Erratic night feeds

[jessmke]

My 7 week old daughter has just started going 5-6 hrs without a feed when she goes to bed (yay!). She always does this long sleep right when she goes to bed, so she sleeps from 8/9pm-2am, but then she only goes 3 hrs until the next feed (5 am), then goes back to sleep and is up again to eat in 1.5-2 hrs when we get up for the day (around 6:30/7am). Why can she go so long without eating at the beginning of the night, but then can only go 1.5 hrs between feeds by the end of the night? I don't mind getting up to feed her, I am getting plenty of sleep, but she is grumpy in the morning and I think it's because she is tired and didn't get enough sleep since she was last up. Is there any way I can encourage her to sleep longer between feeds in the wee hours of the morning, or do I just wait it out until she does it on her own like she did when she dropped her 11 pm feed on her own?

 

[BlingyGal]

That sounds amazing for a seven week old! So wonderful that you get some extra zzzzs for yourself.
Everything I've read and experienced myself says that it's very typical for them to do their longest uninterrupted sleep at the beginning of the night. I can't remember WHY that is but it's normal. If she's grumpy in the morning, does she want to nurse and go back to sleep?
I don't think you should do any sleep training at her young age, her sleep should get longer and longer as she gets older. My LO started sleeping through the night at seven months. She went down to two feeds a night when she was 5.5 months. So, with her, it took some time, but it did happen on its own eventually.

 

[BlingyGal]

One more thing, if she goes to bed at 8-9pm then she should sleep for at least 12 hours (with feeds). So maybe you're waking her too early. I would try putting her to bed earlier (like 7pm) or let her sleep in until 8/9am. My daughter needs at least 12 hours in bed at eight months old. When she was younger, she would sleep 14-15 hours (with nursing).

 

[jessmke]

Thanks for the reply! She usually has a big sleep in the afternoon from 3/4 pm until 6/7 pm, which is why she doesn't go down for the night until 8/9pm. When we get up at 7 she is usually awake for about 30 min and then she wants to sleep again. Maybe instead of getting up I will try to just nurse her and then put her back to sleep, I certainly wouldn't mind sleeping in a bit later! She has a bit of a hard time going back to sleep after her 5am feed, and then is awake again 1.5 hrs later, so I just assumed she wasn't tired and was ready to get up for the day!

 

[jessmke]

Last night she slept from 9 pm - 9 am and only woke once to nurse at 3 am! Which is great from a sleep perspective, but now I'm getting worried that my milk supply will decrease if she isn't nursing at night. If she only nurses once at night, should I get up a few times in the night to pump to keep my supply up? I don't have any supply issues right now, if anything I have a bit of an over supply (I pump about 5 oz each day to put in the freezer on top of nursing on demand), but I would like to avoid developing supply issues if possible.

 

[treeroot]

Ah, what I would have given (and give) to have a baby sleeping that well.
I believe sleep patterns at the beginning of the night tend to dip into the deeper sleep zone but increase in lighter sleep as the night wares on which increases the likelihood of waking.

The best advice I'd like to give: expect things to change.
The difference between a one month old and a 12 month is astronomical so you can imagine how much sleep habits and needs could change in that time. Try whatever approach works for you, but do not be afraid to "go with the flow", especially at such a young age. I would recommend following your baby cues at least until 3 months, without worrying about the clock (just woke up but tired? go back to sleep. just ate but seems hungry again? eat again.) If you feed on demand your supply should be fine (obviously I'm sure there are exceptions to this, so seek out a professional if you have concerns).


Personal experience: My baby has never been a great sleeper, but things really changed around 4 months (the dreaded regression), got better for a little bit, and now we're somewhere in between. I've tried to follow my own advice listed above and be baby instinctual. Only at 7 months now have I been manipulating night feeds and sleep schedule as I could tell he was ready.

Good luck and try not to worry (too much) !

 

[jessmke]

It's a bit silly isn't it. They wake up a lot at night and we wish they would sleep more, then when they start to sleep more we worry about the the schedule they are sleeping on. They cluster feed and we wish they wouldn't feed so often, then they go for a long time without a feed and we worry about our milk supply. I'm generally a very laid back person, but it seems like with a baby there is always something to worry about!