When will baby drop to one night feed

My Sweet Sleeper - How and when to drop a night feed

Some of the most precious and bonding moments we have with our babies are the moments we spend feeding them, but as time goes on, getting up multiple times per night to feed may not seem quite as precious as it did in the newborn stage.

At 3-6 months of age, your baby probably only needs 1-2 feeds per night: one at the beginning of the night (could be a dream feed), and one in the early hours of the morning. Unless there is a concern with their weight, they are unlikely to need more than that.

By 6/7 months, your baby likely is ready to drop the night feeds completely. However, keep in mind that many babies still need a early morning feed (between 3-5am) until 12 months!

For babies that are waking more than that, chances are that they are not actually hungry, but just wanting to be soothed. If this is the case, it is definitely time to teach your baby to self-soothe, but it also may be time to drop a night feed.

If you’re ready to drop a night feed (and so is your baby), here are a few ways to do that...

Adjust daytime calories: Anytime you are getting ready to drop a night feed, you want to ensure that your child is getting adequate nutrition throughout the day. This means that if your child is currently relying on calories overnight to make-up for missing feeds during the day, you want to work on shifting those calories. This may mean waking up your child from a long nap, or timing naps differently so they don't interfere with feeding times. Newborns should have a feed every 2.5-3 hours during the day, and for older babies, that stretches to every 2.5-3.5 hours during the day.

Keep your baby awake for the last feed before bed: If your child is struggling to get full feeds, especially right before bed, you may need to turn on a dim light, take off some of their clothes, or rub their feet to try to keep them stimulated. While we typically recommend night feeds happen in a dark environment, feeds right before bed can be done in a brighter environment since we want to ensure a full feed. If your baby falls asleep during a feed, chances are they did not get the calories that they need for the night. While you don’t want to stuff your baby before bed, you do want to ensure your baby gets a full feed to help them get a good long stretch of sleep.

Gradually decrease ounces or time spent feeding each night: If you are in the process of dropping a feed, commit to decreasing time spent breastfeeding, or if you are bottle feeding, decrease ounces in the child's bottle. Do this gradually over the course of one week, one ounce at a time, rather than making a sudden change in one day. For many breastfeeding moms, they may only offer feeding only on one side or cut down by about 1-3 minutes each night. Your baby will adjust to the change in caloric intake by getting fuller feeds during the day.

Bring in other soothing methods when baby wakes up: If feeding is the only way your child has been put to sleep or back to sleep, then you may be nervous to drop the night feed for that reason alone. But instead of immediately feeding your baby upon their wake-up, try pausing for five minutes to see if they will self-settle. If not, try soothing your baby in other ways, such as using a pacifier, shushing, or rubbing your baby's head/back, and cycle through these methods. Always soothe your baby while keeping them in the crib before picking up (ie. to rock or bounce). Your baby will eventually catch on after consistency with this! For more information, see Five ways to teach your baby to self-soothe.

When to Night Wean | Signs Your Baby is Ready

Deciding when to wean your baby off of their nighttime feeding(s) is a conversation you should definitely have with your pediatrician. This is to ensure your baby’s weight and health is optimal for dropping any feedings they may be receiving. I actually require my clients who work with me to ask their pediatrician first how many feedings their baby needs before even attempting sleep training. With that being said, the list below will help you look out for the signs that baby may be ready to wean. And after, you could read up on how to wean.

Photo Credit: Nikolay Osmachko

Age

I usually advise my clients that after the age of 4 months it’s safe to assume that your baby is able to go down to one feeding from bedtime through morning. For various reasons some parents decide, along with the approval of their pediatrician, that it’s time to wean off all night feedings from bedtime to morning (which at this age should be about 11-12 hours).

Personally, I don’t suggest cutting out all night feedings until at least 5 to 6 months of age unless parents wish to do otherwise. Once your child is firmly into their 6th month it is acceptable to wean them of all night feedings. Notice I say acceptable – many parents choose to maintain a night feeding for some time, and provided baby goes back to sleep immediately after a single night feeding, there is nothing wrong with continuing to feed at night.

Weight

The advice on weight and night weaning is all over the map. The lowest weight number I’ve been told by a number of pediatricians is that infants can go 10 hours without feedings at 11 pounds and 8 weeks of age. This seems extremely early to me, however medically acceptable it may be.

To reduce to a single feeding per night, I advise parents wait until baby is within 11 to 13 pounds. To eliminate to no feedings, I advise babies be at a minimum of 14 pounds, though there is no rush to eliminate the single night feeding before 5 to 6 months of age.

