Why does my baby frequently eat milk at night? Why does my baby sleep restlessly in the middle of the night and frequently eat milk at night?

We all know that it is a common phenomenon for babies to feed at night. Many mothers will feed their babies at night, especially when the baby is just born. The frequency of babies feeding at night is different. Some babies feed less frequently, while others feed more frequently. So why do babies feed frequently at night? Let's take a closer look!

What is the reason for the baby to eat milk frequently at night

First, the baby is afraid

Newborns are curious about the world at first, but as they see more things, they will instinctively develop a sense of fear. If the mother is not around, they may cry immediately.

If the baby frequently eats at night because he is afraid, then the mother just needs to hug the baby and comfort the baby, because the baby may not be really hungry.

Second, the room lighting is too dim

Most babies are sleeping, they can't tell the difference between day and night, they don't know they can move during the day and they don't know they can sleep at night. So babies' sleep is basically reversed, they can sleep however they want. When night comes, babies find it very dark around them, they can't adapt and start crying.

Third, the baby needs to change diapers

The baby is still young and has not yet developed the ability to control urination and defecation. When the baby eats a lot, he will naturally defecate and urinate. If the baby is always crying, the new mother should check the baby's diaper and change it in time. If it is not changed in time, the baby will feel uncomfortable.

Fourth, the baby is hungry

The baby's stomach capacity is very small, and generally needs to be fed every 2-3 hours. If the baby is not full, he will start crying in about an hour. Therefore, new mothers need to observe the baby's feeding situation, how much the baby eats, and how much the feeding amount needs to be increased as the baby grows up. These are all things that need to be considered.

How to stop your baby from feeding too frequently at night

At the beginning, new mothers will be annoyed when their babies frequently feed at night, but as time goes by, they will find out the reasons and patterns of their babies' frequent feedings, and it is actually very simple to adjust to the situation.

First, interact with your baby more during the day and don’t let your baby sleep too much.

Babies only eat and sleep, so don't let them sleep too much during the day, which is also a way to adjust their sleep time. Babies will get tired naturally if they play a lot, so they won't get up frequently after eating at night.

Second, develop good sleeping habits for your baby

Generally speaking, many parents will turn on the lights when going to bed at night, because they are afraid that the baby will be afraid to sleep. In fact, this is not a good practice. Usually, people cannot enter deep sleep when sleeping in a bright environment, which means that they are easily awakened by changes in the external environment. Therefore, new mothers should let their babies get used to turning off the lights at night and develop good sleeping habits. If the baby sleeps well, he will naturally not wake up often at night.

Third, find out the baby's feeding pattern and feed the baby before going to bed.

Before the baby is six months old, the main food is breast milk and formula. New mothers need to observe the baby's feeding situation and how often the baby feeds. So before going to bed at night, you should feed the baby first and accompany the baby to sleep. When the baby is almost ready to feed, you can feed the baby with formula or breast milk. In this way, the baby will be full and will not often need to feed at night.

Moreover, after the baby is six months old, the baby can add complementary food. Then the interval between the baby's feeding at night can be increased a little, and the baby will not have to eat milk frequently at night.

How many times a day should the baby have night feedings?

In fact, the number of night feedings should be determined according to the baby's age and cannot be generalized.

For babies aged 0-3 months, it is normal for mothers to feed three or four times at night. We all know that the number of times babies feed at this age is obviously very high, almost around 9 times. Therefore, it is normal for mothers to feed 3-4 times at night.

However, when the baby is 4-8 months old, mothers should start to pay attention. As the baby grows and develops day by day, the amount of food eaten during the day will obviously increase, and the baby will sleep longer at night. Naturally, the number of breastfeeding at night will also decrease, reducing to 1-2 times.

Each baby is different from the others, and the final result, that is, the demand for breast milk and the frequency are completely different. You cannot use other babies as a standard to measure.

If the mother's milk production is not enough, or the baby is in a growth spurt, the demand for breast milk at night will be very high.