night feedings while breastfeeding

“Why feed the baby at night?! We didn’t spoil you like that - and you grew up normal! And how long are you going to feed him at night?” - modern grandmothers are indignant. Of course, the older generation raised children in much more harsh conditions, and many grandparents do not know that night feeding, both breastfeeding and bottle-feeding, is an important component of full development. Eating at night is not only a baby’s physical need, but also a psychological one.

What are night meals needed for?

Every mother wants her baby to grow up healthy and happy. And an integral part of healthy development is proper nutrition. Modern scientists have proven that long intervals between meals can have a bad effect on the overall well-being of an infant, since his stomach is small and needs to be replenished more often. Therefore, the need to feed a child at night is already a proven and universally accepted fact.

In addition, during night feeding, the mother produces a hormone called prolactin, which provides the baby with milk the next day. Therefore, it is so important not to deny your baby snacks between three and eight in the morning.

Breast milk contains an enzyme that helps break down fats - lipase. Thanks to it, digestion does not cause tension in the gastrointestinal tract in the newborn.

When visiting a pediatrician, many mothers ask: until what age should a child be fed at night? In this matter, the individual characteristics of the baby play a big role: some people refuse to eat at night at eleven to twelve months, while others like to eat at night even at the age of two years. Therefore, in solving this problem, parents should focus not on other children, but take into account the wishes of their baby. But it should be remembered that at least up to a year, night snacks are mandatory for him.

How and when to wake up your baby

What if the baby sleeps all night and does not wake up? To wake up or not to wake up? If the newborn is less than a month old or was born premature and the last time he ate was more than three hours ago, then it is worth waking him up and feeding him. Firstly, such babies need to eat every two to three hours for good weight gain, and secondly, to establish lactation it is very important to put the baby to the breast at night.

To gently wake up the baby, you need to take him in your arms, call him by name in a whisper, softly kiss him, stroke his cheeks and back. Sometimes mothers begin to feed a still very sleepy baby - and he, not yet fully awake, still takes the breast. If all else fails, you can start changing the baby's clothes: usually, when changing a diaper, babies wake up quickly.

To wake up your baby correctly, it is important to know that there are two phases of sleep: deep and superficial. The first half of the night is a deep phase, and in the second half of the night it is replaced by shallow sleep. During the deep sleep phase, you should not wake up the child, since it is at this time that the brain rests and all muscles are completely relaxed. But after three or four o’clock in the morning you can notice signs such as restless sleep, involuntary movements of the child’s arms and legs, rapid breathing - this means that dreams are moving into a superficial phase and that the baby can be woken up to eat.

Remember that how you wake up your baby will determine his psycho-emotional state, so loud screams and sudden switching on of bright lights are unacceptable in this case.

Baby sleep

The familiar expression “sleeps like a baby,” used in the case of sound, uninterrupted sleep, does not always have common features with a real baby. It is known that human sleep is divided into 2 phases: superficial and deep. In a newborn baby, shallow sleep takes up approximately 80% of sleep time; by 12 months it is reduced to 50%. This phase is extremely important for the baby, since it is during the period of shallow sleep that the baby actively grows and develops. All parents have encountered a situation where the baby seems to be fast asleep in their arms, but 10-15 minutes after being transferred to the crib, it certainly wakes up. The reason lies precisely in his passing through the superficial phase of sleep. Therefore, the main task of the mother is to help the child gently go through this phase, and breastfeeding helps in an unprecedented way.

Night feedings: how to do it right

In order for feeding at night to be comfortable for mother and baby, you need to remember several rules:

1. Before waking your baby, turn on the night light, not the chandelier, so as not to irritate the baby with bright light.
2. To prevent your baby from going wild, do not delay feeding.
3. Have a clean diaper ready so that in case of an “accident” you don’t waste time looking for it. If the baby is bottle-fed, prepare in advance a sterilized bottle, pacifier, measuring spoon, water and a jar of dry formula.
4. To avoid heating the water to prepare the mixture, use a thermos, which should be filled with water at the desired temperature in the evening.

During all manipulations, do not forget to talk to your baby in a gentle whisper so that he understands that you are nearby.

