how do i break my son's 4 am feeding so that he sleeps all night long without a feeding?

Nicole - posted on 04/14/2010

Tiffany, I have a 6 1/2 month old and I feel you are very lucky to make it from 9 pm to 4 am with no feedings in between! I haven't read through all of the posts because there are so many, so I have no idea whether you are breastfeeding or formula feeding. I did read through some and I do feel you got some bad advice.



If you are breastfeeding, you must be producing very well! If he is sleeping from 9-4, that is a total of 7 hours and that IS "sleeping through the night"! What a good job you are doing. He will start to sleep longer. Trust me. Just give him time. Another bit of advice if you are breastfeeding, giving formula to a breastfed baby to make them sleep longer is just a myth. It doesn't always work, but it is VERY LIKELY to upset your baby's tummy and cause you to lose MORE sleep. Please don't do that. Your baby doesn't need it. He is doing great off of your breastmilk!



Also, whether you are breastfeeding OR formula feeding, cereal is not recommended for children under 6 months by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Also, NEVER put cereal in a bottle! It is a common choking hazard and is also not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. If a baby can not eat from a spoon, they are not ready for solids.



Again, remember that babies have small stomachs (about the size of a golf ball) and, therefore, they need to eat more frequently than adults. I am so jealous that your baby is sleeping so long! =) Good for you! Woot woot!!! Hang in there!

Katie - posted on 04/14/2010

Feed him a cereal bottle before bed, worked with both of my girls

Nikki - posted on 04/14/2010

I tried every trick in the book to get my son to sleep through the night and NOTHING worked! He eventually started skipping his midnight feeding but would get up between 230-4 for a bottle. Finally at 7 1/2 months I had enough of getting up and I just let him cry and would go in and try to soothe him without a bottle. It was tough at first. The first night he got up at 11, 3, & 5. We didn't give him a bottle til he woke for the day at 630am. It took about 3 nights of waking and crying, but he's been sleeping since and hes 9 months old.

Lydia - posted on 04/14/2010

i feed my daughter at 10-- i let her hold it out- give her a binky or something- then i feed her. i put her in her crib and she cries for a little. then shes so worn out. she sleeps all night long till 830 every morning- every now and then she gets up at 6. shes only 12 weeks old and sleeps all through the night. maybe give only 2 oz or something if hes really hungry maybe more.. then try and change his sleep schedule an hour ahead.... thats what we did... we let her wear herself out-- after changing, feeding and loving on her. so she was so wore out she slept

Karla - posted on 04/14/2010

you will have to feed your baby something that keeps him fuller longer, so if you are breastfeeding him use formula right before his bed time, if you give him formula add rice ceral (small amt) to his bottle. Also be sure to establish a routine ( like read him a book, bath then feeding and rocking hime to sleep) and then make sure to not let him nap too long whne he gets around 6-8months to help him differenciate between day/night sleep. good luck!

Lizzy - posted on 04/14/2010

I have a 4 month old boy, and he has a feed at 8, and we put him to bed. Then we actually wake him up at 11:30pm/12am and give him formula with baby rice in, so its nice and thick so it fills his belly, then put him straight back to bed and he sleeps until 8am, sometimes even 9am if its a great day!!

GinaMarie - posted on 04/14/2010

im trying to do the same thing my mother told me to give him water start slowly less formula more water to eventually they wont wake up for it at that time im hoping it works so far im at half water half formula then he goes right back to sleep like normal

Dana - posted on 04/14/2010

Try putting him down around 11 or so for the night, my daughter sleeps till 7 or 8am when she goes down at that time.

Kinshasa - posted on 04/14/2010

I am not sure if this will work for you but it did work for my cousin. When he son was 2 months old she started putting rice in his bottle. She would feed him around 8pm or so and he would sleep all night. He would be so full that he would sleep through the night and wake up around 7 or 8 am for another feeding. I know it doesn't work for everyone, but he was like your son waking up at midnight and then again at 4am to eat.

Jennifer - posted on 04/14/2010

have u started him on any cereal? you could try a little bit like half a tsp. every other night

just to make sure he doesn't get constipated .. Good Luck

Nicole - posted on 04/14/2010

Put a little cereal in his bottle and get overnight diapers...he won't feel so wet and he'll be more full - the doctors say not to give cereal but i gave my son cereal at 4 weeks old - he was hungry!! LOL!!!

Vanessa - posted on 04/14/2010

All babies are different and they all need food at different times of the day and different amounts, but I would try feeding him a little later around 9 or 10 and see what happens. He will eventually sleep through the night, it just takes time for some. My little girl takes a bottle with formula every 4 hours and as long as we feed her around 9 or 10 at night she will sleep until about 8 or 9 the next morning. I wish you luck!

