Early morning feeding - do I do it?

[elliotlove]

Quick question. My 3 mo old son is about 12 lbs and we are on 3 hour EASY.

He goes down around 6:30 - 7 for the night and gets a DF at around 10.

-When he wakes at 3:30am/4am do I feed him? Or do I put off his feed until he is ready to start his day?

-Also, what time do you think his day should start? 6 - 6:30am?

THANK YOU!!!

[llambden]

I would feed him.  If he is just eating a few oz's then I would try to hold him off.  But if he eat lots then he is hungry and you should feed him.

[elliotlove]

Thanks so much! 

[jessica5]

I think that, at three months, babies should be sleeping about 10 hours at night (my five month old isn't doing this yet, though  .  From reading other posts here, though, it seems like many babies sleep from 7 PM until 7 AM.  In the General Sleep thread, there's a post that gives sleep guidelines based on age.

My guess would be that you shouldn't feed him when he wakes at 3:30 or 4:00.  My daughter wakes at about 4 AM and I used to feed her, assuming she was hungry.  But then when I fed her again at 7 AM (which is when we begin our day on EASY), she wasn't hungry...... so, I decided she wasn't hungry when she woke at 4:00.  Now I use shh/pat when she wakes during the night and wait until 7 AM to feed her.  

If your son is getting 25 to 28 ounces (if you're bottle feeding) during the day, then he probably isn't hungry when he wakes at 3:30.

If you want your son to wake at 6:00 or 6:30, it's probably fine, since he goes to sleep by 7 at night..... but if you want him to sleep later, you might try putting him down at 7:30.  In Tracy's sample 3 hour EASY routine, she suggests a 7 AM wake time and 7:30 PM bedtime.

HTH

[elliotlove]

Thanks for such a detailed answer. I want to push his bedtime later....am going to try. I get so paranoid about him getting overtired though....he's an angel with sleeping and naps. I put him down and he off he goes..

[Jo-FrasersMum]

Hi there,

I think you are right to worry about a later bedtime causing overtiredness.  The later bedtime will come as you baby gets a little older, I wouldn't push it now.

I think your LO is doing brilliantly for 3 months old.  I personally would definitely feed him at the 4am mark - he is going from 10 - 4, a 6 hour stretch which is actually considered sleeping through (a missed feed).  Where the pp refered to babies sleeping 12 hours, I think you will find that often includes waking for a feed (but going straight back to sleep afterwards) - still "sleeping" from 7 - 7 but including a feed or two during that time.

You should look at starting your day at whatever time works best for you.  Personally, I wanted our day to start at 7am but if my DS woke anytime after 6am we would start our day then.  If he woke before 6am I would try to get him back to sleep.  That was the times that worked best for our family so you just need to think about what times will work for you. 

Sounds like you and your DS are doing brilliantly.  Don't think that you have to force the "sleeping through" issue - it will come when your DS is ready.  If you are trying pat/shh and he just isn't settling, I would personallly just offer him a feed.

Good luck
Jo

[rosies mam]

I was just about to post a similar question.  My 3 1/2 month old goes to bed and feeds 7pm ish and has DF at 10pm, then wakes 3am.  She is breast fed which, I know, means that she will find it more difficult to sleep right through.  But I have begun to get partner to settle her back to sleep at 3am, rather than feeding her and was worried that I was being cruel!  She always manages to settle back down.  When she does have a 3am feed it is only for 5 mins so is more likely to be thirsty than hungry.  If I don't feed her she settles back until 6am. 
Am I a bad mammy to not feed her?

[Kimberly®]

Thanks for such a detailed answer. I want to push his bedtime later....am going to try. I get so paranoid about him getting overtired though....he's an angel with sleeping and naps. I put him down and he off he goes..

I highly suggest you don't move your LO's bedtime. The times he's down are perfict. If you move it back I you'll find you'll have more problems. Your LO is doing great I also suggest that you feed your LO, however don't be afread to try pat/shush or PU/PD withing a few months, not right away, but if after 5 months your LO is still waking then it's likely due to haibbit, thats when you'll worry about stopping it, idealy your LO will stop on his own, he's off to a great start. Congratulations.

[Kimberly®]

I was just about to post a similar question.  My 3 1/2 month old goes to bed and feeds 7pm ish and has DF at 10pm, then wakes 3am.  She is breast fed which, I know, means that she will find it more difficult to sleep right through.  But I have begun to get partner to settle her back to sleep at 3am, rather than feeding her and was worried that I was being cruel!  She always manages to settle back down.  When she does have a 3am feed it is only for 5 mins so is more likely to be thirsty than hungry.  If I don't feed her she settles back until 6am. 
Am I a bad mammy to not feed her?

Not at all. If your LO is resettling without any fuss and muss then continue. Your doing great.