Night Weaning
At this stage, babies who are eating 2-3 complementary foods a day can be weaned off night feedings. By 4-6 months, a baby's stomach capacity can reach over 200 milliliters, and the time it takes for the stomach to empty increases, so daytime milk intake is sufficient and night feedings are not necessary. It is especially important to reduce night feedings after a baby begins teething to avoid tooth decay and negatively affecting their growth and development.
Solutions:
1. Mothers can use a breast pump to express breast milk, making it easier to control the amount of milk the baby receives with a bottle and gradually wean them off night feedings.
2. Reduce the number of night feedings gradually until they are completely weaned. For example, if the baby is used to having 2 night feedings, reduce it to 1 and then gradually eliminate all night feedings.
3. If the baby only has 1 night feeding, gradually delay the feeding time and reduce the amount of milk given, such as pushing the feeding time from 2 am to 3-4 am, until it is delayed until 6-7 am before feeding.
4. Do not use the pick-up-put-down method to soothe the baby back to sleep when they wake up for a night feeding.