Danielle - posted on 04/14/2010

At 4 months old I think it's pretty normal for your sons to still be waking up for a feeding.

Katie - posted on 04/14/2010

my son started sleeping through from 6 weeks and made up for it during the day but everytime he got ill had had to get up in the night with him, after he recovered form being ill he would still wake up in the night so i would leave him to cry for a short period of time and gradually make it longer and longer before going in to give him a bottle then eventaully he would settle himself with his dummy (which he only gets for bed)

Charlotte - posted on 04/14/2010

I went through the same thing but each child is different. You might want to wait a little longer because he is still a little young and maybe he needs that 4 am feeding. But when you do try weaning him from that 4 am feeding, start by decreasing the amount that you give him until you can wean him off. After that replace the bottle with a pacifier..Good Luck

My-Thuy - posted on 04/14/2010

i used baby rice for my daugther. but i also put her on a routine, after 2 weeks she had it down. now she sleeps from nine at night till ten in the morning. evey once in a while she'll wake up at 5am for a feeding. stome might not agree with the routine, but for me, putting her on one has worked and givien me a break here and there. especailly at night when im ready to winde down.

Connie - posted on 04/14/2010

u just can't. its no fun having hunger pains. and and thats 7 or 8 hours straight with out eating so im sure hes pretty hungry. ur just gunna have to suck it up. eventually he wont wake up at 4 am. but he is technically sleeping through the night despite the 4 am feeding!! my daughter is 6 months and is still waking up atleast once a night to eat. u dont control the baby, the baby controls u.

Nichole - posted on 04/14/2010

I just wanted to say that I have always been told by family, friends, and my peditrician to not put cereal in a bottle ever....no matter how old they are...maybe just try to give him a little bit of cereal w/a little friut in it at 8 before you feed the bottle/nurse.

Eva-May - posted on 04/14/2010

babies need to eat...they have little tummys...they need to be feed..not like us...

Stacey - posted on 04/14/2010

I used to put a little cereal or rice in my son's bedtime bottle he would sleep longer.

Julie - posted on 04/13/2010

Until babies are about 6 months old they need to eat at night. The little tummys are not big enough to hold all they need for that long. Keep up at least one night feeding but wake him up before 4 am. maybe about 345am so he knows that u will feed him when its time and not that his cries make you come to him. That way he wont think he is training you. LOL but after he is 6 months old u can wean him in just a few nights. If he is having 4 oz of formula or breast milk at 4 am then for the first 2 nights drop it to only 3oz, then night 3 and 4 drop it to 2 oz, night 5 and 6 only 1 oz and after that try no feeding. if he wakes up go in his room and let him know you are there but dont pick him up and only stay for a few seconds. he will go back to sleep on his own. After he is 6 months old find the Sleepeasy Solution DVD it is the greatest way to get a baby weaned and sleeping alone and all through the night. I did it with my daughter and she sleeps all night every night since she was 6 months old. Thats where my info came from and its the best thing i tried. Worked like a charm! Good luck with the little one.

Kimberly - posted on 04/13/2010

i would feed him a little bit of cereal.. it worked for me.. that way the baby has something in his tummy and he doesnt need to feed as often

Nakia - posted on 04/13/2010

with my son I put a little gerber rice cereal in his formula. it worked I never had a problem with am sleeping through the night. Boys are GREEDY,,, we have to feed them right the first time so they get enough. it's funny because when I Was in the hospital after delivering my son, he slept in the nursery the nurses said he never stop eating all night he would want to feed. it was the same way once we got home, so i told his doctor how much he was feeding and he advice me to use a little rice cereal.

Emma - posted on 04/13/2010

my health visitor told a friend that its quite normal for a 4 month old not to sleep through the night yet, as my friend has the same problem with her boy, not much you can do really. just be patient and he will sleep bit longer eventually.

my twin girls are 4 months and have there last bottle at 8 and get up at 6 so still quite early

Fulya - posted on 04/13/2010

hi, when my daughter was around 4 months old i used to give her, her last feed at 12am even though if she was asleep, i would still give it to her... and it would take her to 9 am.... which gave me some reasonable sleep... you can also try giving him something like rice cereal with a bottle which would keep him fuller... good luck...

Melissa - posted on 04/13/2010

Most babies 4 months and up are capable of sleeping through the night. I waited until my daughter was older to start sleep training and I'm quite jealous that your son is only waking one time! My daughter had 2-3 feeds a night until 7 months old . I would wean your son if you think he is ready. Each night wake him a half hour before he normally wakes (so 3:30 am) and feed one ounce less or if you breastfeed 2 minutes less each night until you get to zero. He will cry after you put him down for a little while but he will go back to sleep eventually.

