Why Do Breastfed Babies Take Longer to Sleep Through the Night?

They don't, each child is different regardless of feeding method. My boys were both breastfed, my oldest slept through the night at 5wks, my youngest didn't until about 10 months. Just depends on the child.

Because breast milk doesn't contain corn starch and other fillers and takes longer to digest, they simply get hungrier faster on breast milk :) (per my OB).

It's a myth. Each baby has its own schedlue. I've talked with parents of formula fed babies who ate every two hours all night.

My daughter slept 4-5 hours at a time from the first night after she was born. Her schedule was nurse at 8:30, 1:00 am, and 5:30 am. She kept this same schedule until she slept through the 5:30 by about 10 months, then slept through the 1:00 at 13 months. I never did any "sleep training" or "CIO" or anything else. I just fed her when she was hungry.

One breastfed son slept through the night at 6 weeks. My second son, formula & bottles, also slept through the night at six weeks. Here's what my goddess of a pediatrician told me about getting babies to sleep through the night...

Babies don't sleep at night for two basic reasons: they're hungry and they're not tired. Therefore, the goal is to get them full and tired during the day. She told me that feeding is very tiring for newborns and is really akin to exercise for them. So, she said, feed baby every 2-3 hours from the time you want baby to wake up in the morning until you want them to go to bed at night, even if you have to wake baby up to do this. Baby should be fed on demand at night. By doing this, she said, baby gets plenty of calories during the day AND they never have a chance to fall in to a deep sleep during the day which also makes them tired at night. Once baby hits 12-15 pounds, the nighttime calories aren't needed, so if baby skips a feeding, don't go backwards.

My babies were both over nine pounds, and they were good eaters, so hitting 15 pounds by 6 weeks wasn't an issue. They've been great sleepers ever since (they're now 13 and 17 <g>).

Good luck!

I think it depends on baby. My first was formula fed. Woke up every couple hours. My second was EBF and slept through the night since she was born. I had to set an alarm to wake up and feed her for the first month, because she didnt cry and i guess she liked sleeping. : )

L.;

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

It's DIFFERENT with EVERY baby. My first son was sleeping the night through at 6 weeks. My second son wasn't sleeping the night through until 13 months - he had ear problems we didn't know about....as soon as tubes got put in his ears - he was golden.

DO NOT be scared. DO NOT panic. The more you stress and the more you panic - the harder time you will have producing milk. Stress, lack of sleep and diet all affect your breast production. RELAX!! ENJOY!!! Sleep when your baby sleeps - don't stress over the house getting cleaned - if you can afford it - hire a cleaning company to come in and clean so you don't have to stress over that!!!

YOU WILL ROCK!!! DON'T STRESS!!

Not any more than the other babies, I think it depends on the baby, not the liquid.

THe argument you hear (or the explanation I should say) is that breast milk is easier to digest than formula and that's why breastfed babies need fed more often, even through the night.

With my little one, exclusively breastfed, she started sleeping through the night at exactly 8 weeks - on the ay of her 8 week pediatrician appt because she was so tired form all the post-immunization crying!

Congrats!

My first was bottlefed and woke up every 2 hours until 18 months old. My 2nd was breastfed and slept through the night at 6 weeks. Totally depends on the kid.

With my experience yes. My 9 month old is exclusively breastfed and wakes 2-3xs every night. My other two children were mainly on formula and only woke up maybe 1x.

I think they are all different. My daughter began sleeping through the night at 5 weeks and was breastfed.

Like most have said, all babies are different. My DD started sleeping through the night 6 hours, at 1 month. So don't worry, you might get a sleeper too =)

my breastfed baby started sleeping through the night at 4 months. I think it has to do with their feeding schedule during the day. You might check out the book babywise regarding a sleep, feed, wake schedule. It worked great for our family.

I think it depends on the baby, like the other moms said. My first took forever to sleep through the night, 5 months at least I'm sure. My second was sleeping through the night within 6 weeks. Both were breastfed. With the second, though, I had more of a parent directed feeding approach--maybe that helped.

In the old days babies were weighed before and after breast feeding to make sure they got enough food. Most moms don't weigh their babies like that so really have no way of knowing how much a breast fed baby eats. Formula fed babies are using a bottle that you can clearly see how many ounces they are getting. Personally I would think a breast fed baby would be hungry and that is why they wake, more so because today many people wait to introduce solids to them. I bit of cereal right before bed will keep their tummies full through the night more then any liquid can. Your choice, do what works in your schedule.

I don't think breastfeeding has anything to do with their sleeping patterns. My son was breastfed and slept through the night (6 hours) our first night home from the hospital. I just suggest not to wake him to feed him every two hours like some people suggest b/c that will just get him in the habit of it. Best of luck!

No.
It does not matter if breastfed or Formula fed.
Babies just wake.
And per development.
And wake more during growth-spurts too.
Not all babies are the same.

Babies wake.

I think it is more about what you train them to do than what you feed them. I would give mine a chance (5 minute) chance to self sooth before running in with food to be sure there were really hungry, (after they were a few weeks old of course), and they both slept through the night by 2 months old. My boys got both breast and formula, but usually breast milk before bed.

Actually I do agree with you that breastfed babies tend to take longer, and it's probably so that you will keep up your milk supply. More frequent latchings mean more milk. It's so worth it though, dont' you think? :)

My DD turned one today, and she still wakes up 2x a night to nurse. She does wake up other than those times, but she is able to soothe herself back to sleep. I feel like it's not that horrible, since I am a SAHM with only one baby... so it's not a big deal for me to miss that little bit of sleep. I figure that the breastmilk is so beneficial for her, that I will feed her as much as she's willing to take. :) If I had another kid, or if I had to get up and go to work, it would probably be a much different story... but I'm content with the way things are.

I have had three, my first slept through the night at8 weeks old and never looked back she wa formula fed, my son was formula fed and didn't sleep more then three hours in a row until9mo old my third now a year sleeps eleven hours in a row and has since about 4 mo and she is breast fed. So they are all different no matter what they are fed.

My breastfed baby started sleeping through the night at about 2 weeks old. (I didn't do anything... it was just him). Meanwhile my formula fed goddaughter wakes every 2 hours still (she's 5 months old).

It FAR more depends on the individual baby.

In general, however, formula fed babies used to wake less because they couldn't digest the formula. As formula has gotten closer to breastmilk, the stats have (and are continuing) to change.