4 month old eats a ton during night but not much in the day

[Daisy8680]

DS will be 4 month on 15th. I noticed he eats a ton during the night (1st stretch is 3.5 or 4 hours and 2-2.5 hrs after that, the early morning feeds are close to 1.5 hrs apart). He would take both breasts for each night feeding. During the day, he barely eats and wouldn't finish one breast at a time.

I should add that we pat him to sleep but probably created a habit of feeding to sleep at night. How can I help him sleep longer after the first stretch, especially during the early morning hours?

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

How does he fall asleep during the day? While it is normal for a bf to have nf's still every 1.5 hrs is pretty short - have you tried to resettle without a feed at that time?

[Daisy8680]

In the daytime, I pat him to sleep. In the last two nights, I tried to stretch his feedings to 2hours apart at least. With either pat him in the arm or cosleep. But he wasn't settled until I nursed him. He would toss and turn for the whole 30 minutes. Does this mean he is truly hungry? Another question is how often should he nurse now? Is it around 3.5 hours apart or 4 hours? Because he ate so much at night, he isn't hungry in the day. Sometimes he could go for 3.5 hours. I haven't tried 4 hours.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

There is quite a variety in the timings for a bf baby - some can do 4 hourly feeds at 4 months but many cannot. I found it easier to go by cues rather than the clock as much as possible. Any chance something like reflux or intolerances are at play? That can lead to frequent feeds and discomfort causing nw's too.

[newkidontheblock]

Just a thought, could it be that he is too distracted in the day to eat and so gets his calories in the night when it is calm & quiet & he can focus? Tracy does talk about that, and for us, this month we have had to nurse in a very dimly lit room. If I nurse anywhere else, she keeps pulling off to look around & fussing if I keep offering. I just offer multiple times during the day, so make sure she gets most of her calories then. Hope that was a little helpful

[Daisy8680]

He has no reflux or other medical issues as I am aware of. I thought he was distracted during the day and has been feeding him in his room, quietly and dim light. He still doesn't eat much. I will follow his cues for next couple of days and see what happens. I have an older dd and so sometimes I want to get feeding done so that we can go out and play. For sure I haven't watched his cues closely. Thanks for the advice.