Janice - posted on 04/13/2010

i had to same problems with my son until i started to feed him baby cereal (i added brown sugar or sugar) to give it a better taste of the food. make about a half of a baby bowl then if you feel like he still want more then make alittle. then give him water for bedtime. dont give juice or milk or anything like that because of the teeth.

Shakema - posted on 04/13/2010

Well I got 4 month old twins,a boy and a girl, and both eat regularly. Their Dr said it was ok to start to put a little cereal in their bottle and guess what they still don't sleep through the night but it doesn't brother me I just get up with them and feed them when they wake between 3 and 4 in the morning. I'm sure as they grow and get older my twins will learn to sleep through the night.My oldest son did the same thing.

Vanity - posted on 04/13/2010

What I did was add 2 tablespoons of baby oatmeal to their last bottle and that kept mine full untill like 8 or 9 am it dosen't work for all babies and watch cause some babies get bound up from it so you gotta be careful

Jessica - posted on 04/13/2010

& chanteal is right. you don't always have to follow your pedi's advice b/c a lot of what they say is just an opinion based on outdated information.

Jessica - posted on 04/13/2010

um.... feed him when he gets hungry. my lulu (who is exclusively breast fed) eats every 2-3 hours, including at night. i don't lose any sleep over it, though. but if your baby is hungry, feed him! i don't agree with the aspect of feeding your baby certain formulas/oatmeals/cereals so that he/she will sleep longer. lazy parenting, in my opinion. but hey, your child = your choices!! just my opinion...

Claire - posted on 04/13/2010

Fill his little belly before bedtime, I also give my e little one gripe water before bedtime so hisbelly doesn't wake him too much. If he is four months give him a bite of rice ( tablespoon or so) with his bed time bottle(not in it), or try the enfamil AR(also sold as enfamil restful) it will keep his belly fuller longer.

Chanteal - posted on 04/13/2010

A lot of people are saying that their pediatritions are the ones telling them to put the cereal in the bottle. What you have to realize is that this was widely practiced and has only recently been decided that it was a bad idea. They have discovered that babys are cholking on the cereal. Not to mention some people cut holes or make the holes bigger in the nipples which is basically causing the nipple to fall apart which can ALSO cholk the baby. Don't forget that once Dr.s go through their training in school it's their responsibily to study the new and improved medicine and there's a reason you should get a second opinon as well, Dr.s are really bad about giving their OPINIONS. I get the advise of 3 different Doctors as well as 2 different nurses for the most updated information possible when it comes to my child. New discoveries are being made every day. It ultimately boils down to the mother's decision and what the child is comfortable with. I'm merely trying to point out risks.

Andrea - posted on 04/13/2010

My daughter is 3 months will be 4 months on the 31st i got her to sleep through the night By making sure she stays up till at least 11 and in her last bottle i put cereal the pedi is the one that told me to do this i know they get fussy but its worth the full night sleep

Aimee - posted on 04/13/2010

he does seem a bit young and this may sound exterme but i used the cry it out method, i let his cry starting at 10min at a time then I would go in and rub his back or head but not say anyting and NOT PICK HIM UP, then the next night i would let him cry a bit longer then after awhile he was sleeping through the night

Anna - posted on 04/13/2010

try cereal before bed NOT IN A BOTTLE!!! once he is around 6 months you can break him from it by allowing him to cry for a certain amount of time and as the weeks go by extend the time start with 5 min move to 15 and then 20. This is an actual study I am not sure what its called but it does work in a lot of cases GOOD LUCK!

Helen - posted on 04/13/2010

give a top up night feed just before you go to bed (dont fully wake him - most babies will suckle then fall asleep when they are full)

Jessie - posted on 04/13/2010

I've never tried the Enfamil restful night formula though so that might be a good thing to try as well if you aren't ready for the rice.

Jessie - posted on 04/13/2010

at 4 months your baby should be ready to have some solids. My pediatrician told me that i could start introducing them trying something new every 3 or 4 days. I put rice in her bottle at night and he said that was alright. We are working on the spoon and she is doing well so by 6 months I think she will be ready for more. Oh she will be 5 months next Monday. Honestly if you would like him to sleep longer and are using formula just but a bit in there. I know some moms are against it but honestly I haven't had any problems and she is learning to eat baby food just fine. Just make sure he is using the fast flow nipples. Do what you think is right. If he is already sleeping that many hours he might start getting cranky when waking up. Mine started sleeping from 10- 7 or 8 and when she got a bit bigger and needed a bit more she would wake up around 5 to eat but would be unhappy b/c she was still soooo tired. That was when I tried it and now she wakes up very happy and isn't freaking out b/c she is starving. Oh and one more thing I know others also think putting rice in a bottle might make a baby overweight. My little girl is almost 5 months old and is around 13lbs. That is def. not even close to overweight. You do what is best for your little one, you are the mom and will make the right choice.

