Do you feed your LO every time they wake up at night?

hilsy85

LO had been sleeping from 7-3 or 4, and then going back down until 7/7:30. Lately, however, he's been waking up between 1 and 3, and then again between 5 and 6. Usually I'll nurse him whenever he gets up, but last night he woke up at 3:30 ( fed him) and 5:30--for this, I gave him a paci and he went back to sleep til 6:45. Should I have fed him? I guess I felt like it had only been two hours since his last feeding (and he nursed for a while), and he's very capable of sleeping more than 2 hours at night. Thoughts?

numberonemama

Since I had mastitis...yes...but before that I offered a paci at night and figured if she was hungry she would let me know and she would.  As soon as I figure out how to get my milk to settle down in the middle of the night I will start doing this again.  

sjgurl784

I always offer the binkie first, especially if I catch him before he's opened his eyes (waking up is quite the dramatic process).  Seeing as a lot of babies are already STTN and obviously not eating during that time, I figure an extra hour or two of no food isn't going to do any harm. 

hilsy85

sjgurl784:

I always offer the binkie first, especially if I catch him before he's opened his eyes (waking up is quite the dramatic process).  Seeing as a lot of babies are already STTN and obviously not eating during that time, I figure an extra hour or two of no food isn't going to do any harm. 

Yeah he has slept through the night several times as well...still waiting for it to be consistent, lol. So even at the first night waking you would offer a paci? 

hilsy85

dupe. 

sjgurl784

hilsy85:

sjgurl784:

I always offer the binkie first, especially if I catch him before he's opened his eyes (waking up is quite the dramatic process).  Seeing as a lot of babies are already STTN and obviously not eating during that time, I figure an extra hour or two of no food isn't going to do any harm. 

Yeah he has slept through the night several times as well...still waiting for it to be consistent, lol. So even at the first night waking you would offer a paci? 

I do because he usually wakes up for the first time about an hour or two after I put him down (we're nowhere close to STTN.) and is probably not hungry yet since I nurse him to sleep.  But nights he has slept until 2 or 3 in the am, I still try the bink first just in case he's just squirming around to get comfortable again. 

danienross

I do but my LO doesn't take a paci. Also we're all in the same room so I can't let her fuss too much or she could wake the toddler.

caseys02

I don't unless she's had an off day. Her normal routine is down between 8 and 9 and up at 4:30. If she wakes up anytime after 3:30 I'll feed her but if she wakes up anytime before 3:30 I will just put a paci in her mouth and she passes out until her normal wake up time.

JoNi2010

Hm, interesting I've never considered giving him a paci.  My LO does not like the paci that much and usually when he rouses me, he's already screaming (I sleep very deeply!)  There's only been a handful of times that he will fall back asleep when I simply pick him up.  I guess it doesn't hurt to try the paci.  I'm sure your LO will let you know he wants food, not the paci!

CP0979

Yes but she usually only wakes up once. I figure even if she puts herself back to sleep she will likely wake up soon and since I'm already awake I might as well. She wakes up once anywhere from 3-6 and will sleep till 8.

 

Rachelilly23

I used to until recently when he started waking up more often again. Now, I just nurse him the first time he wakes, usually 4-5 hours after going to sleep. When he wakes after that, I offer him a paci, which sometimes he takes and sometimes he doesn't. Last night he woke up 10 minutes after the first feeding, which is unusual for him, but I just rocked the RNP and turned on the seahorse and he was back to sleep until morning. Lately, I've also put him in the swing at the 2nd awakening and he's out until morning too, so I know he's not necessarily hungry when he wakes up, he just wants to be comforted.

Vegasbb

No. If its been 3 hrs I will always feed him, otherwise dh comforts him. If he seems really upset and dh can't comfort him in 5 minutes or so I go ahead and feed him even if it's only been 2 hs. This is really rare though.

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hilsy85

CP0979:

Yes but she usually only wakes up once. I figure even if she puts herself back to sleep she will likely wake up soon and since I'm already awake I might as well. She wakes up once anywhere from 3-6 and will sleep till 8.

 

Yeah I feel like this could happen, where I would give him the paci, he woudl go back to sleep, but wake up again in an hour.  

hilsy85

meganole25:

We do, except if it's within the past hour after his last feeding. If it's been close to 2 hours, yes. He'll usually wake up like 40 min - 60 min after I put him down for the first time. DH will then go in, try paci, and if not, rock him. But say he wakes up 4 hours later, we would do diaper change and feeding. Although, he's been sleeping 10+ hours now a night, so if he stared to regress then we might try the paci route with DH. I feel like if I went in then he would smell me and want milk.

Yeah, I feel like at a 4 hour stretch, he's probably legit hungry. BUt a 2 hour stretch I would still doubt, because I know my LO has gone much longer than that even during the day. ETA that there's probably no way I could get my DH up to do this, lol...it would be so much effort to wake him up that I could just do it and be back in bed. 

CC1017

I nurse anytime DS wakes up.  He goes down around 8:30 and wakes around 2 and 4:30.  He's usually really hungry the first time he wakes up.  He's not as hungry the second time, but I find that he settles down a lot easier if I nurse him rather than try the pacifier.  So for my sanity and need for sleep, I choose to nurse him even if he's not hungry and just wants to be comforted.

Wally3

If he wakes before 3 i try to resettle with paci or re-swaddle.  After 3 if he is very awake I feed him - if he is just fussing I will paci / re-swaddle.  I figure if he is really hungry that he will wake back up again if not so hungry he will go back to sleep.

hilsy85

Also could this be part of the 3 month growth spurt? And if so, does that mean I should be feeding every time he wakes bc he needs the extra calories?

jessican08

I'll only feed if it's been more than 4 hours since the last feeding or if I find I'm spending more than 5-10 minutes trying to get them back to sleep. At that point, I can feed and get them right back down more quickly than wasting anymore time with a paci or soothing.

IMO, at this age if your LO will go back down within a few minutes and you're not feeding them, they don't need to eat. 9 times out of 10, my two will only nurse for 5-10 minutes max if they wake during the night so they're not even taking a full feeding.

DS is the one who always does the waking and he's STTN several times already so I know he's capable of it. I nurse them in my room and sometimes by the time I put DS in his RnP in my room, go get his sister and bring her back, he's asleep again and you can bet I don't wake him again to eat! I just leave them in their RnPs and go back to bed

MadamePresident

I usually nurse at night, just because its easy. She won't take a pacifier.

Starry Again

She has slept like crap recently so no. My general rule is if it has been over 3 hours I always offer the boob. 2-3 hours is a gray area. Under 2 I try the pacifier but sometimes I end up feeding her what seems like hourly. It has been a joy.

jantyme

I always nurse. If he's not hungry he'll just comfort nurse back to sleep. 

hilsy85

Thanks for all the advice ladies!