Breastfed baby- number of night feeds at 8 months of age

Becca - posted on 03/30/2010

My son is so distractable during the day that he doesn't feed well and our nurse actually told me to keep feeding him overnight because he nurses better during his early morning feed.

Kristi - posted on 03/30/2010

yes indeedy, my girly still gets up at least 3 times to be boobed. I've tried other things(rocking, soothing...what have you) but she still just prefers to be boobed and put back down.

Christy - posted on 03/27/2010

my son does... not as much when i feed him some baby food...not cereal right before i put him to bed

Rachel - posted on 03/23/2010

my little man is 8 mths and is on formula, but now sleeps through i did find it hard to get him there because he got so use to havin a bottle to go bk to sleep (partly my fault i guess) but over a weekend at his nanas he didnt have a bottle so we found he didnt need it it was more for comfort. so i stoped giving it to him and started doing controlled crying, he cried for 40 mins bless him but the next night it was 20 then after that he realised he wasnt gonna get his way so kinda gave up. he has 3 bottles and 3 meals over the day and will sleep from 7 till 6. i was told by my health visitor that from 6 mths they learn outcomes so they know that if they make enough fuss they get what they want. i found it was just being strong. i hope this helps.

Heather - posted on 03/23/2010

My daughter is still waking up at least twice a night. Sometimes I can just rock her back to sleep but not always. She won't use a bottle so I can't just give her water either. She's still tiny as she was a preemie but I'm trying.

Jessie - posted on 03/23/2010

yup. between about 830 and 6 he eats two times average. he nurses right at bedtime around 8 and when he gets up around 6 plus once or twice in between. no biggie. still trying to get him to sleep in his own bed. love cosleeping but my honey and I love each other too.... haha. he spends about half the night in his bed (in our room) and then when he gets up I just bring him to bed with us.

Rinel - posted on 03/23/2010

That is trained night waking, as in your lil 1 is waking up because you have given her something to look forward to when he wakes up.
My son was a VERY sick baby with multiple severe food allergies and he hasnt been given night time feeds since he was 5 months old.
If she is eating 3 meals a day and having 4- 5 milk feeds a day she doesnt need the extra nutrients through the night, you could try giving her water in bottle and after a few hard nights you'l find she wont bother waking up for water :)

That didn't work for my son of 3 and a half. With my July baby I'm not even gonna try that. He sleeps in bed with us and he feeds while I sleep. As long as that works, I don't mind feeding him during the night.

Ellie - posted on 03/23/2010

Hey yes my baby is 8 months old and bf and she still wakes up to feed twice at night. I also give her a bottle before bedtime. I think its more of a comfort thing. I predomenently have her in bed with me and when she stirrs i chuck her on the boob and she has a little munch then back to sleep... i really ought to stop doing that....

Janelle - posted on 03/22/2010

dd wakes 3-4 times on a good night......other nights she wakes every 15-20 mins for the first hr or two then every 2 hrs after that.....completely normal for them to not STTN until a year or 2years old....

Heather - posted on 03/22/2010

I am also breast feeding and my (almost) 8 month old daughter is still waking up for feedings at least twice a night. I can't wait until she sleeps thru the night!!

Michelle - posted on 03/22/2010

YES!!! My boy wakes up at least 2 times a night if not more. He's been on solids for 2months now and eats 2-3 times of soilds a day. We've tried having him eat rice or bananas for dinner. I heared bananas help them sleep.

Lindsey - posted on 03/22/2010

My 8 month old has a 9 or 10 o'clock bedtime. She hasn't night fed since she was 3 months old, but occasionally will request to nurse when she sleeps with me. (Which is not often at this point because she takes up the WHOLE bed!) She is now eating 3 meals a day with snacks between meals (puffs, yogurt drops, etc.) I nurse 3-4 times a day mostly early morning, before naptime and at bedtime.
For the kid who doesn't like cereal...My daughter was that way for a while until I tried the beechnut oatmeal with fruit already in it. I mix 1/4 cup of that with a whole jar of 1st/2nd foods fruit (use your child's favorite, for us that is apple/blueberry) and 1 oz of formula/breastmilk. My daughter loves the stuff and practically eats it every morning for breakfast!

Maggie - posted on 03/22/2010

My doctor said this is normal since breast milk is easier to digest. I have twins that still get up 2-3 times a night, but I think it is worth it. I found it helped if I made sure they are hungry and awake to nurse long enough when they awaken so that they get fuller and sleep a little longer.

