Eliminating 4Am Feeding

I would say YES! I stopped night feeding with my son at 6 months old, he goes to bed at 8 pm and gets up at 7:30, has breakfast around 8:30 (solid foods) and a bottle at 10 am. I know breastfeeding is different because it needs to be on demand, but why not try keeping her up a little later each night until it gets closer to 7:30 or 8, that way she won't be waking up that early anyways.

Doctors really vary on this point. My 9-month-old wakes to eat more than once, and I've decided to wait to nightwean until he's a year old, as recommended by Dr. Jay Gordon.

I have a 15 mo that still wakes once a night to nurse.

At that age they are growing so much.

I know that many adults cant go the whole night without waking. They get up and eat, go to the bathroom, etc....
why is it not ok for a 9 mo to do the same?

I think at that age it is appropriate for them to wake once a night to nurse... even if it is comfort nursing.

12 hours is a long time for a baby to go w/o eating.
If your LO was older I think it would be a little different.

At 3 - 6 mos - babies are developing at such a fast rate (mentally & physically) that they require a lot of sleep.
My dd used to sleep 6-8 hr stretches at that age; sometimes a lot more. Now she goes to bed at 8pm, wakes at 1 am to nurse, then gets up for the day at 6 am. It stinks to wake up and have to nurse her (well the waking part stinks) but usually I need something to drink or need to use the bathroom anyways......

Hi M.

My daughter starting sleeping thru the night (7pm to 6am) when she was only 2 months old. I was actually worried that it was too long without feeding. I questioned my pedi and she said let it go and don't wake her up. So if your 9 month old can give up the habit, according my ped at least, it won't do any harm to sleep that long.
Good luck :)

Dear M.,

Just to share my experience, my son stopped his 4am-ish feeding around 6 months old. Our doctor had told us that by 5 months old (or was it 4 months? not sure) they really don't need the late night feeding and should be able to go 12 hours without feeding. If she is drinking just for a few minutes and not getting a full meal, it's probably just out of habit like you suspect.
Remember that the metabolism slows down when we sleep. If my son skips a nap now at 18 months, he will eat more than usual.

I hope this helps,
A.

My daughter has always needed a feeding after sleeping 10 straight hours, and she is now 20 months old! I agree with the mom who suggested pushing her bedtime back if you want her to sleep longer...follow her ques.

I would think it's probably just a habit - the 4 am feeding. I have a 20 week old who is sleeping 10-12 hours a night without waking to feed. A girlfriend also has a 16 week old son who sleeps OVER 12 hours every night. Sometimes she has to wake him in the morning to feed! (WOW!) My point is that both of our children are very healthy and gaining weight fine (in fact, both are in the high percentiles for their age) - my son is actually almost 18 lbs at only 4 months, so he's not being hurt by not eating for that length of time overnight.

Even with the 4am feeding though, it sounds like she's a great sleeper! Although I'm sure you're body is begging not to have to wake at 4am anymore! :-)

Best wishes!!

I am dying to see what people say! My little one is 6 months, and does the same thing, but used to sleep through the night so I now think it is out of habit.
I was going to try and have my husband soothe her, but she gets quite hysterical so I am not sure that it would work - only after several nights of screaming it might. Did that happen with you guys?
I was also going to ty giving her expressed milk in a bottle and dilute it with water every couple of days to wean her off being hungry at that hour:

Nights 1 – 3: All night bottles – 4 ounces milk 2 ounces water
Nights 3-6: All night bottles – 3 ounces milk 3s ounce water
Nights 6-9: All night bottles – 2 ounces milk 4 ounces water
Nights 9-12: All night bottles – 1 ounce milk 5 ounces water

I'd love to know your experience with your husband soothing her.

My daughter is 7 months old and sleeps from 7:30 until 6:30 every night, so I am sure that she can go all night without eating. My daughter has been off of an "overnight" feeding since about 4 months. I know that sleep changes a bit when they are a little older like your daughter, but I wouldn't worry about her not getting enough to eat, she can definately go all night without nursing. Good luck and hopefully you'll be getting some Z's soon!!
A.

