Should I feed 11 week old at night?

[floppops]

My 11 week old has started sleeping 5 hours at night!! Woohoo!! She was never a good sleeper so I am over the moon.
She goes down at 9.30pm and then wakes around 3am. I hear her thrashing about in her moses basket ( am planning on moving her to a cot this week )and pick her up for a feed.She then goes down for another couple of hours.
Is this the right thing to do?
Should you wait till they cry?
Should I give her her dummy to get back to sleep?
Hard to tell if she is hungry as she never turns down a feed. I don't really mind the night feed, I was just wondering if I replace it with her dummy she might learn to sleep all the way through?

[Tillyscoutsmum]

It might be worth trying a dummy. If she's hungry, the dummy won't do the trick and you'll know to feed her. FWIW, my ds is 16 weeks and still feeds 3 x per night

[PDog]

Lucky you! My DD is nearly 18 weeks and wakes for one feed in the night. She never cries - I can just hear her shuffling about in her crib next to me. She is always very hungry though (ferocious (sp?) sucking) when I feed her and then she goes back to sleep for a few hours. If she wakes a lot earlier than I expect, I will leave her for awhile and she often settles herself back to sleep.

Day time sleep, however is a different issue.

At this age I believe it is unlikely for her not to need a feed during the night. If you replace with a dummy you might affect your supply (assuming you are bf).

[omnishambles]

yes, shes only 11 weeks. If you want her to go longer you could do a dreamfeed at 11 or some such.

But I wouldnt even consider stopping the night feed until they were happily on solids after six months.

[GetThePartyStarted]

If you think that your daughter isn't hungry, then by all means try settling her with the dummy - if tat doesn't work you can always feed her then

I think it is fairly unusual for 11 week olds to sleep through consistantly, so don't be surprised if she doesn't yet, or (like my 10 week old DS) sleeps through for 2 nights followed by 2 weeks of hourly waking!

Worth a try though

[floppops]

Good point about my milk supply PDog-hadn't thought of that. Think I will keep up with the night feeds. Heres hoping the blissful 5 hours isn't a phase and she doesn't go back to the 2 hourly wake ups!

[InmaculadaConcepcion]

5 hours, lucky you!

My DD is also 11 weeks and I feel blessed if she sleeps for 3 hours between feeds. Four or more is a rare and beautiful thing!!

I echo what the others say - if she's hungry, yes, feed her!! I doubt she'd go back to sleep for long, if at all, if she needed a feed...

[Teapot13]

My daughter also started sleeping for long stretches in the night (lucky me!) and the paediatrician (who we saw for another issue) said we absolutely have to wake her every 4-5 hours. She was probably about the same age as your daughter when this took place.

I have always set an alarm to feed her.

If there's any doubt, I have definitely noted (from times I have slept through the alarm) that she can sleep a lot longer than 5 hours, but she sleeps a longer total amount if she has a feed in the middle. (I mean, she might be able to sleep 6-7 hours but then she's up for the day.) I prefer to feed her and get more total sleep.

[ches]

She is far, far, far, far, far, far too young not to be offered a feed at night if she wakes for it. Nine months and eating well is one thing, 11 weeks oh no no no. Be eternally grateful for one waking a night; the norm is 3 a night when they're this tiny.

[AussieSim]

Yes please.

[jardins]

My 12 week old DD is sleeping through from 11pm until anything from 5 to 7am more and more often: bliss. Furthermore she generally wakes up gradually (there's nothing more jarring than being awakened by a crying baby - Jardins shudders as she recalls her DS who cried a lot as a toddler
) BUT to reach this state of quietness I need to feed her over 2- 3 hours on and off in the evening. I always feed her if she does wake up earlier than 5am although I give her time just to see if she falls back asleep again, which she sometimes does.

I love my in-laws but get inwardly fustrated when my fil is surprised my LO does not sleep according to a strict, regular routine and my mil encourages me to leave her to cry herself to sleep [wearyface emoticon].

[sweetkitty]

My last two babies never slept through until a year.

At 11 weeks I would expect most babies to wake at least once in 12 hours for a feed. It's also a comfort thing as well as a nutrition thing and if you are happy with it then just do what feels right for you.

[bruffin]

Both mine slept through from 11 to 7 in the morning at 12 weeks, so she may not need a feed. They just didn't wake up for a feed. It's perfectly normal for a baby not to feed in the night from about that age, despite what some people on these boards like to lead others to believe.

Why don't you just leave her a little bit longer and she might self settle without crying.

[butterfly74]

My 12 week is waking at around 4am but I replace his dummy and he goes back to sleep til about 5.30 or 6am. He's not needing a night feed as I 'dreamfeed' at about 11pm and this seems to get him through happily. He feeds every 3 to 4 hours during the day.
This was the advice my Health Visitor gave and I know quite a few Mums doing the same with same age babies. As long as your baby gets all the milk they need and is gaining weight you don't need a night feed if they don't ask for it.

[OurLadyOfPerpetualSupper]

DD used to sleep through until 5am, then start flapping, and I used to find putting my hand gently on her tummy calmed her down and she'd go off for another couple of hours.
After a while, she stopped the flapping and just slept through!
She did feed solidly from about 8.30pm to 11.00pm, but I didn't mind as her sleeping through gave me more energy to deal with her older brother who still woke twice a night aged 3.
I wouldn't fight against feeding her if you think that's what she's waking up for (which you obviously aren't), but there's no harm in seeing if she can manage a whole night without a feed - as someone said, she'll get the milk she needs throughout the day.