This is such a common question that we get so below, I have put in some guidelines. If you aren’t within these guidelines but things are going well then no pressure to change.

**0 to 3 months** — as required!
This Newborn period is a time for your little one to adjust to the big wide world, to feed as they need, establish their feeding and for you to get to know your little one. Some parents may choose to demand feed at this point, and others may start their little one on a 2 to 3 hourly structure. If your little one is on a bottle then you will need to follow the recommendations.

**3 to 4.5 months**
I would say that two night feeds at this age is appropriate, however some will only need one and some babes may even be sleeping through. If your little one starts to sleep through and doesn’t require a feed, there’s no need to wake your baby unless medically advised otherwise — especially if your little one is taking feeds well during the day.

**4.5/5 months through to 1 year of age**
One night feed is completely appropriate or your little one may go without night feeds, especially once they are fully established on 3 solid meals per day.

**(Above 3 months)**
If your little one is constantly snack feeding or distracted during feeds throughout the day, it can leave many people questioning if their little one has had enough. This is when the constant offerings and re-offerings can begin. In our experience, we often find it makes the snack feeding and poor sleep cycle worse.

We recommend heading towards a **feed, play and sleep** structure and offering the last feed around 45 minutes before bed for the night — trying to avoid the constant re-offerings in their awake time as that will exacerbate the snack feeding (unless advised otherwise by a healthcare professional or weight issues).

It also then means babies feed closer to sleep, to sleep, or mainly at night — which isn’t the way humans are designed. We aren’t designed to take most of our calories at night time when above 3 months old.

Many people try and get their little ones to become better feeders during the day before getting sleep sorted, especially if their little one is getting the majority of their calories overnight.

We actually recommend getting **night time sleep sorted**.
Distracted, snack feeders, constant waking, constant questioning — did they get enough? — drawn-out or lengthy feeds and so on... It can be a tiring cycle and doesn’t have to be the case.

*This is not feed or medical advice. Always practice Safe Sleep.*

**The Gentle Sleep Specialist**

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