How their feeding is affecting them

Perhaps beyond age and weight, this should be the biggest factor in deciding whether or not to keep a night feeding. If your baby wakes once a night, takes in a hearty feeding, falls back to sleep soundly, and remains sleeping until the earliest of 6:00 am the following morning than keeping a night feeding is acceptable.

If at any age past 4 months you notice that a) your child wakes repeatedly after their single feeding, b) your child does not fall asleep after their feeding and is awake for more than 5-10 minutes before falling back to sleep, or c) your child takes in next to nothing for their feeding and then falls to sleep immediately at the breast or bottle, then it is time to consider dropping their night feeding. These are all indicators that the feeding may not be *needed* and that your child may be waking for some reason besides hunger.

Daytime feedings

If you are ever concerned your baby is not very hungry throughout the day you should immediately look to their nighttime feeding habits. If they are taking in more than 4-6 ounces a night they may be taking in too much, and Mom and Dad should consider cutting out night feedings all together.

To recap, the signs baby may be ready to night wean are…

Baby is around 5-6 months of age.
Baby is at least 14 pounds.
Their night feeding is beginning to disrupt their sleep, they are not eating much, or they have begun to wake repeatedly after their typical feeding.
Baby is feeding more at night than during the day.

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Should I feed my baby at night?

Restful sleep and nutrition

Each child has his own individual rhythm of sleep and nutrition, as well as individual need for them. Just in newborns in the first weeks of life, the ability to distinguish between day and night has not yet been developed. The child is simply not used to going without food for a long time. Indeed, in the womb, he could satisfy hunger at any time of the day or night. Therefore, at least in the first weeks, he will certainly wake you up at night for feeding.

If you are formula feeding your baby, unload yourself and take turns with your partner for nightly feedings. It is also possible if you express milk in the evening and store it in the refrigerator (from +4°C to +6°C, closed for no more than 2 days).

After three months, the baby can go without food for longer, so he has a longer nighttime sleep than daytime. Starting at about 6 months old, babies no longer need to feed at night, because at this age the rhythm of hunger and satiety in a healthy child stops at daytime.

Before going to bed - milk porridge

Milk dessert with biscuits

Milk porridge at night is more satisfying than milk food. HiPP milk porridges are available both in instant form for easy dilution with water, and in ready-made form, for example, our Good Night milk desserts. You can give milk to your baby first from a bottle and later from a cup. It goes without saying that with the introduction of complementary foods, the child should get used to the spoon, and his diet should contain a sufficient amount of solid food.

Weaning from night feeding

Night feeding can become a habit that your baby will only reluctantly say goodbye to. If your baby keeps waking up during the night, try offering unsweetened tea or boiled water, but don't feed him. Night feeding even interferes with uninterrupted sleep and can damage the first teeth of the child, since after a nightly meal, the child's teeth, as a rule, are no longer cleaned. Of course, it will take some time to wean your baby from night feedings, but in the end you will definitely reach the goal!

Learn more: Tips

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Choice of complementary foods

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Up to what age to feed the baby at night and how to replace formula

Infant formula is only a necessary replacement for mother's milk in the absence of sufficient lactation or underweight in the infant. In all other respects, the infant formula feeding algorithm remains the same as with breastfeeding. The baby also needs nightly feedings about every 3-4 hours. This is due to scientifically proven facts. Babies up to a year old have an accelerated metabolism, food is digested faster, and naturally, they experience hunger at night. Also, any anxiety of the baby at night forces him to demand his mother's participation, and of course - food as a sedative. There is even a theory that children are genetically woken up to eat to avoid "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome" in their sleep.

But also can't it continue indefinitely? The child grows, develops actively, from the age of 6 months receives a variety of complementary foods, and over time should form a normal daily routine. And for this you need to figure out: how to wean a child at night to eat the mixture in the most gentle ways.

Up to what age to give formula at night

Experts differ on this issue, but the average age when you can do without night feedings is nevertheless derived. Infants with normal development can sleep peacefully at night without formula 10-12 hours from 9-12 months. Of course, if parents do not consider it necessary to restrict their child in nutrition, they can safely continue to feed their child at night and beyond. But they must be aware that, firstly, over time, these periods of eating become just a habit for the baby. And secondly, mothers should also think about their own well-being after sleepless nights. So, the approximate age of weaning a child from night feedings has been determined, it remains to find out how to replace the mixture for the night after a year for the first time of the transition to a new regimen.

Night formula alternative

Formula feeding formula is extremely nutritious and delicious food for your baby. Therefore, the nightly replacement should be unequal, so that the baby subsequently feels that he does not need to wake up for such food. For these reasons, many mothers, thinking about how to replace the mixture for the night, use not the best products.