should I feed her?

[claremoss]

Advice please?! My LO has not slept well at night for 2 months, she is now 5 months. She has fed 1.5 to 2 hourly for a long time most nights. Because of this I have been soothing her back to sleep at her first wake at around 1030pm as my feeling was she was not hungry, just needed comfort. She would then sleep till 1ish and then feed 2 hourly (ish) for rest of night. The last few nights she seems to have settled at night, she now wakes around half tennish, when I have been soothing her back to sleep without feeding, and then going through till 4ish. My question is should I be feeding her at half ten???? Seems a long time to go without a feed.... Help?! P.s. Hurrah! my 2 month night nightmare could be over.....:0)

Oooh this could be me. I've just did the same thing with my DS when he was 6 months old (he's now 7mo). I don't feed him at 10:30 unless he really REALLY doesn't settle after copious soothing or if his cry sounds different to "normal" if you see what I mean.

And then I do feed him at his next wake up. Which is actually at about 1 or 2 for my lo and he then doesn't wake until about 8.

I wouldn't if I was you. If she was waking from hunger she wouldn't fall back asleep for another 5-6 hours. I'd just keep doing what you're doing!

Would it be easier for you if you fed her? I feed DS to sleep for his afternoon nap because he is asleep in 3 minutes. If i tried to settle him to sleep it would take 30 minutes. You won't spoil her, or give her bad habits if you feed her.

I kept my 10.30/ 11 ish feed up until they both dropped it on their own at about 11 months old. I found it helped them to not wake at 2 and go through longer.

She's 5 months! Just feed her when she cries.

As long as her weight is increasing steadily I wouldnt wake her. I let my lo sleep for 12 hours from a very young age and she always gained weight well.

If it's working for you, then don't change what you are doing.

Personally, I could not cope with 4am wakings - even if the baby went straight back to sleep, I did not. So I dream-fed them at around 10pm, and kept it going until about 7-8m.

Oh, and lots of feeds during waking hours.

She goes 3-4 hourly for feeds during the day. She is BF apart from formula at bedtime.

Dd2 would go up to 7-4 from 7 weeks. She was ff but even so....

She's 5 months! Just feed her when she cries.

Babies cry for lots of reasons, not just hunger!

Our 4+ month old started sleeping through about 12 weeks. I didn't know what to do with myself! I got same advice from hv - they let you know if they're hungry but might be an idea to get dd weighed to confirm she's still growing well.

Made me feel much more settled.

90% bf and 1 max 2 ff a day - doesn't sleep during the day at all - DH has been for a 3 hour walk to get her over.

I did the opposite of what others are suggesting but horses for courses. I did feed at 10.30pm then not again for the rest of the night. Two reasons. The first was that 10.30pm was bed time for me so I knew I'd get a big stretch of sleep when I was most tired i.e. just as I went to bed. The second was because after a few nights of feeding at 10.30pm & not again even if she woke she'd only wake for the 10.30pm feed then slept for the rest of the night. This continued till about 6.5 months when she was gaining good weight on solids & bf. Then we dropped the 10.30pm & after a few nights stopped waking even for that. As I said horses for courses but my advice would be whatever you do stick to it for 2 whole weeks before you decide if it is/isn't working.

the problem was I was feeding her at 10pm and then she would be awake again by half 12! Didn't work for her, although may do now, who knows?! It all changes so much. Anyway, most nights now she no longer has that wake, and goes till after midnight for first night feed.