Night feeding is a necessity in the early stages, birth to about 3 or 4 months. No doubt there is a small percentage of babies who sleeping through the night from an early age, however, the babies I work with do not do that and are often in habit mode for feeding and attention. Let's talk about feeding times for different ages and when to stop night feeding.
Newborns are fed about 2 to 3 times a night. Around the 6th or 7th week a baby will cut down to one night feed per day (about 5 feeds per day), usually around 11 to 1am-ish. Around 14 weeks the 5th feed may change its timing to around 9 to 10pm-ish. Some parents decide to wake the baby to get them to feed, after which bub is able to sleep through to 5am-ish.
Night feeding can easily stop when the baby is on 2 good solid meals and 4 good milk feeds per day. These feeds and meals can be supplemented with cool boiled water in between. Even more so when at 6 months the baby is having 3 solids and 4 milk feeds per day. I strongly urge mothers not to night feed beyond then as baby really does not need it. Yes, bub may wake around 11 or 12pm, but it does not mean they need feeding. This is the normal lighter sleep cycle time...back off and wait for litlle one to go back to sleep.
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