How to Get a Baby to Sleep Without a Feeding During the Night

When breastfed, most newborns need to eat once or twice during the night. However, after the third month, some babies can sleep through the night without a feeding. It is important to make sure that your baby is actually eating during these night time feedings and not using nursing throughout the night as a comforting technique. Reducing the number of times that you feed your baby during the night will help you to get more sleep and it will begin to prepare your baby to sleep through the night when he is ready. Below are steps to get your baby ready to sleep through the night without being fed.

Instructions

1

Increase the amount that you feed your baby before bedtime. Many babies will fall asleep while they are eating before bedtime. This prevents your baby from eating until she is full and will promote night time waking for food. Try to wake your baby and make sure that she eats until she is full.

2

Wake your baby to feed him before you go to sleep. This may enable him to sleep through the night while you are sleeping.

3

Be sure that your baby is getting enough to eat during the day. If she isn't getting enought to eat during the day, your baby may wake several times during the night for feedings to make up for it.

4

Try to stretch out the time between feedings when your baby reaches the three or four month mark. If your baby is eating every two hours, try to get him to wait two and a half hours between each feeding. When he begins to fuss, don't assume that he is hungry. Comfort him, cuddle him, or play with him.

5

Feed your baby more during the night feeding that you want to keep. If your baby wakes at 1:00 am, 3:00 am, and 5:00 am, and you want to get your baby to only wake at 3:00 to feed, give your baby more at the 3:00 am feeding and less at the other two.

6

Avoid changing your baby's diaper at night unless it really needs to be changed. Changing a baby's diaper is a great way to wake her up, something you want to avoid when trying to get her to sleep through the night.