Features of breastfeeding at night

Breastfeeding is not only useful, but also convenient: at night the mother does not even need to get up, just put the baby next to her and give him the breast. As for the frequency of night feedings during breastfeeding, this depends on the individual characteristics of the child. Infants in the first months of life need frequent snacks, approximately every two to three hours, and since they do not know the time of day, they demonstrate the same need both day and night. As they grow older, the number of feedings decreases and the time interval between meals increases. After six months, the baby can sleep all night without ever disturbing his mother for feeding.

Sometimes the number of breastfeedings at night may increase due to discomfort during teething.

Many mothers are familiar with the situation when the baby asks for the breast so often during the day that by night there is very little milk left in the breast, and the child cannot fall asleep because he is not full, or falls asleep, but not for long. In such cases, you can try supplementing the baby with formula at night. This will help solve the problem, but you should remember that supplementing with formula at night while breastfeeding can reduce milk flow. In addition, there is always a possibility that the baby will refuse the breast in favor of formula.

If for one reason or another you are forced to give up daytime breastfeeding, then do not worry that milk will not be produced at night. Prolactin, which promotes the production of breast milk, will help ensure its flow for the baby's night feedings.

How long should you walk with a 4 month old baby?

How much should a 4 month old baby weigh?

During the warm period of the year, most parents put the child to sleep on the balcony and, while awake, walk him outside, allowing him to explore the world around him. The walking schedule at four months is determined by the behavior of the baby. An excess of impressions helps some children to fall asleep in a stroller on their own, while others are first latched to the chest.

Breastfeeding is recommended for babies every hour, always before bedtime. For complementary feeding in winter, children have to be taken home; they can be breastfed outside in the summer. Some parents walk for 2.5 hours, others for 30-40 minutes. In the second case, you should go for a walk twice.

Features of artificial feeding at night

If everything is quite simple with breastfeeding, then with night feedings with artificial feeding the situation is more complicated. The child needs to be fed as quickly as possible, but the formula cannot be prepared in advance. But there are several options that will help speed up the process of preparing the mixture:

1. Measure out the required amount of mixture in advance and leave it in the bottle.
2. Pour water at the desired temperature into a thermos in the evening.
3. This way you can prepare the mixture right in your room, turning on only the night light. This will be a big plus, since you will not leave the baby’s sight, but will have the opportunity to quietly talk to him during the cooking process.
4. If your baby wakes up at the same time, you should set an alarm five minutes before he wakes up and prepare food before he asks to eat.

The table below shows the average statistical data for determining the volume of formula that is needed to feed a baby at night:

For example, if a child is five months old and his weight is approximately 6500 g, then the daily norm is calculated as follows: 6500/7 = 930 ml. Next, you should divide the daily amount of the mixture by the number of meals to determine how much the baby should eat during the day and how much at night.

If, in order to increase nutritional value during the evening meal, you decide to replace the mixture with another product, for example, porridge, then you should, firstly, consult with your pediatrician about the advisability of such a replacement, and secondly, focus on the child’s age: he should be at least five to six months. At the same time, it should be remembered that porridge is not suitable for a nightly diet, as it is a dense and difficult to digest product.

According to pediatricians, a baby stops needing night feeding after six months. But abruptly stopping nighttime snacking when you reach six months is unlikely to please your baby, because the feeling of warmth, security and closeness to his mother still means a lot to him. Nighttime formula feedings should be tapered off after one year, although older babies may still wake up at night to eat if they need to make sure mom is nearby. Therefore, despite the recommendations of specialists, listen to the wishes of your baby, because your love is the most important thing for him.

Daytime and nighttime sleep norms for a 4-month-old baby

By 4 months, most children sleep 15 hours a day: 10 hours at night, the remaining period is divided between three daytime naps (their number will decrease to two when the child reaches six months of age). There is no need to adjust a baby’s sleep to certain standards. Typically, deviations from the norm for more than an hour are extremely rare.

The individual need of children for sleep is determined by a number of parameters:

1. Genetic characteristics. People are long sleepers and short sleepers. The former rest for 8-10 hours, the latter manage to gain strength in 6-7 hours. The feature is hereditary.
2. Activity. If your baby stays awake quietly, less sleep will be needed.
3. Health status. Under certain conditions of the body, children sleep longer and restore energy reserves.
4. Rest conditions. When the temperature drops, the air is saturated with oxygen, and in the dark, sleep is better.

