What you need to know about dropping nighttime feedings.

“How do I know if my baby is ready to drop nighttime feedings? “

This is a question that most parents wonder at some point or another and are anxious to know when they can expect their baby to sleep through the night without feedings. It can definitely be confusing to try and figure out or to know when babies are truly ready to drop their feedings, so in today’s post I will help point you in the right direction when it comes to your baby’s nighttime feedings. 

The first thing I like to explain is that instead of dropping nighttime feedings, I prefer to look at it as transferring those feedings to daytime. We don’t want to just drop feedings without replacing them. So it’s important to take note of your baby’s overall calorie intake during the day and see how you can add in an extra feeding or an extra 1-2 ounces per feeding to ensure that your little one is meeting all of their daily food requirements. You don’t want to be second guessing yourself if and when your baby wakes up in the middle of the night wondering if he/she is hungry.

The following are suggestions to help you determine whether or not your baby is ready to drop those night feedings.

You've gotten an ok from your pediatrician.

First thing’s first…It is of utmost importance that your pediatrician is on board and has given you the green light to start dropping your baby's night feeds. If you are unsure, don’t assume your baby is ready to drop those feedings, especially if they are still in the newborn stage, have any sort of medical issues or poor weight gain where they would still require nighttime feedings. As soon as your doctor has given you their approval, you an go ahead and devise a plan on how you are going to start dropping those feedings.

Baby is not taking in a full feeding

Your baby is consistently not finishing a full feeding and is dozing back to sleep toward the beginning or during the feeding. Your baby was previously taking in full feedings at night and now all of a sudden they have significantly decreased their intake for that feeding. If you see that your little one is waking out of habit and taking in much less than they were beforehand, then this is a pretty good sign that they really aren’t hungry and truly don’t need those extra calories.

Baby is consistently doing longer stretches of sleep.

Your baby is suddenly able to sleep for longer stretches at night and is easily soothed back to sleep if and when she does wake. You know your baby is ready for longer stretches of sleep when they naturally start lengthening their sleep and sleeping through what used to be times where they used to feed. Some babies start to skip feedings on their own and some need a bit of a nudge. But either way, if you see that your baby is able to sleep longer stretches at night, then this is another sure sign that they can do without the midnight snacking.

Baby is consistently waking at the same time every night.

Your baby is starting to wake at the same time every night, showing their ability to organize their sleep into predictable patterns. This is a sign that their sleep cycles are maturing, which also means your baby is ready to have more structured sleep and overall. And with structured sleep also comes structured feedings, so you can feel comfortable helping them organize them so that those feedings are not all over the map and at inconsistent times.

Your baby is at a healthy weight and age.

Your baby should be at least three months old and at least twelve plus pounds to be able to teach your baby to sleep through the night. This is not to say that every infant at three months is ready and able to drop all night time feedings. But you can definitely start given that they fall into this criteria. And as always, if you are unsure, speak to your pediatrician for their thoughts about dropping nighttime feedings.

It's important to note...

Some babies require a night feeding or two until they're a bit older, whether it's due to poor weight gain, a medical issue or mom's choice. Your baby can still keep a night feed & sleep solidly & independently. The two are not exclusive of each other and you can absolutely keep a feeding or 2 and also teach your baby good independent sleep skills.

“Do I have to get rid of nighttime feedings by a certain age?”

Short answer: No. You don’t.

Many babies will naturally wean themselves from night time feedings, especially as they get older and don’t require those feedings anymore, while many don’t wean themselves at all. 

Parents have many reasons why they want to keep feedings at night, whether it’s for sentimental reasons, convenience, maybe you feel it’s the right thing to do, or maybe you’re feeding out of habit.

Some feed out of habit.
Some feed out of necessity.
And some feed simply because parents want to keep feedings.

whatever it may be…

Don't feel pressured into getting rid of your baby's night time feedings. Know that you have options. There is no rulebook that says you have to get rid of those feedings by a certain age. Can you? Yes, absolutely. do you have to? No. 

What I will say is, do what feels right but also follow your baby’s lead. You also shouldn’t feel you need to keep feedings unnecessarily out of guilt or concern. If your baby is ready to drop those feedings, go with it. Your baby Is amazing at telling you what they need and you would know if they still needed that feeding.

What if my baby is feeding at night but doesn’t actually need those feedings anymore?

What if?

It’s true. You can totally train your baby’s body to be hungry at certain times and require food at night even if they don’t really need it. It’s all about training and manipulating their hunger patterns.

You can easily reverse that cycle, turn that around, reorganizing their hunger patterns to sync with daytime feeds as opposed to feeding at night.

This is why I like weaning feedings at night because you are slowly training the body to need less food and not to be hungry at night, and essentially moving those calories to daytime feeds.

So yes, even if your baby eats phenomenally during the day, taking in full feedings, they can still wake at night needing food if they’re accustomed to it. So if you’re worried about a hunger issue at night, ask yourself what they’re eating during the day, if they’re eating their fair share - then it’s safe to say they’re probably eating at night unnecessarily.

Cool, right? Who would ever think that you had that much control over your baby’s hunger patterns?

Is my baby waking out of hunger or habit?

It also helps tremendously to pinpoint if your baby is waking out of hunger or out of habit. If you’re not sure whether or not your baby is waking out of habit or hunger, it helps to ask yourself these questions to determine if your baby is truly hungry or needs to eat or whether they’re using you or the bottle to fall back asleep.

• Is your baby easily soothed after a feeding?

• Does he/she go right back to sleep happily in their crib and independently?

• Are they suckling to fall asleep and snack-feeding throughout the night?

• Does he/she wake shortly after being put back to sleep after feeding or do they sleep a solid chunk?

• Do they have a consistent feeding time where they take in a full feeding and go right back to sleep?

For your convenience, I have put together a chart to help you determine if your baby is waking out hunger or habit.

I hope this helped you figure out your child’s nighttime feedings and whether or not they are ready to drop them. Good luck and let me know if you are still stuck!

When did your baby drop their nighttime feedings?

If you have questions and concerns about your baby’s sleep, feel free to send me a message or click here to book a free discovery call so that I can answer all of your questions.