What should you consider before eliminating night feeding?
The first question that a young mother asks when she is going to wean her baby from night feeding is how many months should the baby be to transfer him to one feeding at night. According to many pediatricians, the most favorable age to wean a baby from night feeding is six months.
But many women strive to do this as early as possible. The newborn wakes up 3-4 times a night to feed. And, naturally, this is difficult for a young mother. But attempts to wean the baby as early as possible can negatively affect the child’s psycho-emotional state and health. During night feeding, close contact with the mother is established, which is so important for the newborn.
From 4 months, you can switch your baby to one night feeding. Moreover, this applies to both babies who are breastfed and artificially fed. You need to gradually transition your baby to daytime feeding.
It is important to stop feeding your child according to every requirement and gradually teach him to eat according to a certain schedule. Even if the child begins to be capricious, you cannot retreat and continue to accustom the child to a feeding schedule. Gradually he will begin to ask for food when the time comes.
For dinner you need to give something filling to suppress the feeling of hunger until the morning. In addition, you need to ensure restful and healthy sleep so that the child does not wake up at night. The room should be clean and the air humid. In addition, it is useful to install aroma lamps. But first consult your pediatrician about this issue.
With artificial feeding
Artificial feeding differs from breastfeeding in many respects, including the daily volume of formula consumed by the child. The amount of formula is determined in accordance with the standards recommended by the manufacturer, the age, weight and gender of the child, and the rate of weight gain. In this regard, the number of night feedings should be strictly regulated.
For more information about how much milk/formula a newborn should eat per feeding and per day, as well as formulas and tables for calculation, read our article.
Typically, breastfed children wake up less often at night, since artificial formula is more difficult for the body to absorb than breast milk, and the digestion process requires more energy.
Most pediatricians recommend giving the main daily volume of formula during the day from the first months of life, leaving one feeding at night. If the baby wakes up more often, you can give him some water, a pacifier, hold him in your arms for a while, and check if it’s time to change the soiled diaper.
Note. If a formula-fed baby does not calm down without a bottle, this may indicate that he has outgrown his daily intake of formula. In this case, you need to consult a doctor about increasing its volume, and if age already allows, then introducing complementary foods.
Until what age a baby will ask for a bottle at night depends on many factors, including the timely delivery date, the state of the nervous system, temperament and others. If the artificial child is gaining weight normally and is well-groomed, but still asks to eat more often than twice a night, this should be a reason to consult a pediatric neurologist.
To make your task easier, it is better to prepare the formula for night feeding in advance, before bed, and leave it in a bottle warmer near your bed. Otherwise, the organization of feeding artificial babies at night is no different from feeding infants.
When to stop night feeding
There is an opinion among some pediatricians that the most optimal age to wean a child from night feeding is 12 months. At 1 full year, the baby no longer needs night feeding. Another sign is interruptions in feeding at night. If they are more than five hours, then it’s time to transfer the baby to only a daytime meal. This can be done at the full 9 months, but only if the child really does not need meals at night.
Another factor to understand that it’s time to wean your baby is weight. If the weight is below the norm, which should be at one year of age, then you need to choose a different time for weaning. But if the baby is breastfed, then you need to feed the newborn at night longer than on artificial nutrition.
How to wean: working methods
The methods are not universal, any of them may not work. But some kind of help in weaning you off feeding at night!
Method one. More attention, more!
If the child does not see his mother during the day, she does not take care of her child, does not pick him up, caress him, stroke him or play with him, the baby will want to make up for the lack of attention at night. To prevent this from happening, start spending more time with him: take the baby in your arms, rock him, smile. Do this as often as possible throughout the day.
Method two. Less milk
Reduce the dose of milk you feed your one-year-old baby. Do this, gradually reducing the serving amount to zero. After three days, skip one meal. Rock, lull the child. He will fall asleep: the night will take its toll, and he will not ask for food.
Method three. Give me some water!
Replace milk with water. Having drunk, the baby will sleep all night like he sold wheat.
Method four. Dad, grandma, come!
Sometimes the baby doesn’t want his mother’s breast, he just needs attention. Let the father or grandmother come up, take the child in his arms, play with him, smile at him. You can quietly say pleasant words to your child.
IMPORTANT! Drive away discontent and aggression. Even in the womb, the baby feels how his parents treat him, and newborns have an even greater sense of dislike. Treat the process not as a stressful situation, but as a normal phenomenon. After all, when we eradicate a bad habit, it’s hard for us too.
Method five. No sleep after eating
Do not put your child to bed immediately after eating. Neither during the daytime nor at night. This will cause him to associate “food-sleep”, and it will become a habit to fall asleep after eating. As soon as you feed your baby, play with him for half an hour.
