6 Month Old and Night Feeding at 3Am......

There is a lot more to night nursing than hunger. He needs reassurance that you are still there and will comfort him. I hate when doctors or anyone tell you that your baby isn't hungry. Only your baby knows his appetite and what he needs. A baby's wants are a baby's needs. I have a 16 month old who is just now sleeping through without needing to be nursed. Maybe it took her longer than some babies, but I wasn't going to force her to adapt to what I had in mind for her. She needed to nurse at 2 am for whatever reason that I will never know. She's probably as healthy and happy as she is because of it. Plus, it will affect your supply by cutting out a feeding.
Good luck and enjoy your son.

That's a hard call. My oldest didn't sleep 12 hours straight until 9 months. What I did with her, and she was breastfed, was to start giving her a bottle with formula when she woke up for maybe two weeks and then I gave her a bottle with just water. That only last maybe two nights and then she stopped waking up at all. I guess it wasn't worth the trouble! Maybe he is looking for a little more mommy time and he does get your undivided attention in the middle of the night. I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe start next month with getting him to sleep through the night. My only suggestion is, what ever method you choose stick with it, don't give in or change methods or give him the breast. It will confuse him and he'll figure if he just keeps crying long enough you'll give in. The best part is, once you think you have this problem solved he'll present you with a whole new one. Good luck!

When my daughter was 6 months and still BFing she would wake up twice a night to eat. She would always really eat, not just suck for a minute and fall back to sleep. Last month we noticed that when she was waking up the first time each night she wasn't eating much and going back to sleep so my husband would go in for that one and pick her up and she would go to sleep without crying and acting like she was hungry. It was pretty obvious that she wasn't really hungry. She protested a little more if I went in. She is now on formula at 10 months and she still wakes up at 3 am and eats 4 to 6 ounces. I tried one night to see if she would go back to sleep without eating (because I have been told so often that at this age she shouldn't need to eat at night) and she fussed for a half an hour before I finally gave her a bottle. So I believe that she is really hungry.

Good Luck,
D.

Sounds like you have one hungry baby! (I say that based on eating 20 oz of EBM during the day). My son had a 3 AM feeding for a long time - he slowly pushed it back to 4 and now 5 AM (he's now 13 months). I think if I were really adament about it I could probably cut it out - sometimes if I don't go in he'll go back to sleep at 5 AM but then he's up at 6 and won't go back down. If I feed him at 5 then he'll usually sleep until 6:30 or 7:00 so I think it's really hunger.

If you really want to drop the 3 AM feeding I'd try 2 things. First, limit the amount of liquids he has right before bed time. Sometimes babies wake because their diaper is wet and they're uncomfortable. Second, you can gradually decrease the amount of time you nurse him. Decrease it by 1 minute each night (or every other night) until you've dropped the feeding.

Maria P. is right on the mark!!!! Do not listen to you pediatrician. I am so sick and tired of doctors dictating what their personal opinions on parenting matters are. They are not child development experts, they are trained in medicine of the body, not the mind and emotional/social development. He or she has no clue what they are saying to you and I would not listen, no matter what. He/she is very wrong. I know its hard on you but he needs that feeding and when he's ready to give it up he will. My daughter still wakes one time usually for a mid-night feeding and she is 2 years old! While breastfeeding often children wake atleast once a night until they are weaned. That's just the way it is. Thank G-d he's getting an awesome experience from you nursing him and keep at it. You are doing great! It is the best thing you can ever do for his beginning years. You are getting him off to an excellent start by making the choice you have. Way to go and keep up the great work!!!

Your son's diet/schedule sounds very similar to what my eldest daughter's was at that age and she also woke up to nurse around 3:30 AM until she was 7.5 mos old. She was legitimately hungry and needed to eat. Given that your son is going 7-7.5 hrs between feedings if he's getting up at 3:30, I'd say he's hungry and needs to eat. All kids are different and your pediatrician can't really tell you whether or not your son is hungry. You can always gauge how much he is actually eating. If he eats only a couple of minutes and falls back to sleep, he's probably not hungry but looking for comfort. But if he really nurses for a good amount, then he's probably needing the calories to get through the night.

We had good success with gradually reducing the nursing time in the middle of the night - cutting the time by one minute each night until we got down to nothing. It wasn't a quick solution, but it felt good for us. That way, our son would slowly increase his daytime feeding to make up for the loss, and it was not a big deal when we got down to zero. After that, if he would wake up, we would just go in and comfort him without picking him up since we knew he wasn't hungry. Good luck!

Have you tried increasing the amount he eats at his last two feedings? The most recent issue of Parents magazine addresses this issue (night-waking to eat). Maybe nurse him a little longer/feed him a little more at the 5:30 and bedtime feedings (I'm not saying stuff him full, just slight increases)? While every child is different, I can tell you that my 5 month old son eats 5 times a day and sleeps, on average, from 8:30 pm til 6:30 am. His two largest feedings are the last two of the day, and we're not overfeeding him either - we just space out the ounces of fluids/tablespoons of food during the day accordingly.

Another possibility could very well be his need to soothe from your breast. Judging by the recent posts here, you certainly could get a wide variety of opinions on how to deal with that one too!

I nursed my daughter until she was approximately 2 while working full time, but we co-slept and fed on demand- mostly out of necessity, so I never really experienced this issue, but my brother nad his wife did. I did some research into it, because they aren't really the type to do so, everything I found, from the American Association of Pediatrics, to the WHO, to Dr. Sears and mostly state WIC information says that a 6 month old baby still need to eat every 4-6 hours. I'm not sure why your pediatrician thinks he could not possibly be hungry, when it seems that you have found out yourself, that in fact he seems to be because he weas able to sleep soundly after you fed him. I really think that most peopleand a lot of doctors seem to think that we can as adult impose upon tiny infants our schedules of feeding, sleeping, ect. I think you will find more harmony if you listen to what you baby is trying to communicate to you. I mean, babies actions are not contrived or manipulating at this very young age, so he is really only responding to a biological need.

If the early morning feeding is not bothering you, there's no reason to cut it out. There is no harm in allowing him to nurse at 3 a.m. A baby so young who is still mostly breatfed is going to require extra calories in the night since breastmilk is so easily digestible.
As for your doctor's opinion, I would just have to wonder why a baby would be eating if it weren't hungry. Baby's function on instinct and need. They are not likely to be overeaters, especially when breastfed. I would assume that if he is feeding well at 3 as you said, then he is doing so because he is hungry.
Follow your mothering instinct and know that there is no harm that will come from your baby knowing you are there for him during the night. He'll let you know when he's ready to sleep through the night, just as he is letting you know now that he needs that early feeding.

Hope this helps.

A.