2am - to feed or not to feed?

[MedicalEd]

DD is 5 months and for the last month or so she has gone from feeding at about 4/4.30am back to a 2am feed and a 5am feed.
I know this is probably a sleep regression but it has been going on for ages!
What I am puzzled about is how can I tell if she really needs this 2am feed and if I can start to phase it out?
She is tracking the 50 centile and HV is happy with her weight gain.
When she dropped a night feed before she just did it on her own but am not convinced she will now.

My 5 month old used to feed about 2 then 5, then slept all night (9 hours) for a couple of weeks, then had a couple of nights where she fed every hour, now back to 2.30 ish then 6. I think at this age need and want is the same - they have all sorts of growth spurts, teething, getting distracted in the day then hungry at night going on, and I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving her if she was asking for a feed. not sure when that ends but at the moment we are feeding on demand whether it is day or night. Everybody is different though so it might not work the same for you. Hope you get some sleep though!

I have an 18 week dd and her sleep varies too, and I agree with snarkhunt - I'm just feeding on demand. It gets her content and back to sleep so we're all happy - there's no way my little one would go back to sleep if she wanted milk, even if 'just' for comfort, and the whole neighbourhood would hear about it - I'd rather the quiet/lazy life I'm afraid! She has no idea what time it is or how long has passed since the last feed, so don't worry about it becoming a habit - I'm sure it will change again with growing/teething/weaning/whatever. Just concentrate on looking after yourself and making the night feeds as easy as you can.

I absolutly agree with other posters. And i speak as someone who's dc went through a phase of needing midnight feasts, proper solids, at 15m. Their needs change frequently, and sometimes that means a step "backwards" before one forwards.

DS is 5 months and still having his 3am feed and then waking for the day between six and seven am, often nearer six sadly. I'm just hanging on in there and figure that he won't still be doing it when he's at university and even if he is, it won't be my problem anymore. :)

Just hang in there is what I meant to say - it's tough but you are not alone.

Thank you gang, that makes me feel better.
I do feed on demand but she is just not very demanding.
She wakes up and starts making noises but doesn't cry so like you diyqueen I just get up and feed her (lying on a single bed in the nursery) and she mostly feeds back to sleep.
I never had a problem with it (if I could nap when she napped in the day) but always had in my mind that she would be sleeping through by about now.
Will just keep ploughing on.

Do you ever wake up and have a drink of water during the night? It's just the same. Don't stress about when they "should" be sleeping through the night it is absolutely not a milestone or a goal you need to work towards. Just a dream for some time in the future hahaha!