do breastfed babies take longer to sleep through the night?

[lulasmummy]

Just wondering as obviously they need to feed more often and poo a lot more so this also adds to waking? Or do they go longer between feeds as they get older?

 

[CeriB]

They do go longer between feeds as they get older, but they still need feeding more than FF, so generally, yes, they will take longer to STTN. Erin is nearly 6m and never STTN. Not that I'm bitter ......

 

[lulasmummy]

lol wow! as you moght know from my other posts all this breastfeeding stuff is new to me. my first slep through from 12 weeks and even when she didnt she only ever got upo twice. Wow how tempting is sma? lol

 

[Cattia]

Lots of babies don't sleep through even when they are on three meals a day so I don't think feeding is always the key to sleeping. Abigail was on four feeds a day and three good size solid meals a day and by eight and a half months had still not slept through. We eventually did some sleep training with her and dropped the night feeds when she started waking four times a night and I was back at work. It did work and she has slept through since but it's something you can't do until they are fully weaned and even then it is not someting everyone feels comfortable doing.

 

[Blah11]

Amelie was 14 months before she stopped waking 6+ times a night. It took her until recently to start STTN although she does wake up atleast 2/7 nights. You do get used to broken sleep and after a couple of months I wasn't exhausted anymore. She didnt poo during the night and was onto solids at 6 months so its nothing to do with that.

 

[wishuwerehere]

My LO is completely weaned from the breast and still wakes up once or twice a week in the night - it's not always just related to the way they're fed

 

[MelanieAnn]

Research shows that breastfeeding mums both get MORE sleep than formula feeding mums, but also BETTER quality sleep, and report feeling more rested.

But, I think this relates to the newborn period, and not necessarily to the older baby period. And I also suspect that STTN isn't as common amongst BFing older babies or toddlers.

Having said which, I think dealing with night wakings is infinetly easier with a BF baby. As you can simply roll over and feed without waking yourself properly, it's often not such a faff dealing with night waking. I'd find it really hard to wake myself up, go and prepare a bottle, while keeping baby from waking the household. Breastfeeding had a 100% success rate for getting baby back to sleep - and worked great for toddler too - and enabled me to rest while I did it and everyone else slept on. And the sleepy hormones BF produces meant I went back to sleep too.

Yes, I'd rather that my BF toddlers hadn't woken. But seeing as they had - and many do, including FF ones - it was SO EASY to breastfeed them to sleep!!!

So I suspect that BFing means better sleep, esp in the newborn period, for mums. And it makes dealing with night waking easier. But your specific question about STTN: I suspect not.

 

[Raven24]

I formula fed my first after a few weeks of breastfeeding and he only started sleeping through the night once he got to 12 months and still sometimes wakes up now so I don't think it has anything to do with feeding method and I certainly wouldn't switch to formula to make this lo sleep through because knowing my luck he'd wake up more

 

[mrsraggle]

We FF Eloise after the first couple of weeks (+ a bit of expressed milk) and she still doesn't STTN despite eating three huge meals and snacks throughout the day. I don't think feeding necessarily helps STTN.

 

[Rmar]

I really think it just depends on the baby. We have been getting a few good nights of 5-6 hours block and then a 3 hour block (she naps before and after but that is when I am sleeping with her) and have never used formula and my baby has her face next to an on tap milk supply all night long but my SIL used formula from day 5 and her LO did not sleep that long for many more months. Not backed up by anything but just my opinion that it is not the feeding method but the babies individual needs for growth.

 

[Natalie Flynn]

Ritchie (Breastfed) sleeps better then Alfie (formula) did. Ritchie is 12 weeks old now and goes to sleep about 8pm, wakes at 11pm for a feed, sleeps until about 5am for another feed and then sleeps until 7am. x

 

[summer rain]

All mine have slept through by 5.5 months at the latest regardless of how they are fed, one of mine who didn't have anything other than breastmilk until 5.5. months was sleeping 6-8 hours at night from the start he went through a phase at 4-5 months of waking up a couple of times but then slept completely through (for 12 hours) after that. I have read that there have been studies that statistically FF babies are no likely to sleep through earlier than BF babies and as Melanie has mentioned recent research has shown BF babies sleep better (even if they wake up for feeds its easier to get them back to sleep) and thus so do their mums; in the early days xx

 

[pianobex]

Mine slept though the night at 6 weeks, apart from a dream feed at about 10, which we then dropped at about 10weeks. All babies are very different, and many of my formula fed friends babies didn't sleep through till 6months min.

 

[fantastica]

Think it depends on the baby, rather than how they are fed. You hear of ff babies who sleep through early, and also bf babies that do.

Jacob was mainly ff, and he still wakes up occasionally now. Although, if they're going to wake...it's a hell of a lot easier to whip out a boob than to make a bottle! X

 

[momto4girls]

I think it depends on the baby. My oldest slept through the night from about 3 months on. next one down (at almost 6) still wakes in the night 2-3 times a week (and moves to my bedroom floor). My 4yr old slept through the night at about 8 months. My 4th slept through the night from birth. (Never woke to eat at night, it was odd. she is still a great sleeper at nearly 2.5) #5 still wakes to eat at night, usually eats around 8PM, wakes to eat anywhere between 1AM-3AM. depending on when, he usually sleeps till 530/6AM)

 

[CeriB]

What is classed as STTN then? Out of all the women I know with LOs, the only ones who sleep all night, from when they go to bed around 7/8pm until between 6-9am are the FF. All the women at my BF group suffer from several night wakings.

I agree that all babies are different and will get to STTN at their own time, but surely the way they digest feeds will effect how often (or not) they wake, hungry, at night?

 

[summer rain]

STTN is technically speaking classed as sleeping for 5 hours. However what I am referring to in my own experience and that of others I know, is sleeping for 6-8 hours or even longer without waking for a feed. I can't remember the exact details but many babies are capable of getting enough calories during the day; regardless of how the milk is digested or whether it is BF or FF; to sustain them overnight. Many BF continue to wake for comfort during the night when they don't actually need the milk and this is perfectly fine as well xx

 

[lulasmummy]

wow summer did amazingly last night bless her she only woke up once for a feed, she went down at 930 and got up at 1 for a feed then slep til 6! i feel human today i can see how much sleep makes a difference to how you feel during the day!

 

[CeriB]

Erin normally has 4-5h between feeds at night so techniquely sleeps through!?! Doesn't feel like it!! Hoping after this growth spurt she settles into a better routine

 

[somebody]

All babies are different. Both my children were breastfeed my daughter (7) was sleeping from 9pm till 6am from 8 weeks old....it was great.

My son (4) didn't sleep through the night until we moved him into his own room at 1 year old.

My daughter open her bowels a few times a day and my son would about once a week... This worried me but I was told that he was digesting everything and that there was no waste.