Middle of the Night Feedings for Babies 2 Weeks to 3 Months of Age

During the initial weeks, babies require feeding every 2-3 hours to meet their growing needs. It's an important milestone when little ones reach around 2 weeks of age, surpass their birth weight, and continue to gain about an ounce a day during the first 6-8 weeks (for additional details, refer to the Moms on Call Basic Baby Care book ). Once these indicators are met, we can shift towards on-demand feedings at night, allowing for a more flexible and comfortable routine.

What does this mean? We simply wait for them to wake! One thing to note is that we all wake every 3 hours or so, so this doesn’t necessarily mean hunger. When baby wakes, try and wait a minute or two, soothe (see Moms on Call Soothing Technique ), check swaddle or try paci, then feed.

How Many Middle of the Night Feedings to Expect:

• 2-4 weeks: 2 feeds most nights
• 4-8 weeks: 2 feeds most nights with an occasional night of one feed
• 8-10 weeks: 1 feed most nights with an occasional night of no feeds
• 10-12 weeks: Begging to get more nights of no feeds

The above expectations are for babies following Moms on Call. Your experience may be different if another method or no method at all is being used, and that is OKAY! YOU are the best decision-maker for your baby and your family!

Middle of Night Feeding Routine:

2 weeks to 3 months, middle-of-night feedings are what we call "strictly business." Try to keep distractions minimal.

• Turn off the white noise for the feeding
• Un-swaddle baby
• Feed well
  • Recommended feeding amounts can be found in Moms on Call's Typical Day Schedules .
• Change their diaper
• Swaddle them back up
  • Our swaddle blanket is designed with our no-fail swaddle technique in mind!
  • Swaddling babies is an essential step in getting them to sleep!
    • Only babies under 12 lbs and 12 weeks of age should be swaddled.
• Baby can have a few more sucks on the breast or bottle (maximum of 3-5 minutes!)
• Put them back in the crib
• White noise back on
  • Here is the sound machine we love and why!
• Lights off!

Middle-of-night feedings can be both exhausting and heartwarming! The measure of our success as parents isn't defined by how we feed, whether our little one sleeps through the night, or if we stick to a strict routine. It's all about the overflowing love that encompasses every situation. So, keep in mind that you are an amazing parent, regardless of whether you have to feed three times a night or zero!

For tips on getting the entire family back to sleep, head over to the knowledge center for our blog, "Getting Back To Sleep."

Moms on Call provides simple, sensible parenting resources to sleep, feed, laugh, and love birth through toddlerhood. You can find tips like this and more in our books and Online Video Courses for 0-6 months, where we cover everything from feeding and sleeping to schedule transitions and typical days at each stage.

Want more personalized support?

With each and every Moms on Call Consulting experience, we have one goal in mind— to equip you with the confidence you need to become the best parent possible for your child . Book your personal consultation with one of our Premier Certified Moms on Call Consultants!