Lindsey - posted on 04/13/2010

I have three children and all their sleeping patterns as babies were different and all babies are different. Would you like to be fed when you're not hungry or not fed when you are? or given something that didn't agree with you? Our babies are babies and they depend on us to do what's best for them and your baby sleeping 8 hrs is awesome. Let your baby decide when they're hungry and when they're not...

Jennifer - posted on 04/13/2010

I tried the Enfamil restful sleep .I gave my daughter a bottle between 11-12 and she slept untill 7am before that she would wake at 5am.

Amber - posted on 04/13/2010

You may try giving him a little rice cereal in his 8pm bottle. Its about 2oz of cereal to 4 oz of milk or formula. I did this with my son and it worked. However, waking up only one time is really good at least it isn't every 2 hours! Good luck!

KRISTY - posted on 04/13/2010

have u tryed a 10pm dream feed i thought itr wasnt possible to feed a baby when they are asleep but it is lol

Roxanne - posted on 04/12/2010

i dont want to argue with you cindy.dont feel as if you have to keep replying.We obviously have a difference of oppinion and neither is going to change.Thats all i have to say i hope this is done.

Chanteal - posted on 04/12/2010

I agree with Kelly Shields. I was pretty horrified myself. But you know they get these ideas from the people that had children 20-30 years ago (our parents) and they still seem to think they know everything. I caught my mom giving my son water one time and I had a nervous breakdown on her. She listenend to everything other moms told her so because "I was too hungry for breastmilk" my mom evidently started feeding me cereal at 2 months of age and stopped feeding me milk at all. She gave me water in between cereal because (well it still shows how controlling she is) she wanted to control when I ate. Turns out this was very bad and whaddaya know, I was sick in the hospital about a hundred times by the time I was 6 and I still have major difficulties eating.

Kelly - posted on 04/12/2010

Seriously, from reading all the posts that other moms have left for you, I am HORRIFIED!

first of all, I would like to tell you, that your baby boy sleeping that long each night at 4 months old is awesome!

second of all, cereal (or anything other than breast milk or formula!) should NEVER EVER be put in a bottle! if you do decide to give your son some cereal, please use a bowl and spoon. However, at 4 months old his stomach is still not ready for it imo.

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/solids....
that is a link that shows when foods should be introduced, as you pull it up, you will notice that it does not recommend any foods being started before 6 months, but it does note that many parents do add foods in before then.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_introducing-...
this website kinda lets you know what cues to look for to see if your baby is even ready for solid foods. many parents start their baby on solid foods way before they need to be started.

I see that this post is a couple days old, and I am not sure what you decided to do, but I really hope that you decided to talk to your son's doctor before you tried what some moms have recommended.

Melanie - posted on 04/12/2010

hi! i think your son is just doing so good. he wakes up at 4am cuz he is hungry then i think just feed him. its better not try to stop it because being hungry is a normal call of nature, i believed. and dear don't put rice cereal or any cereal in a feeding bottle. ive read and learned from others that its not advisable. though a lot brlieved that it helps baby sleep in longer time. pls ask your baby's doctor about it. my baby sleeps at 7pm and wakes up at 7 or 8 am. he still wakes up at 11 and 4 am for feeding. his doctor said he is doing well cuz he sleeps through the night( that's with feeding and sleep after feed).so i guess your baby too is doing great! just dont please stop him when he is hungry.

Chanteal - posted on 04/12/2010

I didn't read all the replies but the health department is begging people to stop giving their infants water and cereal in their bottles. The cereal can cause the baby to choke. The water is replacing what should be nutrients going into your growing baby, basically starving them of nutrients. Your baby tells you when he is hungry and there is nothing you can do but keep feeding him. Around 5 to 6 months you will notice that your baby will start to be eating formula/breastmilk more at a time and therefore the feedings will be longer in between and your baby will eventually be able to sleep through the night without needing to eat. But he will tell you when he is ready for that. It's a natural instinct for him.

Liane - posted on 04/12/2010

You can try putting cereal in hit bottle at night, or there is a new formula from Enfamil that is called night time something I think...that works really good.. I hope this helps.

Lisa - posted on 04/12/2010

he might just not be ready yet or satisfied enough by his formula to let him sleep through the night. ask his pediatrician about giving baby food and bottle or bottle with rice cereal before bed. if you do the rice cereal be sure to get cross cut nipples so he can get some of the thickened formula out!