Important! If a child regularly sleeps 2-3 hours less than normal, the baby does not get enough sleep. In the body of a baby in the fourth month of life, the level of the stress hormone - cortisol - increases, excitability increases, and inhibition processes in a poorly developed nervous system become more difficult.

Activity and sleep patterns of newborns

Comfortable poses

To feel comfortable while feeding your baby at night, experts suggest choosing the most comfortable position from the three most common:

1. Lying on your side. This position is one of the most comfortable if the mother cannot sit after childbirth or if the parents practice co-sleeping.
2. “Cradle” position: the most famous position in which the mother sits or half-sits, and the baby lies in her arms, as if in a cradle.
3. Lying on your back. The mother is practically lying down, and the baby is sitting on top. This position is good when the mother has a strong milk flow, as the sitting position helps the baby not to choke when sucking.

Age norms

As the baby gets older, the need for night feedings gradually decreases. If in the first weeks of a child’s life the frequency of feedings ranges from two to seven times, then after six to seven months night awakenings to eat become increasingly rare. Of course, these norms are not strictly regulated, because each baby develops individually. These are just averages designed to show the approximate number of night snacks. Therefore, if your baby sleeps all night at the age of three months or eats three to four times a night at eight months, do not worry: this means that this is his need.

Thus, for the full physical and emotional development of the child, night feedings are simply necessary. Night breastfeeding and bottle feeding provide a feeling of security, which further builds self-confidence. It is an important component for building trust and intimacy between mother and child. As for how many months you need to feed your baby at night, it’s up to the baby and the mother to decide. If there is enough milk and the mother does not mind, then you can feed until the baby refuses.

You might be interested in: how to wean your baby off night feedings.

Periodicity

How many times a night should you feed? This question concerns absolutely all mothers, especially those who feed with artificial formula. The younger the child, the less food he is able to consume at one time - the volume of the stomach is still too small, in addition, he quickly gets physically tired and therefore falls asleep while eating.

Accordingly, the intervals between feedings are small - for infants they can last only 1.5-2 hours, for artificial babies - 2.5-3 hours (at night 4-4.5 hours).

Number of night feedings by month

The older the child, the longer the nighttime feeding break becomes. By six months, it is advisable to organize the regime in such a way that during the night he does not wake up more than 1-2 times - this will save energy for both him and his mother.

To reduce night feedings in a child over 6 months old, you should adhere to the following rules:

1. Gradually start introducing complementary foods, since one of the reasons for nighttime food requirements is that during the day the body does not replenish the nutritional deficiency.
2. If there was no drinking water in the children’s diet before, you should definitely include it in the menu in an amount of at least 250-300 ml. The child is not yet able to distinguish hunger from thirst and is accustomed to receiving both food and drink along with breast milk or formula, so he may also wake up at night because he is thirsty.
3. Reduce sleep during the day - after six months, it is enough to sleep twice during the day.
4. Ensure active pastime - the daily routine must include walks in the fresh air, and if earlier the mother tried to synchronize them with sleep, now at least one walk should fall during the waking period. Thus, the child’s brain will receive a large amount of information and require a good night’s rest.
5. Do not turn on the light during night feedings, unless absolutely necessary - the use of illumination can lead to a shift in the day and night patterns.
6. Feed your baby thoroughly before bedtime - the last meal should be no earlier than 2 hours before bedtime.
7. 1.5-2 hours before going to bed, arrange water procedures - this will relax the muscles of the body and calm the nervous system. You can add decoctions of soothing herbs (for example, chamomile) to the water.

Memo. Do not forget to review the children's regimen in accordance with the age requirements of the body. Physical and intellectual stress, sufficient for a 6-month-old baby, will no longer be sufficient for a one-year-old child.

The period when a child stops waking up for night feeding on his own varies from 6 months to 2 years in the case of breastfeeding. Natural, non-forced refusal of night meals is the best option for mother and child, since it does not require effort on both sides. But you shouldn’t wait too long in the hope that the baby will begin to sleep peacefully all night without waking up, because after a year, night feedings become too exhausting.