Night wakings. Hunger or Habit?

You just fed your 6 month old during a night waking but they still wake up again just two hours later.

Is it hunger or could it be habit?

In the first couple of weeks of parenthood, we completely expect to be feeding our tiny newborn babies around the clock. Before we know it, you’re 3 months, completely sleep deprived, and still might be feeding your baby multiple times per night. But how do you know if the feedings have shifted from baby actually being hungry to baby just waking out of hunger? 

First of all, I would never suggest not feeding your baby when they are hungry and all babies do have different feeding needs.

 However, a common thing that I hear from parents of babies 4+ months old, is that their baby may be waking every 2 hours during the night and the only way to get them back to sleep is by feeding. Some families may stay in the cycle for months or even years. Which means parents aren’t getting much sleep and neither is the child. We all need sleep. It’s essential to health and development for people of all ages. 

So if a baby is waking multiple times per night, how do we actually know if they are hungry or if it’s something else?

Here are the things that I would consider when determining if the waking is hunger related or not:

• How many times is baby waking in the night?

It’s completely normal if your baby is 4-6 months old and still waking for 1 to 2 feedings per night. But, if baby is over 4 months old and they are waking every couple of hours during the night, this usually is an indicator that they are struggling with those independent sleep skills and that not every waking is hunger related. This can also be true if your baby was giving you 5 hour stretches of sleep during the night and now they suddenly are waking every two hours throughout the night. 

• How is baby being put to sleep at bedtime?

Is your baby being fed to sleep or are they able to fall asleep on their own when being placed down awake? One of the most common sleep associations that I see is nursing to sleep or feeding to sleep. If baby is depending on the feeding for the purpose of falling asleep at bedtime, chances are that a lot of their wakings are related to this. They wake up in between their sleep cycles and instead of having the skills to put themselves back to sleep, they cry looking for the sleep association that helps them to sleep. In this scenario baby is using the feeding as a soothing technique.

• Is baby taking a full feed when you feed them or are they falling asleep quickly?

Babies who are genuinely hungry will take a full feeding before falling asleep. If baby is nursing for just a couple of minutes before drifting back off to sleep, or only taking an oz or 2 from the bottle, there’s a good chance that they are feeding to soothe and not out of hunger. 

• Is baby waking up at the same time every night regardless of how much they ate during the day?

It’s normal for baby to be hungry if they had an off day with their feeds. However, if baby had a great day of feeds and naps and they still are waking at the same time, it’s probably a habit waking. 

• Are they falling back to sleep easily after taking a feed?

When babies just wake up out of hunger, they should have no problem taking a full feed and then falling back to sleep quickly. If your baby is staying awake for a while after a feed and are requiring more help from soothing and comfort to fall back asleep, they probably weren’t truly waking out of hunger. We should see baby fall asleep after their feed and then give you a good solid stretch of sleep. 

When should you wean night feeds completely? 

If you’ve read through the list above and decided that your baby is probably just waking in the night out of habit, you may be wondering how to know when it’s time to completely wean from their night feeds. 

There isn’t a one size fits all to this answer. Some babies are ready for no feeds as early as 4-6 months old but others may need a feed for a little longer. 

Here are some of the factors that I consider when working with clients on night weaning:

1. Age and weight 

2. Pediatrician's recommendation 

3. How much milk your baby is getting each day and timing of those feedings 

4. If your baby has started solids 

5. Parental preference 

The process of night weaning

If baby is taking multiple feeds per night, start with weaning one feed at a time. For breastfed babies this would look like reducing the time on the breast by 1-2 minutes every night. Once baby is down to no time, it’s common that they still might wake. This is where your sleep training method would come in. Work on using your preferred sleep training to get baby back to sleep at that wake up without needing to feed. This process might take a full two weeks to complete and that’s completely normal.

For formula/ bottle fed babies, we would work on reducing the amount of oz offered each night by 1-2 oz. Once we are down to no ounces left in the bottle, you’d follow the same plan as with breastfed babies. Use your sleep training method of choice to get baby to fall back asleep during that night waking.

Once you are done weaning one feeding and baby is successfully sleeping through that time, move on to weaning the next feeding. Remember to stay consistent and try not to revert back to a feeding that has already been weaned. New habits can form really quickly with babies.

It’s important to note: Some babies may still need 1-2 feeds per night until 6 months of age.

Final Thoughts

There are no “bad habits” when it comes to babies. If something is working for you and your family, it’s absolutely OKAY to continue with that.

Some families are aware that their baby wakes frequently in the night and that comfort feeding will get baby back to sleep quickly. This might work for them right now, they might also change their mind later on and decide it’s time to make a change. And that’s OKAY too.

It’s also okay if you decide that the frequent night feeds are exhausting and you need to make a change ASAP.

Whichever scenario you are in, I’m here to support you and help you reach YOUR family’s sleep goals. If you want a customized plan to decrease those night wakings or wean those feedings, I’ve got you covered. I provide 1:1 sleep support packages for families of 0-5 year olds. All plans come with phone, email, and text support. Let me take the guess work off your plate. Check out my sleep support packages HERE.