https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 21 May 2026 21:22:43 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-feeding-questionwwyd#post-1176087 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 14:23:25 +0000 ALV91711 1176087@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had to implement a 'rule' of no getting DS out of his bed before midnight. He was waking every two hours to nurse, but really he didn't need to. This was around 6 months. The first couple nights he woke up around 10 and fussed/whined. Now he pretty much sleeps until 12:30 or later before gettin up to nurse. Then he will usually nurse about 3-4 hours after that, then a bit more sleep before he is up for the day. </p> <p>This saved our sanity. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-feeding-questionwwyd#post-1176084 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 14:15:10 +0000 Modern Daisy 1176084@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO is only 9 weeks but I'm starting to face this question too since my pedi said we could start skipping MOTN feedings. He is inconsistent with his sleep stretches so it's really hard to tell when he's really hungry and when his body just wakes him. WE don't know until we give him a bottle, sometimes he'll guzzle it and others he'll just snack a little. But I think what we'll start doing is letting him go back to sleep without sleeping on the first MOTN wakeup when we know he finished the whole bottle only a couple of hours previously. Maybe you could try that? LIke when you know your LO ate a lot at the last feeding you could just skip that wakeup? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-feeding-questionwwyd#post-1176002 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 12:24:25 +0000 Silva 1176002@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@scg00387: thanks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-feeding-questionwwyd#post-1175999 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 12:19:34 +0000 immabeetoo 1175999@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Silva: for us it was like 20 mins or less. Afternoons became our prime stroller walking time and park time for a while!! He seemed to grow out of the evening witching hour stuff around 8 months or so I think. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-feeding-questionwwyd#post-1175995 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 12:16:54 +0000 Silva 1175995@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@scg00387: yeah, I am going to try to space out the afternoon nursing. It's hard because she gets fussy at that time of day, and I'm kind of burnt out, so I definitely offer it more than she needs just to give myself a break! How long is a "short" amount of time? An hour? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-feeding-questionwwyd#post-1175974 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 11:45:12 +0000 immabeetoo 1175974@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Silva: I can tell you what we've done at least. I always tried to put him back down without nursing first. If he woke shortly after he fell back asleep I figured it was hunger and nursed. He is STTN now but when he was waking, the times were variable. </p> <p>I know your LO is younger but our rough night schedule has been for a long time nurse around 3:30 dinner around 5:30 bedtime nursing at 630 usually asleep by 7. So if I were you I'd try to space that out more :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-feeding-questionwwyd#post-1175910 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 10:11:36 +0000 Silva 1175910@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ms.Badger: that was kind of my plan...sacrifice some short term suffering (fussing during earlier wake ups) for hopefully some long term success! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-feeding-questionwwyd#post-1175908 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 10:09:41 +0000 Ms.Badger 1175908@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Silva: When we were going through this and he seemed to be waking from habit rather than hunger I set times around which I would feed him. I know he could sleep 7:30-12:00 without a problem from experience and he eats every 3 hours during the day so I decided I would feed him near 12, 3, and 6. If he overslept his feeding times I would feed him when he got up. It worked for us, soon he was only waking at 12, 3, and 6 and now he's stretching out his sleep and last night ate at 1:30 and 5:30 and is magically still asleep at 8 am. If you don't know how long he can sleep then just set him on this daytime schedule, every 3, 4 hours or whatever you do and feed him around those time but not in between. Hopefully he'll stop waking so frequently </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-feeding-questionwwyd#post-1175899 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 09:58:43 +0000 Silva 1175899@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@heartonastring: we talked about that trying a bottle....I just despise pumping.<br /> She definitely takes longer than 10 mins to fall back asleep, or at least she did last night. And then she woke up so shortly after...which made me wonder if she was hungry. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-feeding-questionwwyd#post-1175895 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 09:56:30 +0000 heartonastring 1175895@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>A couple thoughts:</p> <p>1. My DD wakes up a few times throughout the night too, but generally only once to nurse. My rule is that I leave her for 10 minutes when she wakes up (she doesn't really cry...just wakes up and fusses a little) and if she's still awake after that I nurse her. Basically, if she's hungry she stays awake and if she's not she goes back to sleep.</p> <p>2. Does your LO take a bottle? We also do nursing and then solids in the evening. But then my DH does bedtime so he gives her 5 oz of BM in a bottle. Not saying your DH has to do bedtime, but if you want to make sure she's taking in a good amount of milk you can try a bottle. But if she's just not hungry at that time then she just isn't hungry....</p> <p>ETA: regarding nursing and then solids and then more milk at bedtime, I do find that the whole thing is a lot smoother if I don't nurse her too soon before solids. Like, usually 1.5-2 hours between nursing and solids. Then we do bath/massage/books and then bottle. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-feeding-questionwwyd#post-1175891 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 09:55:14 +0000 Silva 1175891@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@birdofafeather: yeah, I was just under the impression that I should nurse close to the solids so that she wasn't filling up on those? I am home with her, so I could space out that afternoon nursing more. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-feeding-questionwwyd#post-1175884 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 09:51:16 +0000 birdofafeather 1175884@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>if she's going back to sleep at those other times, i would continue with that practice! she'll let you know if she's hungry and wants to eat by NOT going back to sleep!</p> <p>as for nursing more before bedtime, why do you feed so close together? (nurse, then solids, then nurse again) is it due to work schedule? if so, i would probably dial back on the solids as it's not necessary at that age. but that's me. can you nurse early than 530? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-feeding-questionwwyd#post-1175875 Sat, 26 Oct 2013 09:42:34 +0000 Silva 1175875@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO is 6 months old. We recently did some sleep training to get her to sleep by herself in the cosleeper instead of in our bed, and she can now put herself to sleep.</p> <p>Prior to sleep training she was nursing all night long. Because we were sleeping so close, I would fall asleep wth my boob out, and she would just latch on. I'm pretty sure she was nursing every 2 hours or so.</p> <p>Since we moved her, she seems to need to eat at least twice a night. I'm fine with this for now. However, she is also waking up periodically and then going back to sleep without nursing.</p> <p>How do I know when she is hungry? Last night she woke at 10, my husband put her back to sleep, and then she nursed at 11:30. Then she was up and fussed at 2, but I didn't nurse her until she woke up again at 3:30. If I fed her on the initial waking, I wonder if she'd sleep longer and wake less?</p> <p>Also, when I nurse her to sleep at bedtime 7/7:30 she isn't very hungry because I nurse at around 5:39 and we do solids at 6. I'd like to maybe get her to nurse more before bed, but am not sure how to facilitate that.</p> <p>Any suggestions or thoughts? </p>