How and when to wean from night feeds
You’re sitting with your baby, it’s the wee hours of the morning and your eyes are stinging and tired. You’re wondering if they are ready to wean from one (or more) of their night feeds but you have no idea if they are, and if so, how you would even do it. Look no further - here is your guide to night weaning.
Step one is understanding what is considered average in terms of night feeds - this will help guide you about if your expectations are realistic. These ages are a guide only and are based on a healthy, thriving baby with no medical complications and no concerns about their weight gain. If you’re not sure, please seek medical advice before weaning night feeds. The reference below is for feeds that occur after the bedtime feed, typically in the hours between 6pm and 7am.
Age appropriate expectations:
Newborns: Newborns should be fed on demand through the night. Some newborns may wake every 2 hours for a feed, and some will do longer stretches of sleep at night.
3-4 month old babies: 2 feeds between bedtime and morning is typical. Some may still need an additional one
4-6 month old babies: 1-2 night feeds
6-8 month old babies: 1 night feed is typical, unless the baby is struggling with starting first foods then they may need more
8-12 months old babies: once solids are well established, most babies can go the night without a feed
So now you’ve got an idea of what expectations are normal, and you know that you can wean from 1 or more feeds overnight - how do you do it?
For breastfed babies: pick a feed and reduce the time at the breast by 2 mins every 2-3 days until there is only a minute or two at the breast left, then resettle for that wake-up.
For formula-fed or expressed breastmilk-fed babies: pick feed and reduce the volume of the bottle by 30ml every 2-3 days until there is only 50-60ml left, then resettle for that wake-up.
Follow the same process for any other additional feeds that you’re looking to reduce.
If you want a tailored approach to night feeds, settling and resettling taking all the guesswork out of it, I would love to help you with a consultation.