Infants up to about five or six months still need a lot of energy to grow. When they cry at night, they are usually hungry and need replenishment. Infants at this age should never be allowed to cry because they cannot yet postpone a need. If they do not get food, they are actually afraid of starving.
In addition, if they have been crying for too long, they may not be able to rest all night. It is not until around the sixth or seventh month that the baby no longer needs to be fed at night. Many babies then automatically start sleeping through the night.
Feeding affects babies’ sleep patterns
Various studies have shown that children do not sleep through the night better if they are given especially high-calorie milk or fortified porridge at night.
But babies don’t always manage to sleep through the night on their own. Breastfeeding children in particular enjoy being close to their mothers at night and, especially at the beginning, still wake up at the usual breastfeeding times. Then parents should ensure that the child finds its way back to sleep even without feeding:
- Put the last two meals closer together than the other daily meals – so your child gets enough calories to get through the night without hunger.
- Drop the nighttime meals gradually, not all together. The child must first get used to it.
- You can lovingly stroke the baby, talk softly to him or sing him his usual lullaby. However, do not take it out of its crib and make no light and no noise – that would possibly signal the end of the night to him. You should also refrain from changing diapers at night, because the evaporative cold makes the baby awake.
- Rocking and driving around are not solutions, because the child must learn to fall asleep again on their own.
And another old midwife advice: remember not to offer an alternative to breast or milk bottle, otherwise you will run in the future because of thirst or pacifier!
