sounds like he still needs it. :/ not the answer I know you wanted. Maybe give it another couple weeks. given he's not waking every night it sounds like he is self weaning the NF's which is good. So hopefully its not too far off.

[zissi]

hi jennzed,

your routine sounds like a dream and TBH I would love to have only 1 feed at 4am and then back to bed for another 3 hrs. my DD is also 8 months and was sleeping STN but lately wakes up again b/w 4-5 and wants to start the day. I feed her then so that she can go back to bed, sometimes it works, others it doesnt. she definitely doesnt go back to sleep easily after that feed and certainly there is no way of getting her back to sleep without that feed. I know her wakings are OT related and since she is 4 months old I am working on her naps which seems to be a massive struggle. what I am trying to say is, be happy that he is such a good sleeper and keep the feed for the time being. he seems like he will wean himself of it shortly...

[Layla]

Dd3 (who is also BF) started showing the ability to sleep straight through from around 4ish months but she still woke for a feed up to 2 times other nights, and I would feed her. At 8 months, she would still sometimes wake (around 3/7 nights) for a feed and it isn't until recently she started sleeping through consistently... although she did wake a few nights ago at 5.20am and I fed her rather than try and resettle. So, I think he's on his way to sleeping through but probably still needs that feed. If he wasn't eating or if he was waking every hour, that would be different but it sounds like it may be true hunger.

FYI, dd1 naturally weaned herself off night feeds at around 9 months; dd2 stopped her night feeds around 12 months (i had to help her out a bit) and as I mentioned earlier dd3 started sleeping through much earlier than dd1 and 2 but it wasn't consistent until just recently and she's 9.5months now. The 4/5am feed was the last one for us to go for all 3 girls too.