Is it true?

[Sterla]

My DS has been waking 3 times a night recently. Yes, it's tiring - but generally I just give him a quick feed and he's down again without any fuss. I've mentioned his night wakings to a few other mums, and they've come back asking if I feed him every time. I do. But they've said that they've heard that after 6 months babies don't need the night feeds, and if they're waking it's just out of habit.

Is this true? After I heard that I actually tried it with DS... but it ended with him being awake for 3 hours and being fed back to sleep anyway . If I'd fed him to begin with he probably would have just gone back down easily.

I guess I'm wondering if there's actually any truth to it, cause if so then I guess I could be getting DS to sleep through (or at least wake less). But then again, what I'm doing now works okay too...

[amberj]

I think 6-7 months is still a bit young to be expected to go through without a feed. When my DS was still waking for a feed at 12 months I thought he probably didn't need it anymore and we phased it out very successfully. But I think your little guy could probably still do with a feed overnight- however, I'm not sure he needs 3 feeds overnight! I don't know the best way to drop down his overnight feeds to one or two, but it would probably be good for both of you if you could- you would get more sleep and your DS would probably sleep better too- he might be in a habit of waking up every couple of hours whereas he might only actually need one feed a night. Someone else might have some good suggestions on how to do this- sorry!!

[Arimeh]

I'm pretty sure Miss M was still having some night feeds then (even though she was bottle fed) and we let her dictate when to stop it. One night she flat out refused to drink it, or drank like 20mls or something, so we just patted her back to sleep - and now thats all it takes (well except for last night - she was awake for quite a bit of it but we won't talk about that)

Aricyn dropped his 3/4am feed at around 6 months (ish) and was happy with the dummy to go back to sleep. Still wakes up during the night, but not to feed, just cos thats what he does.

I think my point is- some kids are always goin to wake up during the night, doesn't matter if you feed them or not - they don't seem to like the concept of sleeping through.

I'd type more but my fingers are frozen COS OF ALL THIS BLOODY RAIN!!!!!

[MantaRay]

I wonder where this idea that babies don't need overnight feeds from 6 months comes from - what an odd idea! Anyway, check out this thread for more opinions on this: http://forums.bellybelly.com.au/foru...ml#post1981794

[STARRYSKY]

my DS still wakes occasionally at night, I feed him back to sleep, we co sleep so its pretty easy, 10 mins and he is asleep again and so am I.
The girls in my mums group are all formula feeding now and dont feed at night, DS has a dummy too, I know that if I pop the dummy back in and he still whinges he needs the booby!
but Jacob is a bit older than your bubba. Do what feels right for you, all babies are different, all mums are different, I just do what works for me! xx

[~Kim~]

Hey Sterla, I agree with MR, some people just need a date for everything. My little guy is a bit hit and miss, but he still usually has 2 feeds overnight too. Until recently it was 3-4 cos I'd just feed him to get back to sleep. Now more often than not he refuses any other than his set 2, but sometimes he doesn't.

[Sterla]

Thanks for your replies . I didn't think just suddenly stopping feeding him at night seems right. Actually, DS is so distracted by everything through the day that night is the only time he does really decent feeds.

[Daydream Believer]

DD still wakes multiple times during the night for a feed, & if she doesnt get it she just gets hysterical & it takes hours to get her back to sleep.
I dont believe there is any magic number where they will just "sleep through" or give up their night feeds. They will do it when they are ready

[indie24]

DD still has a feed overnight. She was waking 2 or 3 times but I found if I put her dummy back in she would go back to sleep. If she kept waking then I would feed her and she would then sleep for longer time

[Arcadia]

Actually, DS is so distracted by everything through the day that night is the only time he does really decent feeds.

This is a really common thing and even babies who used to sleep though will ofte start waking at this age. I found feeding DD in a quiet room helped - or lying down to feed her.

That being said I still feed through the night. On a good night its once, at the moment its 2 hourly.

Hmmm....DD has never slept through and tbh, I can't see how I am supposed to not feed her when she's screaming and all she needs is a boob.

Anyway - I am hoping that when she is older we can phase it out gently.

