Hi All-
I have an almost 11 month old who is a good sleeper but I'm wondering if this is normal and if there is anything I should/could do about it. She goes down at 7-7:30pm and will wake up between 4am and 6am hungry. If we feed her at that time she will eat 8oz or more and will go down again until 6:30 or 8:30. Should we be backing her off this early am feeding? She inhales her food and goes right back to sleep, so I'm worried she actually needs it. Also, if I didn't feed her and she managed to go back to sleep, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't sleep as late in the morning as she does. What do you think? Thanks for your help!
Great feedback, thank you! We had already weaned her off doing this once, and it was weird that it resurfaced. I think now that she is older we can try giving her more solid foods that will take longer to digest than the milk. This should help her make it through the night. I don't have a problem letting her cry, but I will probably do it in stages because that makes the most sense to me. Thanks for the feedback!
Personally, I'd keep the feeding if you feel that she needs it. I'm all for sleeping as late as possible!
At that age if she's taking a bottle at night would mix in some cerial with it. It is more filling than milk and will help her sleep longer. I don't remember mine walking up at that time on their own. You might also see if feeding her a little later helps.
Good luck and God Bless!
At 11 mos, it's about extinguishing the behavior.
You'd created a habit for her with that feeding. So she IS hungry when she wakes up, because you've trained her little body to eat at that time. Her blood sugar levels drop around that time every day in anticipation for the feeding.
You can fix this, but you'll have to let her either a) cry through it and take that slightly earlier wake up or b) slowly reduce the amount you're feeding her until you stop the feed all together. I'd suggest doing the latter over the course of a week.
At 11mos, she doesn't NEED to feed overnight provided she's eating well during the day (which most healthy kids are at this age). It's a "habit" that you've unintentionally developed with her since you've kept going in. Her body responds to that routine you adhere to.
So once you establish a new routine, her body will adjust.
Pretty easy fix. :) Good luck!
I have a 11m old with a great appetite. I have noticed if the dinner is more filling he will sleep through the night. His schedule is one nap noon-3 or 4pm and bed time 7-8pm till 7-8am.
I agree with the others that this is a habit at this point. The best way (and least painful) way I know to break the habit is this: If she's been used to eating around 8 oz, tomorrow morning, give her 7 oz. The next day give her 6 oz. Drop one ounce a day. That way, she will slowly replace those calories during the day. By the time you get down to an ounce or two, she may just sleep through (mine did). Or, if you have to let her fuss for a bit, at least you have some peace of mind knowing it's not a hunger issue. Good luck!
My DD was doing the same thing. She was still eating 2x a night up until she was 14 months old, when I decided enough was enough. I dropped one of the feedings, and when she got used to that, I dropped the other (just last week!) She had a rough couple of nights when she woke up wanting to eat, but I just made sure to wear a thick shirt (so she wouldn't get the idea that I was about to feed her) and snuggled her back to sleep as soon as she woke up. When she finally realized that she wasn't going to be fed, she stopped waking up to eat. She is FINALLY sleeping all the way through the night (she sleeps from 9:00pm - 8 or 9:00am *Bliss*
our 11 month does the exact same thing! I got to admit I amso ready for him to sleep throgh the night but our doc wants him to get extra calories because he is so active and so small (still 16 lbs) but my hubby and I were also always small. anyway one tactic i heard is to give them an ounce less than they normally eat then a few days later go down again an d eventually they will sleep through with no feeding. good luck!
My DD used to do the same thing at that age, except she woke up at 4 a.m. for a feeding. I was still nursing so I would "oblige" to her feeding since I figured she needed it. Plus, getting the extra hours of sleep thereafter was worth it.
Well if you want to get rid of that feeding, you can because she does not need it. She can learn to not wake up and be hungry at that time. My suggestion is letting her be and not going to her to feed her. She may eventually fall back asleep, she may not go back to sleep and fuss until you get her up and she may give you some earlier mornings. But eventually, she will learn to stop waking up for that feeding and her sleep will gradually lengthen out. But if you're okay with how it currently is, you could continue for another month or two, but beyond that you will want to cut the habit out.
my 11 month old son, goes down at 10pm wakes up anywhere around 1 and 2 for feed. Then again at 4 or 5 and he is AWAKE at 7. So your a lucky woman. LOL now my daughters would go down at 8 or 9 and not wake till 8am... very rarely did they ever wake up.. not sure why my son does it. ARGH.
