Creating Well-Rested Families

When and How to Drop Your Baby’s Night Feeds

• Unnati Patel, MPH—Baby Sleep Consultant • Season 1 • Episode 4

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Welcome to Episode 4 where we chat all about when and how to drop your baby’s night feeds. 

Now keep in mind that this is something your baby does naturally on their own or may need a little help from you when and if you and baby are ready. This may also improve sleep for you and your family to help get you on step closer to becoming a well-rested family. 

In this episode we will cover: 

  • What is night weaning
  • When to know if you and your baby are ready to drop some or all night feeds
  • Helpful tips to make dropping night feeds a little easier
  • Hacks for both bottle-feeding or breastfeeding families
  • Common concerns that come with night weaning


As your certified pediatric sleep consultant and sleep bestie, I share the best methods for weaning in a responsive, gradual way. 

Our mission at Nested to Rested Sleep consulting is to empower, support and educate you on how to get your whole family to become well-rested. 

Please subscribe, review, and share with all your friends who deserve a good night’s sleep as well. 


Relevant Blogs: 

Soothing Ladder

When and How to Start Night Weaning

References: 

SEE SHOW NOTES


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This doesn't just help your baby sleep longer stretches, but it also allows you some well-deserved rest and it’s a big step towards helping everyone in your family to become, you guessed it, well-rested family 


Hey there friend, I’m Unnati Patel, your certified sleep pediatric consultant also known as your sleep bestie and the host of Well-Rested Families by Nested to Rested Sleep Consulting. 

We’re on a mission to empower, support, and educate with the tools and resources you need to help sleep become a reality. So grab your notebook. Or if you’re like me open up your Notes app on the phone and let’s make those sleepless night a thing of the past. And if you’re wanting a little more info click on show notes and go click the link. 

Now let’s tune into today’s episode. 

In today's episode. We're going to be talking about the topic of night weaning. Yes, I know this is a huge milestone, not only for your baby, but also for yourself because this is going to be the start of more sleep for you and everyone else in the family as well.


So let's take a deep dive and chat everything about night weaning. We will make sure that we cover ways to help both sides feel at ease when they are ready to night weaning. 


Whether you're a breastfeeding bottle-feeding or a combo-feeding family deciding when and how to help your baby drop those night feeds is a huge milestone for any parent seeking more restful nights for not only themselves but also for their baby.


So in today's episode, I'm going to be sharing with you. When is a good time to even start night weaning? And if it is a good time, then how do you do it?


Keeping in mind that for those that are breastfeeding compared to those that are not. The process may be a little bit different, and we're gonna talk about how to make that night-weaning process a little bit easier if you are a breastfeeding mama.


So what really is nightly weaning? So basically, it's a fancy way of saying you're ready to drop the night feeds. Yes! So it's a process of gradually phasing out your baby's feeds that happen during the night. And this doesn't just help your baby sleep longer stretches, but it also allows you some well-deserved rest and it's a big step towards helping everyone in your family find the rest that they need to become, You guessed it, a well-rested family.


So how do you know when your baby is ready to drop these night feeds? Well, most babies are ready to start skipping those midnight feeds anywhere between the ages of 4 and 6 months. Some may drop in naturally, and some may need a little bit more assistance from you. It just depends.


Another factor to consider in this is, if you got the okay from your pediatrician and or your pediatric care provider because age is important as well, but so is the weight of your baby. So making sure that they are growing on their own growth curve obviously. But getting that okay, that thumbs up  “Go ahead and drop those night feeds. If you want” from your child's pediatric care provider is so, so essential.


Another thing to look at is. if your baby starts to sleep long stretches for example, 5 to 6 to 7 hours at a time at night. That's a good indication that they might be ready to extend those stretches without needing a feed, especially if what you're doing right now is you're waking your baby up to administer that feed, then I would say, just let them sleep. Let them naturally wake up for a feed if it's their time. Especially if they've met their age requirement, their weight requirement, and you've gotten the okay from your pediatric care provider


Something else to keep in mind as your baby grows is that they should begin to consume more calories during the day. So if you notice that your baby is consuming a lot of calories during the day. If you notice that your baby is consuming a lot of calories, or, you know, not a majority, but somewhat a lot of calories throughout the night, then it might be an indication that you need to shift those nighttime calories into daytime and offer some more full feeds during the day, which then will then naturally decrease the need for nighttime feeds.


So before you start night-weaning, you need to have the stage set up for you, where it’s going to lead you to easily dropping these night feeds. So the first thing you want to do it increase those daytime feeds making sure that your baby is getting full feeds. You may need to offer a top off feed before a nap or so. Shifting those nighttime calories to the day is going to be essential. 


The second thing that will really help to help is to establish a proper bedtime routine. This is key for those babies that tend to go to sleep while they’re nursing. So, offering the feeding at the start at the bedtime rotuine or after a bath. This will ensure your baby not only gets a full feed before they go down for the night, but also it’s going to help decrease that association between sleep ang feeding if there is one. 


