Nighttime Feedings

Dr. Greene’s Answer:

It sounds like your pattern is working very well for you and your son. The main reason that people recommend against feeding right before sleep is to protect the teeth from cavities, but cavities from nighttime nursing develop very, very slowly.

Sometime before he is 18 months it may be important to try to keep him awake for 20 minutes after his last feeding or to give him a little bit of water right after feeding, but at 8 months, it sounds like you have come up with a great solution for your family. For most kids, 8 or 9 months old is the most difficult age for sleeping. This is not a good time to interrupt something that’s working so well!

Dr. Greene is a practicing physician, author, national and international TEDx speaker, and global health advocate. He is a graduate of Princeton University and University of California San Francisco.

Get Dr. Greene's Wellness Recommendations

Sign up now for a delightful weekly email with insights for the whole family.

  1. Fredda

    MY son is almost 3 and from his earlier years he has been biting. Usually to express emotions feeling happy, sad, or angry. The situation got a lot better since he turned 2, but then his little brother was born. He started biting, hitting etc and then he got better again, but a week ago (his brother is now 3 months old) he got worse again. Any advise? Thanks.

    Added:

Comments are closed.