5.30am - nightfeed or get up?

[LMcmahon]

My baby is 4 months old. I find a 5.30am wake up really awkward. If i was to do a night feed, im sure he would go back to sleep after, but then that would ge after 6am which is a perfectly acceptable time to get up with a baby, not go back to sleep.
But i find 5.30am a bit early to get up and start the day!

What would you do at a 5.30am? Night feed or just get up and start the day?

Both of my DC used to have a feed about 5am at this age. The advantage you have is that it's still dark. I had two spring babies, so it was getting light when they woke!

I used to try and put then down again. I would usually stay up myself and have a brew and get ready for when they woke, especially when I had two DC and eldest usually woke at 7am. It was a rare bit of time alone. My DH starts work at 7am so sometimes he would do the 5am feed before work to give me an extra bit of time in bed.

I treat anything before 6am as a night wake. 4.30-5am is a very typical time for babies to wake, and I would feed and encourage back to sleep. You may then get a 7am wake up next 👌

My 10 week old wakes at 5.30am (ish). It is 100% a night feed and back to sleep! She then usually sleeps until 9am and it’s the best sleep we get all night 😂

I personally treated everything before 7am as nighttime! Even when newborn I would just take him into bed with me and cuddle in the dark, even if he didnt sleep. when he got older, before he started sleeping through the night his nightfeeds got later and later until he was walking at 5.30am for a feed, i fed (I am bf'ing) and he would fall back to sleep. I would feed again when he woke up for the day. He usually sleeps until about 7.30am. Even if he is sick and not sleeping great, if he wakes before 7 crying I will give the morning feed lying down in bed in the dark. Basically I now refuse to start my day before 7am, and thanks to covid I havent had to...!

I would treat it as a night feed; I let my DS get up at that time and it’s taken me months to get him back to sleeping until later. He’ll drop that feed at some point and then you’ll be able to stay in bed longer

I treated it as a night feed with DC 1, but a get up with DC2 as DC1 is an early bird regardless! I also tend to naturally wake around then, as it's when I'd get up for work.

Night feed for sure. Sleep is good for them (and you) and there's no harm in it. If you don't go back to sleep, make a cuppa and enjoy the down time.

Definitely doze time but maybe with a coffee in bed

Thanks everyone. I felt like i was being lazy by not getting up, but obviously not!

I tried desperately to treat it as a night feed with my dc but unfortunately they were having none of it!

Night feed! Get them into the habit of a slightly later wake up for your own sake

Night feed! Definitely! Especially while it's so dark.

Night feed. I did find that if away before 5.00 I could get them asleep again but after 5.00 I had little chance. (every child is different.)

Night feed. Anything before CBeebies starts for the day is a night feed.

Night feed!

Unless you particularly want to train your baby to get to at 5.30am.

Morning here is after 7 (preferably nearer 8) though I wouldn't attempt a feed and resettle after half 6.

In spring and summer I use blackout blinds, so wake up times are the same year round.

Night feed. Keep everything dark and try to get another couple of hours.

Definitely night feed!

@mynameiscalypso

Night feed. Anything before CBeebies starts for the day is a night feed.

love this!

Night feed , I’ve just heard my 4 month old stirring so will bf her & keep everything dark & quiet . Used to do same with my twin girls who are just over 2 now . One was always awake at 5am on dot her sister didn’t wake until at least 6.30 ish Now thankfully they both sleep until around 8am .

I've got this issue at the moment with my 4 month old who is a horrendous sleeper anyway. He wakes up 4.30/5 wide awake and could previously be fed and resettled but now stays awake during the feed and won't go back to sleep after! I flat out refuse to get him up before 6am at the earliest so I end up sat in bed in the dark holding him and patting/shh-ing him until 6. It feels pointless and is so frustrating.

The problem I'm finding is that with an awake window during the day of 1.5/1.75 hours, even getting up at 6am means he needs his first nap of the day by about 7.45am! What time are your little ones having their first nap??

@Dollywilde I had this rule too

5:30am was morning to my first but definitely night feed for my 3 month old 😂