Is My Baby Waking Because of Hunger?

I happen to think a certain type of programming occurs within all new mothers that make them obsessed with making sure their kiddos never go hungry.

And that’s why when our little ones continue to wake throughout the night long past the newborn stage – we question whether they’re actually hungry.

It’s a valid concern because on your end – you’re going on months of broken sleep, and on your little one’s end – well, a feed may not actually be something they NEED.

So let’s break it down. How can you tell if your baby is waking up because of hunger… or something else?

I want you to consider the following:

• Is baby under 6 months old?

  Up until about 6 months of age, some babies will require at least 1 night feed. Their stomachs are small, milk does digest fairly quickly, and they haven’t started on solids yet – so there’s a good chance that they still might be waking up from hunger.

• Is baby eating enough during the day?
  Before baby is truly capable of sleeping through the night without any feeds, we need to make sure that enough calories are consumed in the daytime. The best ways to start making this shift is to either add in an extra feed in the daytime or add an extra 1-2 ounces to each bottle. This is also around the time baby may begin eating solids, so that helps too! Fortunately, it typically takes only a few nights for baby’s body to adjust to only consuming their food intake in the daytime.
  I do have to throw in a reminder here…be sure to talk to your child’s pediatrician before making changes to their feeding schedule. Nighttime sleep is awesome, but calories are essential.

• Is baby falling asleep quickly after you feed them?

  I’m sure you’ve lived through this scenario at some point: Baby is crying, you think it’s because of hunger, you offer a feed which is eagerly accepted, but then only half an ounce is drunk before baby starts dozing off with a bottle (or boob) in their mouth.

  If this is happening frequently, chances are super high that this feed is more for comfort than out of hunger. Babies who are genuinely hungry will usually eat until they are full. (Breastfeeding moms – be on the lookout for active sucking and swallowing.)

• Does baby sleep for a good stretch after the feed?

  If baby does take a full feed at night, they should be able to sleep for around 3-4 hours afterwards. An average sleep cycle for babies around is about 45-60 minutes. So if your little one is waking up again after 1 sleep cycle, it’s likely that they are depending on some aspect of the feed (perhaps the sucking motion or the soothing action of your feeding routine) to get them back to sleep.

• Would they go back to sleep without the feed?

  Regardless of your age, if you were actually hungry, it would be quite hard to fall asleep. Hunger is a priority. The brain recognizes it as such and will stay awake until that need is met, or until you’re so exhausted that the need for sleep overrides it.

  The same is true with baby. If they are really hungry, they won’t be able to fall asleep easily until they’ve been fed. If after 5-10 minutes of crying, they start dosing off… or if after you pick them up/rock them, they start dozing off…chances are high that they’re probably just looking for some help in the getting to sleep department!

• Does baby fall asleep independently?

  If you can put your baby down in their crib while they’re awake, leave the room, and have them fall asleep without any help from you, a pacifier, or any other kind of external assistance, then those nighttime cries are far more likely to mean that something is actually going on. (I happen to think this is one of the most amazing perks of sleep training – baby is more reliable if they cry in the middle of the night!)

Determining whether your baby’s hungry at night is obviously a complicated situation. Calories are vital, but so is sleep (we talked about this a little bit in this blog). It’s often difficult for us to ensure a balance between the two, but it becomes much much easier once you’ve taught baby the skills they need to fall asleep on their own. Once feeds are no longer a prop for sleep, and once baby is an independent sleeper, you can be more confident that baby’s nighttime requests are in fact out of necessity and not a sneaky attempt to grab some extra time with mom or dad.

As always, if you’re looking for help to figure out this hunger vs habit dilemma, or to teach your little one how to sleep independently, feel free to reach out!