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How Many Times Should I Feed My Baby through the Night?
Although you already know that this is going to happen, waking up multiple times in the night to feed your baby can be physically and mentally exhausting.
The truth is, as newborns’ tummies are still small, they can’t drink too much milk in one go. Hence, they need to wake up every few hours to feed.
So how many times should you actually feed your baby through the night? We are here to answer this question along with other tips and guides to help make night feeding easier for you!
Benefits of Breastfeeding At Night
Night feeding is beneficial for you and your baby. Firstly, breastfeeding at night actually helps you to establish a stronger milk supply. This is because your body produces more milk-making hormone called prolactin when you breastfeed at night.
Also, night feeding can lead to better sleep quality for your baby, as the acid and tryptophan contained in breast milk are able to let the baby understand that it is nighttime and it is time to sleep.
Besides, research has shown that mothers who breastfeed at night are able to sleep more compared to other mothers!
With more feeds, mothers are also able to produce more stable milk supply. This is because an empty breast has more spaces for new and more milk. We hope the above benefits have given you more motivation to breastfeed at night!
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How Many Times Should You Feed Your Baby At Night?
The best way to know is based on your baby’s age! For babies around 0 to 2 months old, you will need to breastfeed them 3 to 5 times per night, they need to eat around the clock with the rule not to exceed 3 to 4 hours between feedings.
For a 3 to 4 months old baby, they need to be fed around 3 to 4 times per night, the baby sleeping pattern may have changed and the baby will be more awake. Instead of giving food, you may need to calm your baby more.
For babies between 5 to 6 months old, they need to be fed around 1 to 3 times every night. They need to fix their sleeping time and feeding time. They will sleep more at night and less at daytime!
Here comes the exciting news! Some babies can end their night feeding at the age of 7 to 9 months, and some will need 0 to 3 night feeds per night. Most studies recommend mothers to prepare for night weaning in this period, if you and your baby are comfortable with it. Remember to get the green light from your pediatrician before you start night weaning.
Most babies are able to stop night feeding when their age reaches 10 to 12 months old. However, as every baby is different, it is completely fine if your baby still needs to be breastfeed during night at this age.
Every baby may be different when it comes to sleeping patterns, some of them can sleep all night long while some of them will be hungry after an hour of sleeping. You can also record your baby sleeping pattern and feeding times and use it as your reference at night.
All of the information above are just general guidelines for babies that are healthy and gaining weight properly with no other medical concerns. Your baby may have a different sleep and feeding pattern with others based on unique factors. Still, if you have any doubts about your baby’s feeding patterns, you should always speak to your healthcare provider.
Tips to Make Night Feedings Easier For You
Night feeding can get challenging in the long run, so we are here to provide you some tips to make breastfeeding at night easier for you!
- Learn to lie down while breastfeeding, this requires some pillows to help in ensuring your baby is feeding in the right position. Lying down while breastfeeding may help you to get some sleep while you feed your baby!
- Keep your baby closer to you when you sleep. Don’t overlook this method, as it will help you to not rush all the way down the aisle to get your crying baby!
- Keep your room’s light off. The light in your room should be switched off, and your room should also be quiet. This encourages your baby to sleep right after he or she has fed.
- You should also try to wear clothes that are as easy as possible for you to breastfeed, so you will not need to take off your clothes to get your baby fed. This will help you shorten the duration of being awake and your baby being hungry.
- You may also try to get a newborn massage for your baby as this will help them to sleep easier and also help stimulate their development. Did you know that PNSG’s postnatal massage comes with a free baby massage Singapore tutorial?
These tips may not be all of the methods that you can use, but we hope that they will help you in getting more sleep and help you have a smoother transition to motherhood!
Meanwhile, if you are facing tensed muscles, stiff shoulders, back pain and tiredness from breastfeeding and sleep deprivation, you might want to give yourself a soothing postnatal massage with PNSG’s postnatal care Singapore service!
Every mother faced the issue of getting less sleep while taking care of a newborn. You may check our website to get more information about our massage services, postnatal massage for new mothers, as well as prenatal massage for pregnant women.
We also provide a free baby massage Singapore tutorial which covers topics like how often to feed newborn at night, proper ways of feeding your baby at night, and whether you should be night feeding your baby. For mothers who booked our postnatal massage! As the saying goes, “the nights are long but the years are short”. Keep going mummies!