The third thing you want to do to set the stage for night-weaning is to make sure that their sleep enviornomnet is conducive to sleep. So, how do you do that? We’ve already talked about this, but you want to makes ure the room is dark, at a comfortable temperature, and youp’re using a sound machine. 


So how do you actually transition or drop those night feeds? This can take some time. Okay, it's not gonna be an overnight miracle where your baby is just gonna automatically stop needing a feed, but understanding that some babies naturally drop night feeds is important as well. So if your baby went from having 2 to 3 night feeds, and then all of a sudden, they're sleeping longer stretches and only needing one or 2. Then that's great. that's great that they're dropping them on their own. You can let them sleep again if you've got the okay from the pediatrician, their age is appropriate, and their weight is appropriate.


So how do you actually drop them? There are some methods that I implement with my families when I work with them. One of them is a gradual reduction method. And like I said, it's a gradual approach. I don't like doing anything cold turkey, so if you've worked with me, or have any of my courses or sleep plans. Then, you know nothing is cold turkey over here.


You want to take a gradual approach by reducing the quantity of milk that you offer during each of those night feedings gradually over a few days, or even sometimes a week or 2, and if you're a nursing mama. Then you wanna basically just decrease the time that you are nursing your baby across those few days. For example, you may reduce the time by 2 to 3 min for a few days, then another 2 to 3 min, the next few days, and so forth.


Keep in mind that this gradual approach can be as fast or as slow as you need it to be, so don't rush it. Listen to the situation. Listen to what your baby needs in that moment listen to what you need. In that moment another strategy to implement is called the pause and delay method, which you wanna pause essentially when your baby wakes up in the middle of the night, as long as they are not crying.



You'll basically want to take a gradual approach in this process to ensure that it's appropriate for both you and your baby. I, personally don't like to do anything cold turkey. If you've come across my page, you've worked with me. You know what I'm about. You know I preach. This is, I don't like doing anything cold. Turkey. I always like taking a gradual approach and night. We mean nothing different. So we're going to take a gradual approach. So begin by slowly reducing the amount of milk that you're providing throughout the feeding session at night. So that's if you're bottle feeding, then reduce those ounces a little by little across a few days. or, if you're nursing, then reduce the time that you are nursing. Little by little, across a few days now the day's definition may be variable per family. so it could be as soon as 4 to 5 days, whereas some may take 2 to 3 weeks to properly night lean. So it just depends on how gradual of an approach you want to take.


Using other soothing methods is also key. When you're getting ready to drop these night feeds, so, understanding how your baby likes to be soothed outside of being fed or maybe comfort nurse so do they like to be rocked or held or padded, or you know, whatever it is, the other soothing methods. I want you to implement those, Before you start to feed your baby in the middle of the night.


So, understanding what soothing methods your baby likes is very, very important. I've a great blog, and I'm gonna link it in the show notes, and it's the soothing ladder. So if you've never heard of it, please go check out that blog, especially if your baby is, let's say, younger than about 6, 7 months, understanding their soothing methods is so so important, and that blog will help you get there. 


Another method is the pause and delay method. Which you want to pause when your baby wakes up in teh middle of the night as long as they are not crying. So pause.The length that you pause is totally up to you some pause for 2 min, some pause for 5 min, especially if your baby's not crying, then I would maybe pause for a little bit longer, and then attend to them as needed. So soothe them in a way that will help them get back to sleep, maybe without needing that feeding and how you soothe them is really dependent on what your baby prefers. Do they prefer you picking them up and rocking them? Do they prefer them still laying in their sleep space, and maybe you just patting them or caressing their head, or something like that?


Figuring out the different soothing approaches, is very, very important. If you haven't already checked out my soothing ladder blog. It is a very popular blog on the site, and I'm gonna link it in the show notes for you. So please go check that out, especially if your baby is younger than 6, 7 months and you want a little bit more help to figure out which way your child likes to be soothed. That's a great start.


AD BREAK. 


Practicing independent sleep is also going to help drop those night feeds, but not everyone is there yet, and that is totally okay if you are there, though, then our DIY Sleep plan is going to have all of the answers, and step by step instructions for you on how you can accomplish the huge milestone of dropping night feeds for your baby.


Keep this in mind that as you're doing all of this: as you're delaying the feed, as you're gradually decreasing the feed, as you are improving their environment, as you're improving their routine, consistency is going to be key here.


So maintaining a consistent response to how you approach those nighttime wakings. is going to help your baby learn what to expect from you every time they wake up and making sure that they know that you're there when they need it. So, you're still going to be responsive. You're going to make that transition from night feeds to no night feeds a little bit easier on both you and your baby. You're not gonna do anything cold turkey, remember that. And you're going to properly drop those night feeds across a few days that seems right for your baby and family.


So what about night weaning for breastfeeding moms?

Breast feeding adds a whole new layer of night-winging and it makes it a whole lot more complex. Breastfeeding adds a whole new layer. and it makes night weaning a little bit more complex than it would be, for let's say, a formula feeding family. But if you're a breast feeding mom, looking tonight, lean, then I've got some tips for you. So listen up.