Kelly - posted on 03/22/2010

I am thrilled that my 8 month old is now just waking up 2 times a night to nurse! I "trained" her earlier that if she came to bed with me, she could nurse all night long. This past week we moved her into her own room, I stopped bringing her to bed, and she has taken it like a champ. I've read that if your baby is waking up hungry, they may need to eat more during the day. The problem is my boobs are SO FULL by midnight I am thrilled to have her wake up and drain them! But i feel good about the direction things are going. It's all in perspective isn't it? If they usually woke up 5 times a night, 2 times in a 12 hour period is like a God send!

Anuradha - posted on 03/21/2010

My baby Boy Reuben completed 8 months on 15th March. he sleeps at 8.30 pm and gets up by 7 am. Breastfed while sleeping and thrice until morning.

Marissa - posted on 03/21/2010

My 8.5 month old son wakes up 1-3 times during the night to breastfeed still. I just read the book "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley and I'm going to try to implement some of her techniques to get him on a better routine and hopefully get him down to only one feeding and then hopefully none eventually. I found it to be a very helpful book.

Sara-lee - posted on 03/21/2010

My son was the same until I put him on a 10pm dream feed where I go in pick him up and feed in dark then straight back to bed. He then goes till 7am.
Hes now 8 months and I started formula at 10pm and night formula for the bed time 6.30/7. What cereal have you tried? My son has it with fruit - likes weetabix and wholemeal toast with unsalted butter in fingers. He has the ellas kitchen garden squirty fruit in his cereal (I make for day but squirty easier in morning and you can do lots of different flavours).

Suzi - posted on 03/21/2010

Its a hard one really. My 8 month old sometimes wakes up 3 or 4 times a night and sometimes 1 or 2 (on a 7 till 7 shift) I can only get her to go back down by breastfeeding. She just has a little drink and I put her back down awake most of the time and she is content and rolls over and goes back to sleep. I have tried water and rocking but she will not let me, she just arches her back.
I know they say they don't need a feed at night but sometimes she might not get enough in the day and who are we to know if on a particular day they are hungrier and what if it is a growth spurt? you can't grow without nutrition. I still wake up hungry in the middle of the night sometimes. I guess its best to just do what suits them because it won't be long before they don't need us and at 8 months they are still very young. If you truly can't cope with the night waking then I guess you have to get tough, but if you can handle it for the short term, do what keeps them happy. I do agree that its probably just habit but I think its so nice to be needed and dependable! =0)

Amy - posted on 03/20/2010

My son will be 8 months next week and he wakes up a few times a night... I'm like one of the other Mom's that has already posted... I always remember how many times he wakes up to nurse! I do have him in a crib that is in my room, but when I go to bed the first time he wakes back up he ends up in my bed for the rest of the night. My dr. told me to stop the night feedings a couple of months ago, but I've had a hard time with that emotionally. Since I'm a working mom I really like that connection that it gives the two of us. He also doesn't eat a lot of solids very well. His daycare teacher has more success that I do. He doesn't care for me to spoon feed him. He will take small bits of what I am eating also though. Good luck!

Bobie - posted on 03/20/2010

my son wakes up 2x at night to feed.its contradicting what other moms or doctors say about night-time feeding..some says they dont need to wake up to feed by 4months old, some say they can still wake up to feed around 2x a night...so watever is comfortable for you...follow it, as long as the gap between each feeding is not too close coz that would become a habit rather than a need.

Maya - posted on 03/20/2010

My baby is 33 weeks and she is still feeding 2 times in the middle of the night but she ony eats for about 5 min each time so it isnt to bad. it has been less and less time i have been pumping in the morning cuz im very full now and before she would drain me everytime.

Karrie - posted on 03/20/2010

My son slept right through from 5 weeks- until he started crawling, now he has been waking up at night, at first he needed a nurse, but now he is back to sleep before I even finish carrying him to my room. I think I will try water with him tonight.

Shannon - posted on 03/19/2010

My daughter sleeps through the night and has been for awhile. When she was born she had severe reflux, so my doctor required me to wake her up and feed her every 2-3 hours, so she had a pattern of waking up. At about 3 months I stopped doing the middle of the night feedings. Luckily she is attached to a binkie and a satin blanket, so if she wakes up I can usually give that to her to get her to go back to bed. I also put a shirt I have worn in the corner of her crib (so she can smell me) If she wakes up I try to get to her quickly and not let her see me, if I take too long she wakes up and it is harder to get her back to bed. Some nights she wakes up 1 to 2 times, but goes back to bed right away. She now sleeps from about 7:30pm-6 or 7am.

