Feeding FAQ: 0-8 Weeks – Formula Feeding

My son is 5 weeks old and weighs 10lbs 5ozs. He had gradually begun to wake nearer to 3am for his feed, and then again between 6-7am. However, in the last few days he has been waking more frequently at night, despite having a split feed at 10pm, and staying awake for an hour. Could this be due to a growth spurt and how do I begin to encourage him to sleep for longer again?

Last night I gave him a 4oz feed at 2am since he seems to need this feed. I have tried to offer him less milk, or a more diluted feed, but he will not settle. He woke again at 4am and would only settle back to sleep when given 1oz at 5am.

I have increased some of the daytime feeds, but this does not seem to have had any effect on his nights.

Your son could well be going through the six-week growth spurt. He is taking the right amount of milk for his present weight, but during a growth spurt some babies do need to take a little more than the recommended amount, or require an extra feed.

The 10pm feed is still very important at this stage, and to ensure that your son takes a good feed at this time, it is important that he is hungry enough. Try offering him more at 5pm and less at 6.15pm to encourage a good feed at 10pm.

Although the book recommends that you give the late feed in the nursery, and the baby should be awake for no more than one hour, we would advise that you alter this slightly until your son is able to sleep longer in the night.

We suggest that you give your son a split feed at 10/11.15pm and keep him awake slightly longer at this time. Start to wake him around 9.45pm and take him out of the nursery to a brightly lit room to ensure that he is awake enough to feed really well. Let him take as much milk as he wants at this time and then give him a break, allowing him to kick quietly. Then at 11.15pm, take him back to the nursery, change his nappy, dim the lights and give him a top-up feed before settling him in his cot.

You should also look at other factors that may be contributing to his earlier/frequent waking in the night:

Check that he is well tucked in. Even if he is still swaddled, tuck him securely using a cotton sheet placed lengthways across him and tucked in at least six inches either side under the mattress. Use two towels rolled up and pushed down between the mattress and the spars of the cot to secure the sheet,

If, despite feeding well at the late feed, your son continues to wake around 3am, then wait for ten minutes to see if he will resettle himself. If you feel that he is not genuinely hungry, you can try offering him some cool boiled water to settle him back.  However, if he does not settle back within 15-20 minutes, it is best to assume that he is hungry and feed him. As his age it is important that when he does wake in the night that he settles back to sleep quickly, and water should never be offered as a substitute to a baby who still genuinely needs to feed in the night.  If your baby continues to feed in the night, but begins lose interest in his feed at 7am, you will know he is ready to begin to cut down on the milk offered to him during the night, and you can then use the core night method to eliminate the middle of the night feed.

Finally, a baby who is a sleepy feeder in the day can end up having too much daytime sleep, which will begin to affect his nights. Make sure that your baby is fully awake during his daytime feeds, and if you do find that he begins to fall asleep over his daytime feeds, rouse him by removing the bottle and laying him on his playmat for a short kick so he is more alert.