Hold your baby so she can see your face when you feed her. Feed her with breast milk or fortified infant formula, but no solid food yet. Parents used to think that feeding solid foods at bedtime would help their babies sleep through the night. Not true! Feeding solids before your baby is ready may trigger allergies and/or cause babies to eat too much. Your baby’s digestive system is not ready to handle foods other than breast milk or infant formula until she is about four months old. Her tongue and swallowing movements won’t develop enough for solid foods until then. Your baby will be ready for solid foods when she can:
- sit well with support,
- control her head and upper body well, and
- turn her head away on purpose if she doesn’t like the food or if she has had enough.
Be patient with your baby when she wakes up during the night. Night feedings don’t last forever. At this feeding, let her know that it is time to go back to sleep. Place her in her crib, swaddle her, or let her sit in an infant chair. Discourage your baby from playing after a nighttime feeding. Babies will usually sleep through the middle-of-the-night feeding by the time they weigh about 11 pounds.