Tina - posted on 03/19/2010

OMG!! My daughter is 8 months old and gets up 2-3 times a night..the only way to get her back to sleep is if I breastfeed her. I know she is not hungry, because she stays on my breast for a few mintues and then she is out. I've tried singing, patting her back..nothing works.

Carla - posted on 03/19/2010

I had the same problem for a long time! My pediatrician said she is getting up BECAUSE I feed her! I decided to get tough! At first I set a 10 minute limit and laid her back down...sleeping or awake! I made sure she was getting enough to eat throughout the day (which helped immensely!) I was amazed by how much she would actually eat before she was full! Then when she would get up in the middle of the night, I would NOT feed her! I held her, patted her back, shushed her, rocked her...whatever I could to put her back to sleep WITHOUT feeding her. She didn't like it at all at first but it only took her a few nights to adjust. Now she is sleeping for 11 hours straight EVERY night. Occasionally she will get up, but can go right back to sleep with no problem. I didn't believe the doctor at first, but now I know he was totally correct in what he said! At 8 months old...there is no reason for them to wake up and eat...unless they know that you will give it to them!! You are in control of the situation a lot more than you think!! Give it a try! It worked for me and very easily I must say! :)

Michelle - posted on 03/19/2010

Mine is waking up twice for food and often other times with gas. The past couple of nights he's woken up for a couple of hours and appears to be wide awake wanting to play. I hope that is a short phase :) He didn't want most solids until recently and I thought that he might sleep longer since he's eating more solids but this hasn't been the case. I hope the sleep comes soon... for mine and yours.

Jessica - posted on 03/19/2010

My 8 month old had been waking up every night at 3:30am, and I was nursing him back to sleep, since then at least I could guarantee he'd go back to sleep & I could get some myself. But this week I decided enough is enough, since it seemed he was doing it more for comfort than hunger. It took two nights, but now he's sleeping from about 7pm to 5am. I did the Ferber method of letting him cry for 3, then 5, then 7 minutes, etc., and the first night was really hard, but it definitely paid off as we're all feeling well rested now!

Leslie - posted on 03/19/2010

My son is still breast feeding only. He psuedo-wakes up four to five times a night for quick snacks and then pulls away and is back to sleep. We still co-sleep/. WE have been trying to give him food since he was five months old but he generally gags and throws up all the bile or breast milk in his little stomach. His height/weight are well above average so I'm not concerned. He shows no signs of anemia and he is as strong as an ox. He pulls himself up on everything now and moves along side the furniture. I'm a stay at home mom so I don't mind the lack of sleep, I usually take his morning nap with him and catch up that way.

Shelley - posted on 03/19/2010

Try Gerber's 8 Grains & Yogurt Mixture, my daughter is also finicky about cereals, but LOVES this one, it even smells great to me!

Shelley - posted on 03/19/2010

Try Gerber's 8 Grains & Yogurt Mixture, my daughter is also finicky about cereals, but LOVES this one, it even smells great to me!

Keenjal - posted on 03/19/2010

Anokhi is almost 8 months old (a week to go), and she just started sleeping through the night. She used to get up twice for feeds, but sleeps through now. She has been on solids since she was a little under 6 months. Someone suggested offering water when your baby gets up. I have heard that this works. Good luck!

Alisha - posted on 03/18/2010

my daughter is almost 8 months and is getting up once or twice a night for feedings. When she was 4 months she started sleeping through the night but then in february started getting up again. She is now eatting 3 meals a day and nursing atleast 4 times during the day. I don't think that she needs to get up but i don't know how to break her of it. I just read the post about water in a bottle and think I am going to try that tonight!!! thx!!

Gabriela - posted on 03/18/2010

Hi,
My daughter (8 months) is on formula from 5 1/2months and she used to wake up twice during the night. I have her now on modified toddler routine. She gets bottle when she wakes up anytime between 6and 7am followed by breakfast around 8am. She didn't like the cereal at first but I mix it half with fruit puree and she loves it. Than she gets lunch at 12 two courses (vegetables and than fruit ) + water to drink. 1/2 hour later she gets her milk feed. Than she has afternoon tee at 3.30pm fruit puree and water. Diner is at 5pm same as lunch and than her milk feed around 6.30pm. Her bed time is at 7pm latest. She wakes up only ones during the night looking for her dummy. So to sum it up she is on 3 milk feeds a day plus 3 meals and a snack. The main change is solids before milk as she was filling upon milk and not eating enough solids to get her through the night. If they wake up during the night try to resettle them first. It worked for us after couple of days. Hope this helps.

