How do I know if my baby still needs night feeds?!

[FTM85]

Bit of an odd one...

My little girl is 7 weeks and a midwife I spoke to today seems surprised that she isn't sleeping through the night (which I KNOW is silly as all babies are different and babies sleep cycles are short etc).

But it randomly got me thinking...

Until now I tend to feed (breast) my lg every time she stirs, assuming she is hungry. She makes hunger cues in her slee such as lip smacking, and the tongue comes out! But I have really just realised she is never actually AWAKE, I just assume she is hungry so I pick her up and feed.

What do other BF mamas do? I don't want to leave her hungry but am not actually convinced she is.

Thanks

You are doing exactly the right thing

Thank you ispymincepie! That is good to know x

I would keep doing what you're doing.... 7 weeks is tiny & if you're awake to be picking up those cues then why not feed her??

Mine is 5 months and if she wakes and starts stirring and indicating she might be hungry overnight then I tend to feed her. She's easier to get back to sleep if I feed her while she's still drowsy & it's just a much more calming experience than waiting till she's fully awake screaming the place down.

Thanks P1nkSparkles - yes I realised I've made this sound like a problem - I haven't meant to it was totally just curiousoty

I feed my 11 month old several times during the night. She thinks she needs it so i just get on with it!

Totally normal.. Mine fed through the night until 14 months ( but looking back I should have nipped that in the bud when he went on solids)

I used to feed my DC during the night until they were around 12 months. They were eating a fair bit during the day at that point, so I switched to giving them water one night instead of milk in case they were thirsty instead of hungry. They didn't wake up during the night after that.

At 7 weeks they were waking up about three times a night. A lady up the road swore her baby slept through the night from one week old. The baby was very large though. A larger baby has a larger stomach so can hold more food to keep them going during the night hours.

I do the same with my 8 week old ... I find it only takes 20 mins to feed and change if I catch when she cues instead of full hour if he wakes up upset and crying x

Dd2 is 7 weeks (8 on friday) and I feed her as soon as she makes her storing, snuffly sounds. I don't know many 7 week old babies who sleep through the night!