Most babies between 4 months and 6 months of age will need to eat 1 to 4 times in the night. Some people may have told you that if your baby stops eating at night that he will start to sleep through the night. Eliminating night feeds in order to improve sleep is completely unnecessary. Most normal and healthy babies cannot go all night without eating or even close to that. Focusing on bedtime habits may be all that is needed to improve your sleep through the night. It is fine to continue to feed your baby at night. We would suggest either feeding your baby right away on wake up (without letting him cry) or implementing Dreamfeeds. If you feel your baby is eating too much at night, you can consult with your doctor for confirmation and talk to a professional Sleep Coach to create a gentle weaning plan.
Be aware that feeding a breastfed baby formula will not help with sleep and is more likely to cause more problems for both Mother and Baby. In addition, feeding babies any solid foods including baby cereals is more likely to disturb sleep than to improve it.
Posted in: Month 4: Challenges & Solutions