Night weaning. It’s a popular topic around The Baby Sleep Site®! Countless parents have contacted us over the years and asked, “Is my baby ready for night weaning?”
The answer, of course, varies from baby to baby. So much depends on age, but we can’t offer a simple ‘if your baby is this age, then yes, it’s time for night weaning’. Because we have to account for health factors, too – some babies simply need night feedings longer than others, especially if they have medical problems. And parent preference plays a huge part in this as well – some moms want to hang on to night feedings even after they’re no longer “necessary”, simply because they love that special time with their child!
The night weaning question has come up often enough recently, however, that we thought it was time we brought you this great tool to help you get a better sense of whether or not you and your baby are ready to night wean. Take this simple, 5-question quiz, and learn whether or not night weaning is something you can consider right now.
Night Weaning Articles
The night weaning quiz, below, will provide great insights, but if you want to do some extra reading on night weaning, take a look at these resources:
- 3 Signs It May Be Time For Night Weaning
- Night Feedings By Age: When Do You Night Wean?
- How Does Night Weaning Affect Sleep?
Night Weaning Quiz: Is Your Baby Ready For Night Weaning?
The quiz below is very easy to take – only 5 questions, and you simply need to mark a number from 1-5 for each question. Once you have answered each question, click Submit.
Night Weaning Resources From The Baby Sleep Site®
Night weaning isn’t always easy, even if you know your baby is ready and have read all the right baby sleep books. You may need night weaning help! And we offer just that! Our team of caring and compassionate consultants is ready to provide the personalized help you and your family need. Your consultant will provide you with your very own Personalized Sleep Plan® which contains specific night weaning plans and schedules.
Browse our list of consultation package options here.
Want more information about how personalized help works? Check out our FAQ page here, and get answers.
Have an interesting night weaning story? Already a night weaning champion?
For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep. This e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night.
If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules! This is our comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 45 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style.
Or, join our VIP Members Area packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! As a VIP member, you’ll also enjoy a weekly chat with an expert sleep consultant.
Can’t decide which product or service is right for you? Visit our Getting Started Page for help.
My son is almost 9 months old. He can put himself to sleep. He breastfeeds at least 5 times during the day and eats 3 meals of solids though he isn’t what I would call a stellar solids eater yet. Sometimes he eats his solids really well and other times he’s not really interested at all. He is a very healthy baby and is in the 75th percentile for weight. I have never struggled with having a low milk supply. Anyway, he had been sleeping through the night without waking to feed most nights for several months but at around 7 months old he started waking once (sometimes twice) in the night again to nurse. The times of his waking(s) vary substantially (anywhere from 12am to 5am). In the last month and a half there have been maybe 3 nights that he has slept through the night but the rest he has been up at least once to nurse. I have been just going along with it thinking that it could be because of teething or a growth spurt or something, but it seems to just be lingering. I am wondering if you have any tips how I can tell if he is truly waking because of hunger or if perhaps he just wants the comfort of nursing. Perhaps I need to try to get him to eat more during the daytime too.
Hi @Michelle –
Thanks for writing, and sorry to hear that you have been struggling with those night wakings again! How did he score on our free night weaning quiz? That should be a help. Feeding more in the day is always a good idea when working on night weaning, as is a high protein snack before bed. Without having a sleep consultant take an in depth look at everything sleep related and his schedules too, it would be hard to diagnose any further. If you’d like help with gently night weaning him, please consider our Members Area or a one on one consultation package where you will be able to speak with-write to one of our experts!
Feel free to contact us with any questions, and good luck!
Hi my baby is 6 months old and is on solids 3 times a day, plus milk for breakfast, twice mid-day and once at night before bed. We put him to bed while wide awake by patting him in his cot coupled with white noise, which we leave on through the night. But he wakes every hour. When he was younger he could even put himself to bed at night but was still waking through the night. I’ve tried feeding him in case he’s hungry, then I tried not feeding him cause the feeding didn’t fix anything, but he still keeps waking. Why so since he doesn’t have sleep associations going to bed? What can I do?
Hi @Sue, thanks for writing to us. I am sorry to hear your son has been waking up so frequently. It sounds like he is getting a lot of nutrition and at this age we would say 1-2 wake ups is still normal, but anything beyond that would be some kind of habitual waking. We actually have a free guide available to download with tips for sleeping through the night so you can download it and see if it gives you additional tips you have not tried yet: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-through-night-free-ebook/
If you find you are still struggling you may need a little more detailed information than what’s in our free guide, and we would love to help. We have a variety of things from ebooks to working one-on-one with a sleep consultant. To read more about our offerings you can look here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services/ or contact us directly anytime here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/contact
Hang in there! I hope this helps.
Hi
I already made a comment above storry I forgot to say my 1 year 3 months old baby will cry his heart out when I try to deny him a night feed. Some nights its my nightmare being pregnant also, you understand!!!!
