Night feeds at 6 months

[Haribo2012]

Hi all, just after some thoughts really.....DS2 is 6 months in a week or so, I still DF at 10.30 and he wakes 2.30-3.30 for feed then sleeps till 6.30/7.

Everyone irl is saying that NF is habit now and should've dropped it, I was quite happy as he just drinks 4/5 oz then goes straight back to sleep.

DS1 just went later and later with WU but DS2 is different lol.


What were your experiences?x

[FPT23]

Hi!

I shared my personal experience already with DS1! Hope it gave you some insight

I hope other moms jump in and share some advice to help you out some more! Many hugs xo!

[Lindsay27]

With my DS we dropped NFs at 8 months, he was a tiny baby so we waited until he was well established on solids and the NF started affecting day feeds, so we weaned gradually, reducing his bottles by an ounce every 3ish days.

With DD she literally dropped it all at once and she's now STTN.  I never did a DF with her (or with DS for that matter) and one night she woke up at 11:30pm and I thought 'it's way too early for a feed' so I just resettled her and she slept until morning.  And that was enough to make her increase her day feeds the next day and just kind of set her on that cycle of eating more during the day and nothing at night.  For a while she was waking at midnight and it was absolutely habitual because you could time it, then the one night I just resettled her and that was it, NFs were done.  It's been almost 3 weeks now.

I am wondering 2 things for you, if you stopped the DF if he would sleep until the 2:30am feed or if you kept the DF and resettled the 2:30am feed...it could be worth trying either just to see?

[Haribo2012]

Thanks ladies, this DS is tough one to figure out. DS1 just fed later in the night and eventually went till 5am.

I've tried not DF but he still wakes around 11.30 then drains a bottle then again at 4! Tonight DF then woke at 1.45am so I thought not feeding yet and would not resettle so DH took and now feeding.

I think I'll just try dropping DF and trying a resettle see if can get to 1 NF!

Eta I'm not sure also if he wakes from trapped wind or its his reflux playing up in the night x

[needasleepingangel]

Hi Lindsay, thanks for sharing your experience. My DD is 7 weeks old and has 2-3 NF (after DF) and sometimes the feeds are 2 hours or less apart. I am not sure whether she wakes because of hunger or something else. I usually just try 3-5min to resettle her and if it doesn't work, I will just feed her. I wonder how long you tried to resettle DD each time. How did you resettle her at night? Thanks.

[michaeljacknnugg]

General rule is that if they are waking and taking a full feed, they need that NF. There is no 'set' age as every baby is different. Mine is very active, for example.

It's worth trying a resettle first. Mine will loudly object if he needs feeding!!

[Haribo2012]

If he was only taking an oz or 2 is think it was habit but he drains bottles. Think he's making up for being a fussy feeder when reflux was hurting him x

[Lindsay27]

Yes I agree, if they are taking a full feed at night you can more or less assume it is hunger.  That said my DS would take a full feed at night but then didn't want to eat anything until like 11am the next day, so it was obvious he had just transferred his day feeds for night feeds.

My other general rule is they should be able to do a stretch at night equal to what they do in the day.  So if you feed every 3hrs in the day they should be able to do that through the night.  At 7 weeks 2-3 NF is relatively normal I would say and at that age I would likely just feed too so everyone can go back to sleep.  My DD is 7 months so I knew her waking at 11:30pm/midnight was not hungry related as she was easily doing stretches until 4am and I could time the waking every night, it was obvious it was becoming habitual.  To resettle her I just put her paci back in and rubbed her back for bit. 

[FPT23]

I second MJ&N had to say!

If I tried to resettle and he objected fully, it was hunger for us also!

Good luck! Xoxo

[Haribo2012]

I'll maybe just see how things go, last night woke at 10.30 and 3.30 drained 6oz and still fed at 7.30 8oz.

[FPT23]

Have you tried increasing oz during the day?

[Haribo2012]

He takes 4 X 8oz bottles plus small porridge at breaki lol x

[FPT23]

Oh my! Well maybe the fact that he had reflux so little- he's making up for it

Let's not forget the 6 mth GS! I think there's on around there. Maybe he's hitting it earlier

[Lindsay27]

Ya if he's taking that much during the day and also taking good feeds at night is say it's just hunger. 

[Haribo2012]

He's had lunch today as well lol he's going to be a chunk x

[Lindsay27]

It really only took a week or 2 before we were doing 3 meals a day.  Once he gets to that point night sleep might get better, that's exactly when DD started STTN.

[Haribo2012]

I can live in hope....tonight it won't happen pretty sure we will get OT NW as he refused CN as nap before than ended at 3.30 so tried for EBT but big brother woke him up doing his bedtime dance  so now it's 3.5 hours since last nap and he's bouncing round his cot like a kangaroo and won't be rocked to sleep either!!