Most babies are able to sleep through the night – or sleep for at least six hours without waking up to eat – sometime between 3 to 6 months of age. Healthy babies who are born full-term are generally able to sleep through the night without a feeding starting at 3 months of age or when they weigh 12 to 13 pounds. However, babies' sleep cycles only become consistent and predictable around the time they're 6 months old. Show
Just because babies are technically able to go through the night without a feeding, however, doesn't mean they will. Night wakings can happen for many other reasons, including separation anxiety, an inability to self-soothe back to sleep, sleep regressions, teething, and bed-sharing. If your baby doesn't start sleeping through the night without a feeding between 4 to 6 months of age, you can try night weaning. There are lots of different sleep training methods, from the cry-it-out method to the fading method. Learn about your options and choose one that feels right for you and your baby. How long should a newborn sleep at night without eating?Newborns generally sleep for two to three hours before waking to eat, day and night. As they get older, babies are usually able to sleep for increasingly longer stretches of time at night without waking to eat. Between the age of 2 to 3 months old, healthy babies are often able to sleep for six hours without feeding. Research suggests that about half of babies are able to sleep at least six hours without a nighttime feed by 3 months of age. That rate rises to 62 percent by 6 months of age and 72 percent by 12 months of age, according to the National Sleep Foundation. So how can you prepare your baby to sleep longer periods at night without eating? Start healthy sleep habits early. Help your newborn learn to fall asleep on their own by following a bedtime routine, putting them to bed when they're sleepy but still awake, and waiting for a few minutes to respond to their fussing when they do wake at night. Although your baby may still need to be fed during the night for some time, these tactics help them learn to nod back off without the help of your breast, arms, or a bottle. If your baby was premature or has other health considerations such as digestive problems or failure to gain weight, be sure to discuss their feeding schedule with their doctor before making changes. Should you wake a sleeping baby to feed?For the first one to two weeks of life – or until your newborn regains the weight they lost after birth – it's important that they wake up to eat about every two to three hours. Newborns usually do this on their own, but occasionally will sleep for longer. If your baby does sleep for a stretch of more than four hours during this period, wake them to eat. After the first couple of weeks, when babies surpass their birth weight, most healthy babies don't need to be woken to eat as long as they're growing and feeding well. That means they're gaining weight as expected and producing at least four wet diapers and three poopy diapers per day. Talk to your doctor if you're concerned about your baby's growth or feeding habits. What if my baby won't wake up to eat?If your baby is healthy, has passed their birth weight, and is feeding and growing steadily, you usually don't need to wake them to feed. Unless their doctor tells you otherwise, let your baby sleep – they'll let you know when they need to eat! If, however, your baby hasn't yet surpassed their birth weight, or if they were premature or aren't growing as expected, you do need to rouse them to eat anytime they sleep for more than four hours straight. Know that newborns sometimes have a hard time waking up to eat for the first few days, especially if:
If your baby is lethargic and uninterested in eating, these tips can help a groggy baby wake to feed:
Premature babies have unique nutritional needs and may not show hunger signs like crying. If your baby is premature, or if you're concerned about your baby's weight gain or feeding patterns, talk to their doctor about how to ensure your baby is getting enough to eat. Newborns have tiny tummies and so need to feed frequently. For example, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine supplementation protocol (2017) reports that the average intakes of colostrum per feed by healthy, term breastfed is 2-10 mL on day 1, 5-15 mL on day 2, 15-30 mL on day 3 and 30-60 mL on day 4. Feeding frequently in the early days and weeks helps make sure you have a good milk supply. Because breastmilk is easily digested, it is common for breastfed babies to feed 8–12 times in a 24-hour period. This usually means that your baby will breastfeed on average every 2–3 hours around the clock (day and night), with possibly one longer stretch (eg up to about 5 hours) between feeds somewhere in a 24-hour period. The length of time between feeds can vary greatly from baby to baby. The time between feeds is from the beginning of the last feed, not the end. Newborns also tend to have periods each day where they feed very frequently for a few hours (cluster feeds). Often these cluster feeding periods are followed by a longer stretch of sleep. In most cases, healthy, thriving newborns will wake of their own accord for feeds and so get all the milk they need. Feeding your baby when he is showing early feeding cues can help him to feed better: see ‘Feeding cues’ article. However, there are some reasons why a newborn may be extra sleepy. It may be necessary to wake the baby for feeds to ensure he gets the milk he needs. Some of the reasons are medical (eg jaundice, infection, heart problem), or perhaps medications for pain relief used during the birth are still affecting the baby. It is important to be guided by your medical adviser in these situations. Feeding cues can be hard to pick in a sleepy baby so it is important to keep your baby close to you so you can learn. There are many ways to tell if your baby is getting enough milk. See the article ‘Low supply’ for further information. If you need to wake your baby for feeds, here are some tips:
Babies can breastfeed even when not fully awake. Once your baby is feeding, some of the ideas above can be used to keep him awake and feeding. In addition, it can help to switch breasts each time your baby slows in his sucking and starts to doze off. Take him off, burp him and wake him again to start on the other side. He can have each side more than once if he stays awake. It can also be helpful to use breast compressions — ie squeeze your breast while he is sucking at the breast but is not swallowing milk. Breast compressions increase the flow of breastmilk which helps encourage the baby to suck and swallow, and thus get more milk. For more information on breast compressions see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OeIwYDaLxQ Even if you have a sleepy newborn who needs waking for feeds in the early weeks, this will change. Soon enough you will be able to relax and let your baby set his own individual feeding pattern.
