Do you feed baby during the night?

[Puppydogg1]

Hi all!

May be a weird question but just wanted to check other opinions!

My little boy is 6 months and is EBF.
When talking to a friend today it came up that when her LO of a similar age wakes up she just pops dummy back in, rocks baby back ton sleep and puts back in cot.

However when my son wakes up I do the same asI did when he was newborn, change and then feed him, every time he wakes up.

My friend says this is unnecessary and I Dan just settle him back to sleep without feeding, and I'm making a rod for my own back by feeding each time he wakes.

Should I be feeding him each time? Or just settle him back to sleep?

Thanks all of you so much for your advice!

I don't mind the night feeds, they're an excuse for a lovely cuddle with a sleepy baby! He is teething too so I think that's disturbing his sleep.

I just felt maybe I was going wrong somewhere when my friend said I shouldn't be feeding him during the night.

I'll just stick to what we're doing, it's working for us and as long as it does we will carry on

All babies are different. My dd was still in Co sleeper at 6 months so still had as many night feeds as she wanted. She went into her own room at 9 months at which time we sleep trained and with that came self soothing - so she naturally stopped wanting night feeds.

Due what you feel is right for you and your child. Don't worry about what others are doing. There's is no perfect method to parenting.

Similar to pp my eldest was night weaned by 6 months but my youngest still has a bottle as a toddler if she wakes (it’s never bothered me enough to try to change it!)

@greenemerald

Wondering what I'm doing wrong on the back of this thread my ds is 9mo and still wakes up for two feeds during the night! I can't settle him without it and he drains the bottle I give him so is clearly hungry. Sleeping through has never existed over here!

You're not doing anything wrong!

I breastfed mine overnight until 1.

6 months is still young - baby has spent more of his life in your womb than outside of it! I say that if it feels natural then do it.

Ignore your friend and let her do things her way. There is no one 'right way' to do things. Smile, nod and agree with your friend to get her to be quiet then do your own thing!

Definitely enjoy sleepy cuddles with your teething baby! I think it makes complete sense that a teething baby gets comfort from feeding. Glad it is working for you.

@Puppydogg1 aaaahhhh the sleepy cuddles though 😍 I agree, if it ain't broke etc.... every baby is different, and they change from one week to the next anyway so just do what works for you. I don't really agree with the "rod for your own back" thing anyway. Plenty of time to gently form new habits as they grow x

I'm always a bit at people who dismiss 'feeding for comfort' like it's a bad thing. If I wake up in the night and feel hungry/thirsty, I might well have something to eat and drink to make me more comfortable. Why should a baby be any different? Comforting your baby is a good thing isn't it? Caveat obviously that if it's doing you more harm than good then you might want to address it.

Is he getting solids yet? If so then he's probably ok but if he's not having solids I would say he's probably hungry.

I formula fed so no I didn't feed mine in the night at that age - but they had solids and also 'hungry baby milk' at bedtime.

In your situation if your baby has gone from pretty much sleeping through to waking lots there must be a reason.

@Puppydogg1 you are 100% not doing anything wrong. Such a tiny baby still !

@MoonlightMedicine thank you :)

I night weaned my first two before 6 months but they were combi fed so they filled up on a big bottle of formula before bed. My last baby I ebf after a few months of combi feeding and i waited until 12 months to night wean. I am sure I could have night weaned her earlier but I was happy to keep giving her that comfort for a bit longer.

My baby self weaned at night around 9 months. I did limit it to just one feed a night from about 7 months though.
I wouldn't change a nappy every time the baby wakes unless they have done a poo. By changing the nappy every time, you are just waking them up even more.

I did at that age. We night weaned DD at 13 months. She was eating so much in the day by that age I didn't think she needed milk in the night. At 6 months they're barely having a few mouthfuls of food so being hungry in the night still seemed reasonable.

I fed daughter in the night, when she woke. Which was every night till around 9 months. From then she gradually stopped waking in the night. By 12 months she mostly slept through.
Totally normal. She never had a dummy.

My baby is 13 months and still wakes once or twice in the night. She has been EBF so she still has milk whenever she wakes.

I wouldn't dream of telling anyone that they were doing it 'wrong'. It is whatever works for you and your baby.

My baby (8 months) used to wake at 5am on the dot and I would just feed her (she’s FF’d) but after a while I noticed she wasn’t actually crying, so she was just waking out of habit so I started just giving her her dummy and not give her milk until 7am and she started sleeping a little later. If she wakes in the night and doesn’t settle then I’ll give her milk. All babies are different though.

I breastfed in the night long past 6 months. It was a lot quicker and easier for me to bring them into the bed and feed while I snoozer then move them back to the cot. Getting up and cuddling or shushing would have been far more effort. Do what feels right to you. Agree it is very unlikely that you still need to be doing a nappy change every time by that age.

• Try not feeding him every time
• Definitely no need to change every time he wakes up (unless soaked or he's pooped). Just get some good nappies that will last all night.

Perfectly normal still to need feeds at night at 6mo. I didn't even think about trying to stop BF overnight til 18mo as then it was done with some understanding and compromises from both DS and I.

Ignore 'friend'. Do what works for your family.

My DD is 10 months. We generally try to settle her without feeding first and if it doesn't work, feed. You'll get so many different answers her and I think the main thing is that it's only a problem if it's actually causing you and LO a problem.

@Spottybluepyjamas

We night weaned at 6 months old. We were told by the HV that at 6 months babies don't need feeding overnight and that continuing just makes it into a habit. Try just settling him instead - the likelihood is that he isn't hungry. They can definitely protest it for a while though, good luck

I am never failed to be shocked at some of the stuff that comes out of some HV's mouths. 6 months is still so young. Feeding at night, especially if you are breastfeeding, is very normal for a lot longer than 6 months. Needs at this age are not just about whether your baby can survive the night without a feed. Babies feed not just because they are hungry but also because they seek comfort from their mothers.

At this age when my baby woke (which was a lot) I would pop the dummy back in, sometimes he would go straight back to sleep, but if he didnt and spat it out I knew he wanted a feed and would feed him. Also agree with others, if he is not pooing during the night and nanpy is not leaking then no need to change. Makes those wake ups much easier!

@Missmonkeypenny

It is completely normal and very okay for a baby, especially an EBF one to feed in the night, even more especially a 6 month old one! Night weaning from BF isnt recommended until 18 months IIRC.

Do you have a source for that last point?

I breastfed DC1 until he was 2 but night weaned at 10 months. From then onwards, he had a bedtime feed and then slept until ~5am, at which point he wouldn't settle without being fed or held, only slept through until morning (6.30am or later in my book!) when we introduced a gro clock at 18 months.

@NameChange30
I think it varies by NHS trust. Some say 6 months, some 8, some 12, some 18 and I think The Wirral is alone in not advising night weaning before 2 years.

Lots of organisations/websites/doctors that specifically support breastfeeding generally dont advise night weaning before 12 or 18 months.
Where I work night weaning isnt advised before 6 months for a bottle fed baby and 12 months for a breast feed baby.

@NameChange30 it sounds like you didnt fully night wean until 18 months? As you still kept the 5am feed? That was the last feed to go for me too.