Refusing First feed of the day

[Diddles]

My 4 month old has been not interested in feeding at his first feed of the day which is around 7am. He has been waking in the night for a feed and takes in quiet a bit - last night it was at 3.45am. Could this be the reason why he is not on to feeding in the morning? I'm trying to do a feed play sleep routine with him, but if he doesn't do this first feed it mucks up my whole day as he wakes early out of his first sleep. Should I try just giving him bottled water when he wakes in the night? I somehow think it wouldn't work as he is a BF baby and isn't that familiar or comforted by the bottle. Thanks for your advice, regards Jo

[Pinky McKay]

Hi Jo,
You are absolutely right - giving water at night isnt a good idea - your baby is still little, and because your prolactin levels are higher at night, babies get the 'best' milk then. If you allow your baby to feed whenever he needs during the day ( this may be more often ), rather than trying to implement a strict schedule, he will probably sleep longer at night more quickly (doesnt this sound great?) - after all, babies need a certain amount of food in a 24 hr period so if they are limited by a strict routine during the day they will need to stoke up at night -so they will wake for feeds.

My best advice would be to please read my article Does breastfeeding take too much time? ( see the link on the left hand side). I would also suggest reading my book Sleeping Like a Baby to help you understand how to create a rhythm to your day around your baby's needs- your baby is the little person here - he isnt trying to 'muck up your day'. He is simply doing what little babies need to do - eat and drink as their tiny bodies are hungry or thirsty - just as we do. For instance, do you plan to have a cup if coffee at precisely 10am? Do you eat and drink differently according to your activity levels or the weather? On hot days babies may need to drink a little more often just as we sip from our water bottles and sometimes they eat a meal, while others are more of a snack.

Please try and surrender and work out how to meet your baby's needs as well as your own without putting so much pressure on yourself.

Pinky