Should My Breastfed 10 Wk Old Really Be Able to Go Without Nursing in the Night?

I just had number five and I've never had one who slept through the night without eating at least once until they were weaned at a year. Doctors are sometimes silly.

S.-

the short and long answer is NO... sleeping is a neuordevolopmental milestone...

P., RLC, IBCLC, CST
breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions

Formula or breast babies sleep when they are ready. I have four all b/f until 2 or longer and none have slept through the night until 6 months or later. I'm pretty sure without looking it up that all night is defined as a 6 hour stretch. I can not recall any of mine doing that at 10 weeks except maybe one night a week. Also just cause they sleep 'all night' one week does not mean they will do it the next, growth spurts, mental or physical play a big part in sleep patterns. Growing takes food and sleep so one day they may gorge themselves every three hours and the next sleep all day and night. Let your baby lead the way:) My ped tells us we only have averages and we get those by combining the good numbers and the bad numbers.

TIME TO GET A NEW PEDIATRICIAN!!! If your baby sleeps through the night that is good, but within the first year of their lives is crutial for them to get a good amount of food and nutrients in their system. If your ten WEEK old baby doesn't wake up... WAKE THEM UP! Make sure your baby is fed!!! You wouldn't neglect to feed him/her for six to eight hours in the day time would you? Night time should be no different.

My son was still nursing at night at 8 months old and still at age 3 he wakes up once and usually asks for some milk. Also, formula fills babies up much longer than our milk. I think you have enough experience as a mother to decide this for yourself. Obviously you ideally don't want your baby waking up all night to eat and keeping you up all night. But babies have crazy growth spurts and get hungry! I personally find it hard to believe that they ONLY want to nurse for comfort every time they awake during the night. Isn't it reasonable to expect that they might be hungry? Your baby is too young for solids... so what else are you supposed to do unless you supplement with formula before bed?? I certainly did not want to do that but lots of moms do for this reason. I think that because some babies sleep through the night very early on, there's an unrealistic expectation that they will ALL do that...

Both of my breast fed babies started sleeping throught the night (4:30 am ish) at about 9 weeks. As long as they are growing and gaining weight appropriately enjoy your extra bit of sleep.

My Ped never said that at this early of an age. At four months he said to try other things first not always rush to feed him right away if that is what we wanted. At six months he said he should be starting to sleep through the night. Lucky me a few days later he did most nights and still does now at 15 months. I wouldn't think even a bottlefed baby should be sleeping through at this point. My Ped is very supportive of whatever the parent wants, he gives the info and good things to do depending on what you want, but he never says this is how it should be. Oh yeah I am an OB RN too so I know quite a bit about babies. Just do what feels right to you and your baby.

That is bad advice.

You produce more milk at night cutting out night feedings at this time could lead to a loss in your milk supply.

I don't think you PEd is ambitious. I think he is ignorant about breastfeeding.

Ask on the boards for a breastfeeding friendly doctor. I know Dr Rosa in town is pretty good in this area and others.

My third was sleeping through the night very early, and let me tell you I was RELIEVED! My other two never slept through the night that early either - my husband and I were like - who is this kid? :) Seriously, he was VERY different from my older kids. My daughter, the oldest, didn't sleep through the night until she was almost 2! When my third did wake up though, I nursed him because I could tell he was hungry. I didn't go right in, and I didn't automatically nurse him, but I didn't let him wait long to nurse. So, it's definitely possible, but you have to be the judge of how long you should wait to feed him. I think the doctors are trying to have you not set up bad sleep habits for him in the future, but you're the mom, and you can figure that out for yourself. Good luck!

Your doc is nuts. But may be working with a different definition of "through the night" than you do. I think the official definition is 6 hours straight. Your 10 week old may be able to do this and if so, God bless him. I say feed him if he wakes and it's been more than a few hours. 10 weeks is still very little, and definitely too young for any sort of sleep training. Sounds to me like you're doing great.

It sounds too early to me too. I also breast fed all 3 of my kids. I've noticed with mine and others that breastfed babies seem to be "ready" to sleep that 6 hour stretch at about 13 or 14 lbs. I also think you are the best expert on your child. Trust that.

Did you pediatrician know you were breastfeeding? i mean, maybe she had a lapse of memory and thought you were formula feeding... because i cannot imagine trying to force an EBF 10 wk old baby to go without a meal overnight... in fact, I would not expect a formula fed baby to go overnight without a meal at 10 weeks.

You have been down this road before... I say do what you think is best in this department and ignore your pediatrician's pressure to go all night. I have never been successful at breastfeeding beyond a couple weeks, in spite of wanting to - but i do know that demand is essential to production... and you wouldn't want to sabotage that at 10 weeks.

I say go with your instincts mom... you're not new :)

p.s. - my thumbs up to you for Breastfeeding... you breastfeeding moms are hero's to me - it's hard work - kudos :)

My first was 8 months old before she stopped feeding at night. My second was 4 weeks old when he slept w/o waking to feed. Point being, SOME babies probably are ready at 8 weeks and SOME are not...like EVERYTHING...lol! If you're feeding your son to comfort him back to sleep that's one thing. If he's hungry that's another. Do what works for you and your baby and not what your ped thinks you should be doing. Good luck!

That sounds really early. Most formula fed babies are still being fed through the night at 10 weeks--it's not just breastfeeding. This is too early in my opinion. I would say 4 months would be more typical.

Time to change peds!! Terrible advice.

I'd stop talking to your ped about parenting issues or find one that is actually knowledgeable about breastfeeding and child development.

A view a pediatrician's advice as suggestive guidance, not the master of all things to do with my individual children. My own pediatrician even says he's no expert on any individual kid, so put down the books and read your children because no two are alike. Feed your baby when your baby needs to bed fed. I breastfed all 3 of my kids for 12-13 months each. My daughter, who is now 6, was sleeping through the night (7-8 full hours) at ONE week old - consistently! And then she started getting up once a night after 6 hours at around 4 months old! Thankfully that only lasted a month or two. My twins were totally different from her and totally different from each other. One slept through consistently at about 6 months, and the other wasn't until 8 months. I thought it would never happen for him! My sister's kids were both formula fed after 4-6 weeks and neither of them slept through until they were at least 3-4 months old. It just depends on the baby. Don't sweat it!

Oh my gosh it is normal for babies to sleep through the night at this age. Babies at this age are supposed to sleep on average 18 hours a day. I frequent a pregnancy board and out of a hundred or so moms, most of our babies sleep through the night. So your pediatrician is absolutely correct.Little ones at this age though should only sleep a 5 to 6 hour stretch. But, by all means it is all right...