Common mistakes
When weaning off nighttime feedings, inexperienced parents make many mistakes, which make the weaning process last much longer:
- Many parents believe that if night meals are associated with stress, then weaning will go faster. But if the child is sick or is teething, then weaning should be delayed for at least two weeks. It is necessary for the body to become stronger and ready for changes in nutrition.
- It is not recommended to give your child to his grandmother for this time. This will provoke the appearance of negative emotions and psychological problems in the future.
- Some mothers smear mustard or other tasteless products on their breasts. But this method is suitable for 2-3 year old children, but not for one year olds. In a one-year-old child, this method will cause indigestion and other health problems.
- Scream and don't give him breast or bottle. You need to calmly explain why now he can’t eat at night, and not throw a tantrum in response to the baby.
- Don't try to intimidate your baby while weaning him off night feedings.
By following the rules for weaning off nighttime feedings and avoiding common mistakes, you will be able to do this quickly and without negative consequences for the psyche and health of the child. You need to talk to the baby and explain to him, and not just categorically prohibit and throw tantrums. Such actions will only aggravate the situation and scare the child even more.
Do I need to wean it off?
For children under six months of age, this is a vital need, so the question of how to wean a child from eating at night disappears by itself. A child’s body is developing, and its growth requires a lot of energy and strength. Therefore, the child needs a regular supply of nutrients.
Babies under six months will definitely not agree with the cancellation of the night meal and will persistently ask for food.
Another question is when the baby is two years old. If he continues to eat at night, it will lead to tooth decay or other dental problems. Avoid drinks that contain sugar: baby juices, fruit yoghurts.
When we eat at night, the gastrointestinal tract is stressed, and at night it needs to rest. Due to night feedings, the process of digestion and absorption of food worsens and slows down.
What do pediatricians advise?
The most important advice to follow is not to start the situation in the first place: do not feed your baby too often at night. Observe not only the interests of your child, but also your own.
Psychologists consider the most appropriate time for weaning a child to be two years old, although pediatricians say that the latest age is one year.
Comments from Dr. Komarovsky
The opinion of the Ukrainian pediatrician Evgeniy Olegovich Komarovsky is authoritative. He tells how to stop a child from eating at night.
Dr. Komarovsky advises bathing the baby in cool water before bed, giving him a massage, and then feeding him tightly.
IMPORTANT! Make sure that the water is not too cold for the child, otherwise he will catch a cold.
Much depends on the air in the room. If it is cool and moist, the baby will sleep soundly and healthy. When the air is warm and dry, the child very often wakes up at night with a feeling of thirst, confusing it with hunger.
- Drink as little water, tea, juice as possible. The less liquid you drink, the more difficult it is for your baby to get milk. The child will get tired of struggling with this difficulty, and the habit will be eradicated.
- Skip feeding times. Instead, play with your child, dance with him, hold his hands.
- Lead an active lifestyle. Let every day be filled with physical activity. This way you quickly remove fluid from the body.
- Eliminate foods that promote lactation from your diet. This is oatmeal, cereals, meat, bread, carrots, fatty fish, cow's milk. Coffee also increases the secretion of breast milk.
- The temperature in the bedroom should be no more than 18°.
The baby needs to give all your love, express it as often as possible. Under no circumstances should you be angry with your child, as he feels it. If you are not sure that you are doing everything right, contact your pediatrician. He will tell you how to stop your child from eating at night. Do not repeat common mistakes so as not to injure your baby, and he will grow up strong and healthy.
Komarovsky's technique
Dr. Komarovsky offers several options for optimizing baby feeding. He claims that after the child reaches six months of age, he no longer needs night feedings. In the future, feedings are maintained out of habit. Moreover, the cause of night crying at this age is no longer a feeling of hunger, but something completely different. He is sure that even at this age, if you offer the baby food every time he cries at night, he can simply be overfed, which in turn can cause pain in the tummy.
He identified a number of rules, the observance of which contributes to the soundest sleep for children:
1. There is no need to overfeed the baby at the penultimate feeding before bedtime. But immediately before bedtime, you need to feed him until he is completely full.
2. Late bathing and subsequent feeding also have the best effect on children's sleep. To make your baby even more hungry, you can do a massage or exercise with him before bathing.
3. Dry and hot air is not allowed in the bedroom. It's better to keep it moist and cool. In the nursery, the optimal temperature is about 18-20 degrees with a humidity of 50-70%. If the mother thinks that the room is cool, the baby can be dressed in warm pajamas.
4. You also need to remember the duration of children's sleep. Until the age of three, children sleep 16-20 hours a day. At the same time, six-month-olds require 14.5 hours, and one-year-olds already need 13.5 hours. That is, if a child sleeps too long during the day, then at night his sleep will be shorter.
5. The regime must be followed from birth. Then the baby himself will know when it is time for him to sleep and when to eat.
Komarovsky assures that if you strictly follow all these rules, then soon the baby will stop waking up at night to feed.