I think 12 hours is WAAAY too long for a 9 month old to go without eating; especially if she's starting (or in) a growth spurt. She will grow out of this feeding on her own - you really don't need to get rid of it until she's ready.

Good Luck!

going to bed at 6:30 i think is a bit early. and since she's getting up a 4am to nurse and then 6am for the day..... if you pushed her bedtime to 8:30 to make up that 2 hour difference she should be able to make it to 6. let her have a little cat nap from 6:30 -7 ish and then you'll have to wake her up... and keep her up until 8/8:30ish.... nurse or give her a little rice/oatmeal or somethign at 8 so her belly is full again and she should be able to make it to 6am.

once she's switched to 8pm ish bedtime and used to that you should be able to elminate teh 6:30ish catnap.

We had great results weaning nighttime feedings with a bottle of water. After a while he just didn't wake up any more! Good luck!!

This is what I was thinking........ Maybe try to keep her up a little later at night, 7pm or 7:30pm, maybe her last feeding at 7pm and put her to bed shortly after that, and perhaps she may sleep closer to 5am?

If giving up the midnight feeding seemed to go well with the help of dad soothing her perhaps try that if she wakes at 4am? If he is willing LOL!!!

I think at 9mo old, I wouldnt worry about her not eating for a number of hours at night, it really wouldnt be 12hrs, more like 10hrs or so, and if she is hungry enough she will surely let you know.

Hope this helps any? Best of Luck

I would stop putting her to bed at 6:30! I've never put my children to bed that early and they were both weaned from middle of the night feedings by about 5 months. Is it absolutely necessary she go to bed so early?

total habit they are creatures of habit give her some cereal befor egoign to bed if you are concerned about beign hungry but 12 hours is not unusual. my daugther was sleeping through the night at 8 week 9-5 and then now she sleeps from 7:30 - 6;30-700 she is 1 yr. good luck mother of a 13 10 8 and 1yr old K.

Asleep at 6:30pm??!! Are you nuts?! Of course she is waking at 4am! If you are working full-time, how are you spending any time with her if she goes to bed so early? I would def put her to bed later, and reap the benefits of her time, and your sleep.

Hi M.,

I would recommend trying to push back her bedtime to 7 or even 7:30 (perhaps try 7 for a while and then 7:30). From what you've indicated, she will sleep for a long stretch, so hopefully pushing back the bedtime will also help her to sleep later in the morning. I love how you were able to stop the midnight feeding with Dad's help, and maybe you could try a similar approach. Also, if your daughter is eating enough during the day, she won't need to feed again until morning. If you try the later bedtime, you could also push back the last feeding a little bit as well. Good luck!
S.

Sounds like it could just be a habit at this point, try to nurse her a bit more during the day to get the calories in and try the soothing thing that worked for you for the midnight feedings at 4am as well. Good luck and good for you for nursing her! If you need any nursing help, please do call, we have a support group that meets every Wednesday in West Bridgewater ###-###-#### Thanks! -P.

My kids both slept 7pm-6 or 7sm at that age (actually earlier...my daughter at 4 months and my son by 8 months). It is certainly possible and she is old enough. I think I would try putting her to bed a little later and maybe increasing her nursing or solid foods during the day. I think the solid foods might be key. If you are using store bought jars, sometimes the amounts are not enough. Babies will stop eating when they are full, not just because it's the bottom of the jar. So you may try opening another jar or giving her a little bit of baby cereal mixed with breastmilk or water or dilute juice (I never used juice, but had a friend who did...and she's a registerd dietician, so I guess it must be ok.) Actually, including cereal at dinnertime might be more filling than just veggies. More daytime calories might make it easier to go all night.

I also think it could be a habit. You might try seeing what happens if you don't go in to her immediately. She may go back to sleep on her own. Or see if Dad will try again. Remember she's in a safe place in her crib and may just need to soothe herself back to sleep. Does she seem to have a favorite lovey? That might help too.

Good luck and hope you can get more sleep soon.