Still eating in the MOTN?

beejayzgirl · July 2013

Are you babies still waking to eat in the middle of the night? A friend of mine told me that at her LO's 6 mo appt, her pedi said that there's "no medical reason" that a 6 mo old baby needs to eat in the middle of the night, ie they are doing it for comfort. My guy has a bottle before bed (around 9pm) and generally wakes up and guzzles another one around 3am, then is up for the day around 6 or 7am. Should I be breaking him of his MOTN feeding "habit" or does he actually really need to eat? How many of your LOs still eat in the MOTN? Thx!

nbalkin · July 2013

We pretty much have the same schedule over here with dd. If she was only eating a few oz in the night i would think its habit, but how is it a habit if she drinks 6 oz. I have no advice but i'm interested to hear what others think.

2u2wow · July 2013

DS eats at 630pm or 7 and wakes at 530am for a feed. he hasn't eaten in the MOTN for a few months now.

Brummy14 · July 2013

We do! Last feeding at 8PM, then another around 1-2AM, and then up for the day between 5:30AM and 6AM.

82Sonia · July 2013

Mine wakes up in the middle of the night. I know it's just for comfort.

ReeceFamily · July 2013

Even if your LO is just asking for one MOTN feeding for comfort...I say give him the love and comfort he is asking for. A 6-month old doesn't need to be totally independent, it's a lot to ask of a baby so young. I say forget what your ped says, and go with what seems most nurturing and loving for your little guy. There may be no medical reason, but emotional reasons may be more important than medical reasons in the long run.

MRSVELA07 · July 2013

Chris has the EXACT same schedule!!! He woke up between 3-3:30am latched on for no more than 5 minutes then knocked out as I rocked back and forth. I'd put him back in the crib an he would wake up around 6am. This schedule was killing me!!! Now I put my iPod playing rain or white noise in his crib and he sleeps from 8:30pm to 5:30am!! This is how I know he was waking up for comfort. If I wasn't working I would love to wake up with him but I can't!!

lulamagoo · July 2013

The majority of babies wake 1-2 times to eat at this age. If my dr told me to not allow my child to eat in the motn, I would find a different dr.

bubble520 · July 2013

My guy is up twice a night most nights. I just told my dr and she didn't seem to care. If the dr said he didn't NEED to eat then I'd mention that I don't NEED ice cream but I pick it anyway. Then I'd go elsewhere.

carteramariec · July 2013

My LO takes a bottle before bed at 8:30 or 9 and will usually wake up between 1am-3am for another. He drinks 8-10oz in the middle of the night so I feel like its for both hunger and comfort. But even if it were just a few oz for comfort I wouldn't stop the feeding, I think emotional needs are just as important as physical. Plus, I'm usually awake in the middle of the night for no reason so this just gives me someone to hang out with. LOL.

chance_encounters · July 2013

ReeceFamily:
Even if your LO is just asking for one MOTN feeding for comfort...I say give him the love and comfort he is asking for. A 6-month old doesn't need to be totally independent, it's a lot to ask of a baby so young. I say forget what your ped says, and go with what seems most nurturing and loving for your little guy. There may be no medical reason, but emotional reasons may be more important than medical reasons in the long run.

110% agree! I am a 3rd time mom. DS goes to sleep at 8 up at 3 for a feeding then up for the day at 5:30/6:30ish. Our babies will eventually sleep through the night. I did not sleep train any of my kids and they are all healthy and normal, sleep in their own beds and through the night.....my oldest is 13.

dont stress

Jbosarge85 · July 2013

My LO is up every 2-3 hours still in the middle of the night to eat. She turned 6 months on the 11th. It's exhausting, but just rocking it won't do it she will cry and cry till I put her on the boob then after like 2 minutes of actual eating she falls asleep.

Chappy_jr · July 2013

There is no medical reason - but try telling that to a 5-6 month old!

DS wakes up twice a night to eat. It was three for about two weeks so this is an improvement. I have looked into how to drop feedings and, since we're in the CIO camp, have used this to end the feeding before midnight am working on extending the time between MOTN feedings gradually. I'm pretty sure that DS will continue to have at least one MOTN feeding for a long time. But when I talk to my friends, who all have LOs within 3 months of DS that are sleeping COMPLETELY through the night, I am immensely jealous. However two are formula fed and the other is difficult aside from her great sleeping habits.

codeaard · July 2013

My pedi told me the same thing . My LO wakes anywhere from 2-4 times at night and I'm ok with it. He's growing too fast and when he's ready to sleep through the night, he will.

Kie310 · July 2013

Yea, N still does 1-2 times a night. I don't care & I know it's just for comfort. We let our oldest do it until almost a year and broke him of the habit then.

If you want, trying to wean him off isn't a bad idea, it's up to what you want!

this decaf life · July 2013

Some nights DD eats around 1 AM. Others, she sleeps until like 430. I don't hate that 1 AM feeding for the entirely selfish reason that I still haven't had AF. On nights she's not easy to pacify I'm more than glad to feed her once.

I have cut out the other feedings though because she was eating 3-4 times a night up until a few weeks ago.

ema10 · July 2013

My LO was getting a dream feed bottle at 9:30 and then he was fine until 5-6am. However, we stopped giving him the late bottle after my school year ended and now he eats at least 1-2 times each night. It's been rough with teething and transitioning to the crib. Hopefully it'll calm down soon, but I haven't stressed over it.

sbevmc09 · July 2013

I hate when they pull the "no medical need" for MOTN feedings. Oh, okay then. I guess I'll just tell my baby they need to not wake up since the doctor thinks they won't starve to death without it. Perfect advice. ::eye roll::

DD was sleeping a 10-12hr stretch at night for quite a while. She's hit the 6 month growth phase and has started waking once overnight again. She's growing. She needs it. She'll get the extra feeding until her body decides she's ready to go without it again. Her body knows what it needs better than a doctor.

ETA: Her schedule looks like this - last bottle before bed typically 7-7.30pm. She wakes for a large bottle around 4-5am and then is up for the day between 7-8am.

Still eating in the MOTN?

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