The first thing you want to do when you are even considering night meaning is to consult with a healthcare provider, a lactation consultant your IBCLC. Whoever that may say that, “Hey? You know I'm ready to possibly nightwean. My baby is showing signs that they're ready, and I just need to make sure that I do this properly. So I don't get mastitis right.”


That should be your take when you talk to the healthcare provider. You don't want to get mastitis or you don't want to get engorged when you're not feeding your baby all night long after having to feed them 3 to 4 times at night again. That is why the gradual reduction approach is really really essential, and it's going to help for not only breast feeding moms, but also to gradually reduce those night feeds for your baby.


You wanna also make sure that your baby is getting enough breast milk during the day, so you might need to offer maybe more frequent feeds throughout the day, still making sure that they are fully emptying you during each of those feeding sessions, if possible. This can really help maintain your milk supply and ensure that your baby's nutritional needs are also met.


A concern that breastfeeding moms may have is a decrease in milk supply. Right? I had that same thought when my baby started sleeping long stretches and for those of you who don't know, my son started sleeping long stretches very early on, and I was always I don't like to say low producing, but like a normal producing mom right where I didn't have

tons and tons of freezer stash. I wish I did. I just had just enough that my baby needed, and I was content with that, right. But the thought of not feeding at night, and maybe not even pumping at night. Even though I still pumped for several months just made me really really anxious about my supply that what if it dips in the daytime? And I'm just not producing enough? But you know all of that, luckily, was not the case for me. I continued to feed throughout the day, and my daytime supply was not really impacted because I went longer stretches without feeding or pumping at nighttime.


So luckily that was not case for me. Obviously, that is not always gonna be the case for everyone. But you do wanna keep this in mind that some daytime supply may or can be impacted. Not always, though. As long as you're feeding throughout the day, making sure they're full feeds, making sure they're emptying you and consulting with your lactation consultant or IBCLC on the proper steps to ensure that your supply is not impacted. I think that is going to be the best decision you can make. Okay, so I have a hack for breastfeeding moms and even moms that are not breastfeeding. Right. So in the middle of the night.


So you're going to pause. You're going to have the non-feeding parent go in to attend your baby first.  Now I understand this is not possible for all families, but if it is possible for you, then try this hack and let me know how it goes.


This really allows you to extend the time you usually feed them, and it gives your partner or the other parent a chance to soothe your baby back to sleep without needing a feed this is going to be essential because then you can just drop that feed, especially if you've gradually decreased it and are at the end of that feeding session. Right? So if you've only you were, you're only left with like an ounce in the bottle to feed, or if you've or if you're left with like 2 to 3 min of nursing left, right? Then that's a great time to introduce the other parent to like. Hey? Can you help me out for a few nights until we, you know, drop it completely and have them go in to soothe the baby back to sleep, and then, hopefully, you won't need to go in and feed the baby. I'm crossing my fingers that that's the case for you. If you try this, let me know how it goes. I love hearing your stories.


Another tip that I have for my breastfeeding mamas is to either pump right before you're about to head to bed or wake up in the middle of the night to pump in the middle of the night somewhere. So like maybe 3 to 5 ish in the morning, you're gonna wake up to pump or just pump right before you go to bed. And sometimes you may need to do both. So it's okay. Just continue to pump. And then if you want to drop those pumping sessions, you're going to implement the same kind of strategy as you did with dropping those night feeds where you're going to gradually decrease the time that you are pumping during those pumping sessions. So you're not going to go cold turkey again. Nothing is cold turkey.


So what about the challenges that come with night weaning? Whether it's due to teething or growth, spurt or even illness. Sometimes you might just need to pause your plan of dropping these night feeds and reintroduce them temporarily, because your baby just may be in the season where they need those night feeds. And it's okay to go back and provide that to them if they need it.


So try to stay flexible and patient with your baby, and if they get into the habit of needing these night feeds again, and you know they can go without it, especially after their growth spurt goes away, or the teething or the illness goes away. Then implement these methods again, and gradually decrease and fade out these feeds again. 


So as we wrap up today's episode. I want to leave you with a couple of final thoughts that night we need is not just a milestone, but it's a journey one that might have its ups and downs but ultimately leads to better sleep for your baby and family. So be patient, stay consistent, and don't hesitate to seek support from a healthcare provider, lactation consultant, IBCLC, and other healthcare providers. Even your pediatrician or OBGYN can also help with this process.


So are you ready to start night weaning, and make sleepless nights a thing of the past share your thoughts and experiences with me. Inside of our free, supportive, well-rested families, community. It is completely free. You can connect with other families in there you can connect with me and my team members in there. You can ask all the sleep questions you want, whether that's about parenting, motherhood, sleep. We can chat about anything and everything in there. So let's chat inside of the free, supportive, well-rested families community can't wait to see you in there.


Thank you so much for tuning in in today's episode. Hope you found this episode helpful. Please share it with other families, and let's create as many well-rested families as we can stay rested till next time.