[Mezzz]

He may not "need" it but if thats the easiest and quickest way for him to settle to sleep and its working for you then I would definitely not change what you are doing because of what others say. Their babies may use dummies during the night, they may not "need" that dummy either but it sooths them and helps them settle hence why they are using it.
Some babies will learn to settle themselves during the night some might not every baby is different. When you personally feel like YOU want to stop the feeding to sleep (if it doesnt happen naturally) I recomend the book 'No Cry Sleep Solution' by Elizabeth Pantley and also Pinky McKays Sleeping Like a Baby. Both books will tell you what you are doing is totally natural but will give you gentle ideas on how to slowly change the feed to sleep cycle.
Personally I still feed my 23 month old to sleep at night. He is fast asleep within 5-10 minutes, during the night if he ever wakes I feed him back to sleep an again it takes a couple of minutes and we are both back to sleep quickly. I tried to change this when he was younger because people kept telling me I was doing the wrong thing, then i read both of the above books and realised that it was working perfect for me, and all the people telling me I was doing the wrong things are the ones having to resort to controlled crying because their babies wont go to sleep so easily. Try and look at is as though you are lucky you have the magic power of the boobs to put your bubs straight to sleep! (sorry that turned into a long rant!)

[Dedicated Doula Gillian]

See what works best for you...
I fed on demand and was happy with it!
But I stopped working to have my babies, so i wasn't too phased when they woke, it wasn't as if i had to go to 'work' in the morning... It's your choice, I had a friend who had to go back to work 12 weeks after her babs' birth so she used a strict routine and that was her choice so...

[AliBaby]

You are doing such a good job.

I did hear the same info as you did and for some reason I gave it a try as I was wondering if DD was just waking at night because she knew she was going to be fed. I tried it for a week and it was really hard...very stressful for both of us.

I thne decided that I am just going to feed her if she wakes as it is alot quicker to get her back to sleep and is less stress on both of us.

Every night is different and I go to bed wondering what the night will bring. I never expect DD to sleep through but she sometimes surprises me. She has slept through the last 2 nights but I have put her to bed tonight and will just deal with whatever the night brings.

Seems what you are doing now is working for your gorgeous DS so if you can handle feeding when he wakes I'd just keep going with it.

[principessa76]

My GP told me at DS's 6 month immunizations that he did not need feeds overnight anymore. At the time he was eating heaps of solids. He had been sleeping through the night for a month or so when he was 4 months old and then he stopped so I was giving him a BF at about 3.30am. Because he had been sleeping through I knew he could do it and that he probably was just feeding for comfort. It took a few nights to get him to go back to sleep without a feed. The first night I gave in after 90mins of him stirring every 10mins and gave him a BF. The next night he resettled after about 30mins of patting and then the next night it only took a couple of mins.

I think its up to you what you do. If you think he needs it then give it to him.

[Jakabella]

Bella sleeps through mostly evey night but if she does wake up and is unsettled I take her out to the lounge and just sit on the couch and most times she goes back to sleep in my arms and then I put her back to bed - if not I will feed her but she generally only takes a few sips and then she is asleep.
When she was first teething she was having a feed over night for a bout a week and then when she has a growth spurt she has a feed but now she sleeps through from 6.30 - 7 evey night with out a feed. But bubs are all different and if they need a feed then so be it! If Bella desided that she wanted a feed over night I would not deny her that just to get her to sleep through.

HTH

Kate xox

[Sterla]

Thanks for your replies girls . It seems this is yet another one of those 'things' that mums are told, but is rubbish. Well, not rubbish - but another example of every baby being so, so different. Who comes up with all these 'rules' for babies anyway?

Feeding DS back to sleep really is the quickest and easiest way, and I would find it far too stressful to deal with hours of screaming while I tried to get him back to sleep another way.

Maybe he'll sleep through for me some day though... haha... mummy's tired

[Kazmar]

You have many wonderful replies to put your mind at ease but thought I should add. Annabelle was having night feeds still at 12months. She wasn't hungry, its just like the biggest cuddle she could get

[Emma1979]

do whatever gets you both the most amount of sleep with the least amount of fuss, you can tackle issues like this later when he is older, much older.... trust me, sleep comes first, you can't teach a six month old baby not to wake up - i don't care what anyone says... xx