When Do Babies Sleep Through The Night Without Feeding?

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Written by Editorial Team

Editorial Team

With a rich experience in pregnancy and parenting, our team of experts create insightful, well-curated, and easy-to-read content for our to-be-parents and parents at all stages of parenting..

When Do Babies Sleep Through The Night

Sleepless nights are normal throughout the early stages of motherhood, but they do not persist forever. Is your young one a “good sleeper”? Do you want to know when babies sleep through the night? The answer to this question will mostly be determined by the age and developmental stage of your child, as well as by whether or not he is capable of calming himself. When you may anticipate your baby to start sleeping through the night is also determined by a number of circumstances, including the baby’s weight, if you are nursing and your family’s nocturnal feeding practices.

Various parents have differing opinions regarding night feeding. Similar differences occur even in the opinions of pediatricians and experts. Some experts suggest that babies do not require night feeding after they are 3 months old as opposed to others who suggest that babies must be fed at night till they are nine months. So, let us now explore this query in-depth and understand night feeding for infants of different ages.

In This Article

When Can Babies Sleep Through The Night Without Eating?
When Can You Stop Waking Your Baby To Feed At Night?
How Long Should I Let My Newborn Sleep Without Eating?
Do Formula-Fed Babies Sleep Better At Night?
How To Make Babies Sleep Through The Night Without Eating?

When Can Babies Sleep Through The Night Without Eating?

Most full-term and healthy newborns can sleep without a night feeding after they are six months old. In fact, most of these babies can continue sleeping for six hours at a stretch in the night without needing any feeding. And most importantly, this is the best time for mothers to start weaning off babies night feeding, even if she is ok with waking up at night to feed the baby.

Moreover, the baby will start showing several signs of readiness for the weaning, like:

Shorter nursing intervals required
Falling to sleep during feeding only
Not finishing his regular milk bottle, etc.

When Can You Stop Waking Your Baby To Feed At Night?

why do babies wake during night..

The good news is that you will need to frequently feed your baby and wake him up for feeding at night only for 2-3 weeks or so. The active signs that show that the baby can wait even longer for night feedings are,

He has exceeded his birth weight
His weight is continuously climbing at a healthy speed.

If the baby shows these signs, then you can start feeding him on demand.

Do Formula-Fed Babies Sleep Better At Night?

A lot of parents these days have become pro-formula milk and suggest to others that it helps babies to sleep better at night. The answer would be different for every baby. Some babies find a formula to be too heavy on the stomach and others might get a longer sleep with formula. But, still breastfeed might be a more preferable choice because,

Breast milk is easier on a baby’s stomach
Prolactin levels are higher at night and breastfeeding at night keeps the breast supply strong
The formula may give longer sleep and it may increase the chances of SIDS.
Unintentional weaning of babies might take place.

How Long Should I Let My Newborn Sleep Without Eating?

This concern is posed by a lot of mothers. One should remember that it is the most vital age for the baby and food taken at this stage will build a strong foundation for the future. So make sure that you feed your baby in every 4-5 hours. And in some cases, babies tend to take longer naps of around 6-8 hours without eating. Even this is ok but remembers to nurse your baby well when he’s finally awake.

How To Make Babies Sleep Through The Night Without Eating?

Pediatricians advise mothers to train their babies to sleep themselves without eating in the middle of the night. And here is a list of certain important steps that mothers can follow to provide such training:

Train The Baby To Eat More During The Day

Try to encourage your baby to eat more during the daytime. Because the more he eats in the daytime, lesser hungry will he be at night. Also, make sure that they eat enough in the daytime by taking scheduled intervals of eating without any distractions.

Make A Bedtime Routine

This may include giving baths, singing songs, changing nappies; massaging, etc., that can make it clear to the child that night is for sleeping. Also, remember that this bedtime routine must not be too long, or else the child would become active again.

Teach Your Baby, How To Differentiate Between Night And Day

To teach this, you can make the daytime feeding a little spirited and cheerful, and nighttime can be quiet and peaceful.

Extremely Less Stimulation At Night

Make sure that you keep your room dark at night. Even if the baby wakes up for feeding, do not switch on the lights and use the dim night lamps only to change the diapers if the baby is fussing too much.

Editorial Team,

With a rich experience in pregnancy and parenting, our team of experts create insightful, well-curated, and easy-to-read content for our to-be-parents and parents at all stages of parenting.Read more.

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