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Dr. says not to feed baby during the night (wee hours of the morning)....

akasha8807akasha8807
in Breastfeeding

I also posted this in the Babies 0-6 months....

My LO turned 3 months today and I had asked the Dr. about him waking up at night. We usually feed him @ night and pit him back to bed but he's been wanting to stay up for a longer period of time.The doc said that my LO is at a stage where he might rely on getting picked up and fed at night before going back to bed. He said when he wakes up at night to not pick him up and not feed him to teach our DS that he has to be held or fed to go back to sleep at night.

It's a little weird for us not to feed our DS at night...Tongue Tied Or not check on how he's doing or pick him up if he's crying.

Have any of you stopped nursing your babies during the night and only fed your LO from say 6 am to 12 am? I assumed w/ nursing and was told to feed on demand. I am confused as to what to do.....


TIA

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Re: Dr. says not to feed baby during the night (wee hours of the morning)....

  • DallasHornDallasHorn member

    Both my kids continued to have a middle of the night feeding around 1 AM until they were 5 months old (the would go to bed around 7 PM and then wake at 6 AM). Personally, as someone who's successfully BF 2 kids and worked full time, my opinion is that you feed on demand.  Now if the baby was waking at 1 AM and then again at 3, then again at 6, then I would say that 3 AM feeding should be "ignored".

     

    I forgot to add something VERY important...for working mom's, babies often cluster feed in the evening and at night b/c that is when they are with mom, so if you are working, I would say it's very important to continue to allow that middle of the night feeding.

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  • katlizabethkatlizabeth member
    Oh boy...If it were me, I'd say DO NOT FOLLOW THAT ADVICE.  But that's just me.  I have read in many places and talked to my pedi about this.  Ebf babies may need to eat 1-2 times a night until they are like 7, 8 or 9 months old.  I personally feel that even FF babies may need to eat in the middle of the night.  Your LO is 3 months old, I'd say to feed on demand if that's what you're comfortable with.  Maybe when they're 6 months old, if you want to try to wean night feedings if they're still doing them, then you could try.  My ds is 7 months old and still wakes 1-2 times a night, and I feed him one or both of these times.  When ds was 4 months old, we did let him cry for short bits of time at night, but only after we knew it was not b/c he was hungry or needing to be changed.  We also gave him a lovey, which helps him associate sleeping with the lovey and not with mom or nursing.  I would think about what you're really comfortable with as parents and then do that. 
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  • ncbellencbelle member

    Sorry but that's TERRIBLE advice!!  Your baby is 3 months old right?  No way is he ready to drop night feedings.  I strongly believe babies should be fed on demand until at least 6 months (and I still feed on demand) - and that includes the middle of the night.  Plus a 3 month old has no way to self soothe.

    I still nurse my 9 month old at night.



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  • emathis2emathis2
    I dont know if I would be comfortable with this. My LO rarely needs to eat at night and when he does I just assume he is hungry and feed him. Maybe since yours is eating so often he is not actually hungry though... My LO does fuss a little throughout the night and will put himself back to sleep. If he is crying I go to him. Fussing a little I ignore.  I also try to feed my LO a lot in the evening and bedtime feeding which I think has helped. Do you feed extra in the evening?
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  • hannah&benhannah&ben
    imagencbelle:

    Sorry but that's TERRIBLE advice!!  Your baby is 3 months old right?  No way is he ready to drop night feedings.  I strongly believe babies should be fed on demand until at least 6 months (and I still feed on demand) - and that includes the middle of the night.  Plus a 3 month old has no way to self soothe.

    I still nurse my 9 month old at night.

    Ditto this.  I generally believe that if a baby is up during the night it's because they have a need... be it for comfort or feeding or whatever... they have a genuine need... they're not just being manipulative so they don't have to sleep in their bed.  And how on earth is a 3 month old supposed to sooth themselves?  It would be different if we were talking about a 2 year old getting up several times a night... but were talking small infant.  Your doctor's advice makes me sad.

     

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  • ejgballerinaejgballerina member
    imagehannah&ben:
    imagencbelle:

    Sorry but that's TERRIBLE advice!!  Your baby is 3 months old right?  No way is he ready to drop night feedings.  I strongly believe babies should be fed on demand until at least 6 months (and I still feed on demand) - and that includes the middle of the night.  Plus a 3 month old has no way to self soothe.

    I still nurse my 9 month old at night.

    Ditto this.  I generally believe that if a baby is up during the night it's because they have a need... be it for comfort or feeding or whatever... they have a genuine need... they're not just being manipulative so they don't have to sleep in their bed.  And how on earth is a 3 month old supposed to sooth themselves?  It would be different if we were talking about a 2 year old getting up several times a night... but were talking small infant.  Your doctor's advice makes me sad.

     

     Yes

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  • mfc2b4mfc2b4

    i feed my lo anywhere from every 2.5 hrs to every 4 hrs (if i'm lucky)

    my lo eats about every 2.5 hrs during the day. if it has been that long, and my ds wakes at night, i feed him. if he were overweight, i may not, but he has stayed in th 25th percentile, and i'm afraid if I would start refusing to feed him that much, that his weight would drop.

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  • J&A2008J&A2008 member

    This is one instance where I would say not to follow your Dr.'s advice. 

    Your LO will drop the night feeding when he is ready.  I think it was somewhere around 8-9 months for us, and I can happily say it already feels like a loooong time ago (DS is 13 mo.) so just hang in there.  Soon the middle of the night stuff will be a sweet, distant memory for you, too.

    Stay at home mom to a house of boys: two amazing stepsons, 12 and 9, and our 4 year old.
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  • springtime81springtime81 member
    Your pedi is really uninformed, that is bullsh!t.  My DS continued to have a middle-of-the-night feeding until he was 8 or 9 months old, then he let go of it on his own.  Feed your baby whenever he tells you he needs it.  To impose your doctor's advice on a 3 month old is ridiculous.
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  • Sweeters04Sweeters04
    imagencbelle:

    Sorry but that's TERRIBLE advice!!  Your baby is 3 months old right?  No way is he ready to drop night feedings.  I strongly believe babies should be fed on demand until at least 6 months (and I still feed on demand) - and that includes the middle of the night.  Plus a 3 month old has no way to self soothe.

    I agree. I work so he eats every hour. he sleeps usually 10-4. but if he wakes up any sooner, I attend to him. I wouldn't follow it.  

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