© Australian Breastfeeding Association June 2017 The information on this website does not replace advice from your health care providers. Your reluctance to wake up your slumbering son is completely understandable. After all, he looks so peaceful when he's asleep. And considering the amount of time he spends awake and crying, it seems like a crime to not let your sleeping baby lie when you've got the chance. But while a newborn's nursing schedule can sometimes feel like a grind, it's especially important now for his health and your milk supply to keep up the pace, even if that means disturbing him when he's asleep. Why you should wake newborns for feedingsNewborns are growing fast, which is why they seem like little eating machines. His body can’t take much of a break, and neither can you. That’s why the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends waking your baby to feed if he sleeps more than four hours at a time for the first two weeks. Here’s more on why you need to feed your newborn so frequently and wake him up if he sleeps through a scheduled feed:
For these reasons, try to gently rouse your sleeping baby when he's overdue for a feeding. How to wake a newborn to feedIf your baby is sleepy, try these rousing techniques at mealtime:
How long to feed at nightOnce your baby wakes up and latches on, make sure his nursing sessions last long enough for him to empty at least one breast, which helps to ensure that he gets his fill of the fat-rich hind milk essential for growth. Some babies take 20 minutes or longer to empty one breast, while others can do the work in 10. Your baby will take the time he needs to fill up, so let him set the pace. If you're bottle-feeding, give him the equivalent of one full feed depending on age and stage. How to keep a newborn awake during feedingsSuckling is a surefire sleep inducer, so make sure your baby doesn't nod off mid-feeding. Look for the rhythmic suck-swallow-breath pattern in his cheek, jaw and ear to determine if he's still extracting milk. If he does doze off, try rousing him again by burping and repositioning him, dribbling some milk on his lips or even jiggling your breast or the bottle in his mouth to start him feeding again. Rest assured that by about week 6, the two of you will have settled into a regular eating and sleeping rhythm — although exactly what that is will again depend entirely on your baby's unique needs. Some babies will want to nurse every two hours like clockwork, while others will happily go for three to four hours between meals. Formula-fed babies may also vary in their feeding and sleeping schedules. Know, too, that the period between feedings will gradually increase as your child grows. By 6 months of age, your baby is developmentally ready to start sleeping through the night — or at least for longer stretches. What happens if my baby doesn’t wake up to eat?Some babies rouse themselves on schedule to feed, while others will sleep through feedings if you don't wake them up. Neither tendency is cause for alarm. If your baby doesn't wake up to eat, try being a bit more forceful with your nudges. Sing or talk a bit more loudly when you wake him, undress him completely or try taking him into another room to feed him, as a change of venue can sometimes work wonders. If none of these moves is successful, you can let him doze for another hour or so, then try again to wake him up. If he’s really resisting and misses more than two feedings, check in with your pediatrician. Everything's probably fine, but your doctor or a lactation consultant may need to provide more help to get you and your baby back on an appropriate feeding schedule. If you're still concerned about whether your baby is getting enough to eat, or if you’re having trouble waking him up enough to feed at least eight times in a 24-hour period, talk to your pediatrician about whether your baby's weight gain is on a healthy track. And keep tabs on dirty diapers. Early on, look for at least one poopy diaper a day for every day of life (so a 5-day-old baby should produce about five dirty diapers), and at least eight to 10 wet diapers a day. Good luck!
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