Hi
My baby is 7 months old, she has 3 solid meals per day, 1-2 snacks per day as well as 5 good breastfeeds per day. She self settles to sleep, has regular routine however still wakes for 2 feeds overnight plus sometimes wakes and requires resettling at night as well. She puts on weight and sits on the 25th percentile however never jas huge weight gains and when she doesnt sleep well she may not put on weight at all. I feel for my own sake and for hers I need her to improve her sleeping. Currently she goes 6 hours before her first feed. I am unsure if I should drop this first night feed and continue the second and how I should do this.
@Lauren – Thank you for stopping by our sleepy little village and for sharing with us. Good nutrition definitely goes hand in hand with good sleep – hungry babies generally don’t sleep very well, for sure! If her healthcare provider thinks her weight gain and health overall is okay enough to drop the first feed, then you can definitely start in that direction. You’d want to get this okay first before proceeding with any weaning – he/she may also be able to provide some guidance on how to go about it. However, if you’d like some expert help with weaning (once you have the okay!) and improving your family’s sleep, one of our sleep consultants will be able to walk you step by step through this process. Consider our Basic Email package, which you can read more about here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/services Hang in there, Lauren!
Hi I’m Crystal. My daughter is almost 5 months old. She wakes up in the night to feed. She likes to eat every 3 hours. She is having oatmeal 1x a day soon she will be having 2 meals. She can fall asleep when you sing her a lullaby or while she is nursing. The problem comes after once she is put down to sleep. She had outgrown her bassinet because she is able to push up and roll over on her own
She sometimes stays sleep for an hour or so. But often times she cries when she doesn’t feel the warmth of someone or can’t smell you. It’s very tiring as I have to have her near me in the bed . I don’t sleep well because I am always making sure that she is okay. Do you have any suggestions?
How can I get her to sleep through the night? To sleep alone in her crib? When she cries after being put down to rest for a nap or for bed at night, I shhhh shhhhh her and say mommy’s here, you’re okay, you’re safe as I lie next to her which usually works. Sometimes it doesn’t and I pick her up to rock her and when that doesn’t work, it means she wants to be nursed.
Thank you for your input and help advance.
Sincerely,
Crystal
Hi @Crystal, thanks for writing to us. I am sorry you’ve been struggling with your daughter’s multiple night wakings. At the age of 5 months we’d say about 1-2 feedings per night is normal, and anything beyond that may be a sleep association. Here is a link to a free guide we offer with tips to sleep through the night (and again for your case, a couple wake ups is ok at this age): https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-through-night-free-ebook/
If you need additional help I would highly suggest working with a sleep consultant that can give you specific answers to all of your questions and help create a schedule and plan of action to transition your daughter to sleeping independently. Here is a link to our different options to work one-on-one with a consultant: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services/
I hope this helps! Thanks for visiting the Baby Sleep Site!
So if my child is waking up and seems hungry how do I wean this night feeding ?
Hi @Carlyn, Thank you for your comment! That can be tricky. How old is your baby? Some babies do need at least 1 feeding through a year, but most babies can sleep through the night by 9 months. If your baby is waking often (every 2 hours or so) it is likely they have a sleep association keeping them from sleeping longer stretches. You can read about sleep associations here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/sleep-association/
If your baby is only waking once or twice and seems hungry and doesn’t just fall asleep immediately at the bottle/breast, it may be that you’ll need to gradually move that feeding into the daytime schedule to make sure your baby gets all the nutrition they need in the daytime hours. Here is a link to our sample schedules where you can select the age of your baby and see how much food the average baby will need in a 24 hour period: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-feeding-schedules/?utm_source=menu&utm_medium=schedules
I hope this helps! Thank you for using the Baby Sleep Site as a resource for sleep!
My first baby slept through from 10 weeks (10 hour stretches) I exclusively breastfed her until 6 months. I thought I was very lucky when my second started sleeping through (9 – 11 hour stretches) at 5 weeks. However at 12 weeks she started waking 3 times a night (between 9pm and 6am). She is now 5 months old and wakes 1 – 2 times per night. She is eating 2 meals a day after my doctor recommended starting solids at 4 months because she is a big baby. She is more interested in playing than feeding during the day. I know she is capable of sleeping through because she did it before. Am I unreasonable to expect her to do this? According to the quiz I am, but then my first shouldn’t have slept through either!
@ Christine Hahn – good question! In your case, it sounds like you could probably drop one of those feeds without too much trouble (although I’d hesitate to drop both right away – your daughter may still need one nightly feeding). As for whether or not she’s ready – I’d try phasing out one night feed and then see how she does. I’d also make sure that your daughter is able to fall asleep independently (i.e. doesn’t have any sleep associations that may be causing her to wake at night and stay awake, between sleep cycles). Often, babies who are able to fall asleep (and then back to sleep) on their own tend to night wean themselves.
Hope this helps, Christie! Thanks so much for commenting 🙂