Is it hunger? Is it habit?

[caf_uk]

Hi, I just wanted other's opinions of dd's wakings.  She is 9weeks, breastfed on 3hour easy, has a DF at 10:30 and wakes up at 1am, 2:30am and somewhere between 4-5am every night.  The 1am wake up just started last week and I've not been feeding her but giving her the dummy to re-settle her, and she has been going back to sleep until 2-2:30ish, when I then feed her.  However she is still waking at around 1am every night.  Then she wakes some time between 4 and 5am when I feed her again.  I then wake her at 7am to feed her and start the day.

She is only going about 3-4hours between feeds at night and I am wondering if this is average for her age.  Should I be holding off feeding her at 1am or is she hungry?  I thought with the DF at 10:30 that she should last much longer than even2:30am, so is this waking becoming habit or is it hunger?  About a month ago she was sleeping until about 3am, and a couple of nights she has gone through until 4am.  She usually has a 15-20min feed at 2 and 5am and she always falls asleep on the breast...  What can I do to extend her night time sleep?  Should I be feeding her whenever she wakes?  Help!

[KellyC]

Hi

I'd say your LO is doing very well bearing in mind she's so young.  It's perfectly normal to be feeding a couple of times during the night and as you're breastfeeding the amount of time she goes between feeds during the night may vary depending on how her feeds have been during the day.  I think if she was hungry at 1am she wouldn't go back to sleep with the dummy until 2-2.30am so you're doing the right thing.  The dummy is a great tool to assess whether your LO is really hungry or not.  I would keep doing as you are and if the 1am waking continues consider using wake to sleep for that one.  Let me know if you get to that stage.

You're doing a great job 

[caf_uk]

Well the night before last she went through until 3am but last night again woke at 12:30am this time.  I would really like to try wake to sleep to get her out of this habit.  What time would you suggest I go in?  The usual routine is bed at 7pm, DF sometime between 10:30 and 10:45, finished between 11 to 11:10 then she wakes usually between 12:30 and 1am.  I've been using w2s to extend her daytime naps for the last few days quite successfully but am yet to let her go on her own.  Any tips to help this technique work for nights?

[KellyC]

I haven't actually used w2s for nights but I understand it's exactly the same principle except you do it an hour before they'd usually wake, so maybe try it at midnight?  Any earlier and she would only just have gone back to sleep after her DF!  The idea is to stick at it for 3 nights.  Good luck and let me know how it goes.

Kelly x