Carrie - posted on 03/18/2010

Mine usually gets up once still but often wakes for the day super early (to me!!!) - around 5:15ish. but she is usually going to bed early too, around 6 or 6:30. She is eating solids 2 times a day as well. (pureed veggies, pureed fruit, hard boiled egg yolk, yogurt....)

Mariah - posted on 03/18/2010

Yes! My daughter is 8 months and also wakes twice a night to nurse. It is so frustrating because I feel like I'm doing something wrong, she is our 4th child and the others slept through the night by 9 weeks! UGH! Help!

Molly - posted on 03/18/2010

I was told by my pediatrician that at 8 months and eating solids, my son should not be hungry in the middle of the night and that he doesn't NEED to eat. If he wakes up I usually give him about 15-30 minutes to put himself back to sleep and if he doesn't I go in to console him but I don't pick him up. I just put my hand on his chest and shush him or sing to him. Usually once he calms down he will go back to sleep on his own. Now he sleeps through the night and if he does wake up he puts himself back to sleep within 5 minutes

Tammy - posted on 03/18/2010

my son wakes up some nights while others he will sleep right through.

Orla - posted on 03/18/2010

Will try anything so will definately give it a go. The biggest probably i have is that Luke sleeps in the same room as my 4 yr old so don't want him woken although he seems to sleep through the crying anyway unless abnormally loud. The 4 yr old wanted his baby brother to be in with him so i had to put them together as he just loves him. Thanks for advise and hopefully will be back in a week saying how wonderful it is that Luke sleeps all nite..... :)

Becky - posted on 03/18/2010

My Little Miss hasn't been doing night feedings for 2-3 months now. She sleeps from 8 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. It's been great and I don't want to push my luck, but I hope it sticks for quite a while! I agree that it's trained waking. If she's healthy she probably doesn't need to eat during the night. One thing I've learned is that sometimes babies just wake up and cry because they're awake. Next time she wakes up, let her cry for 5-10 minutes. She will probably go back to sleep. If she keeps crying for more than 10 minutes (or starts screaming like something is really wrong), go in and pick her up. But don't feed her. Soothe her and put her back to bed. This has worked for me...it's just an idea. :)

Orla - posted on 03/18/2010

My boy is waking too a couple of times during the nite. I put it down to teething but i don't know. It is hard going as you'd be wrecked in the mornings and unfortunatley he's up at 6.00 regardless. He is great to eat and has 4 meals a day. He has his cereal for brekkie but cannot last until lunchtime so has a yogurt around 10.30ish and then lunch and his dinner round 5.00ish. He goes though only 2 bottles a day and then has the 3rd during the nite normally. How do you get them into a sleeping routine .........

Kiffany - posted on 03/17/2010

funny thing that i just post a comment about this and i get an article in my e-mail saying give them water (only if they are eating solids) during night feedings and they might find it not worth getting up for it. im going to give it a try.

Vondell - posted on 03/17/2010

i don't really know what it is, but is trying different things to break this trend, my 8 month old son wakes about 3 to 4 times a night for feedings.

Kiffany - posted on 03/17/2010

yep mine like 3 times a night! i think its part comfort and babies digest our milk a lot faster than formula babies so they are hungry more.

Jeni - posted on 03/17/2010

That is trained night waking, as in your lil 1 is waking up because you have given her something to look forward to when he wakes up.

My son was a VERY sick baby with multiple severe food allergies and he hasnt been given night time feeds since he was 5 months old.

If she is eating 3 meals a day and having 4- 5 milk feeds a day she doesnt need the extra nutrients through the night, you could try giving her water in bottle and after a few hard nights you'l find she wont bother waking up for water :)

Tammy - posted on 03/17/2010

My son used to get up once a night for a feed, generally between 2am and 4:30am. He cut that out himself by sleeping through at just over 8mo. We dont cosleep but. He reeally likes his food and is on 3 meals a day with 4-5bf a day.

Vicki - posted on 03/16/2010

Yep mine. More than twice I think although it depends on the night. He usually goes to sleep around 7.30, give or take an hour or two, maybe wakes up once before I go to bed, then 1 or 2 feeds after that. Bit hard to say though as we're cosleeping and tbh I don't remember most mornings how much he has fed since I don't really wake up. I just give him bits of what I'm eating too.