Hi Dorothy,
Thank you for checking out The Baby Sleep Site! We’d be happy to help with your night feedings question. It sounds like your daughter is eating within the normal range for her age, but the best way to tell this young is still by weight. Check in with your pediatrician to make sure she’s gaining weight appropriately and is in the normal weight range for her age – that will mean she’s eating enough!

For naps, it is pretty normal to see short naps at this age. There is a very gentle method we recommend to extend naps here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/wake-to-sleep-help-baby-short-naps/
Or, you can try any sleep coaching method for naps, if she’s healthy and her pediatrician approves. Our Mastering Naps ebook is appropriate for her age and also helpful as she grows and naps change further: https://www.babysleepsite.com/mastering-naps/
Hope this helps!

Another question: I usually can’t get her to nap more than 30 minutes at a time. Many times she wakes up fussy because she’s still tired but won’t go back to sleep without me picking her up and rocking her. Other times, she is wide awake after this short nap and appears well-rested. Is this normal?

Hi Amanda – Thanks for writing to us! It’s great to hear that your 6 month old is falling asleep on her own at bedtime and naps! Now it sounds like time to work in teaching her how to fall back to sleep when she wakes in the night – even if she is having a feeding or two. Check out this article for some tips, and make a plan!:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/sleep-training-baby-guide/
If you’d like help with this, please contact us for more info! Good luck Amanda!

Hi Claudia,
Thank you for your comment! I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling so much with your baby’s night feedings – the situation sounds tough! There are tons of reasons why babies why at night, so without knowing more about your current schedule, it’s hard to make a judgment. I’d really encourage you to write into our wonderful client services folks at contact@babysleepsite.com, with a brief description of your feeding and sleep schedule, and what method of sleep coaching you’re trying, as they can then give you more specific resources. In the meantime, I just want to reassure you that, although many babies can sleep through the night at 9 months, it is also still normal to see a night feeding, or even two, at this age. But if your baby does need a feeding, we expect her to eat and then go right back to sleep, and stay asleep for a good length of time.
I hope this helps – hang in there!

@Cecilia – Thank you for reading and for sharing with us! We’re so glad to hear you love the site! It can be confusing to know when night feedings are necessary, for sure. Generally, we’ve found night feedings 2-3x a night for a baby your son’s age can be normal. Here’s a chart (it’s printable!) that may make that easier for you – https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/baby-night-feedings-age-chart/ You should also know that babies go through a sleep regression around 4 months old that will often times trigger extra night wakings as well. If you have not done any formal sleep coaching for him and his sleep doesn’t settle back down in the next week or two, this is also a good next step to consider. We’re here to walk you through that process if you’d like. Hang in there, Cecilia!

Im having trouble finding out if my baby needs all his feeds at night.
He is 4 months old, will be 5 at the end of the month , he never fed a lot during the day is always 6 -10mins feeds, I’ve been told he is very efficient.
He will eat for around 20 mins just before bed, then he wakes up 3 sometimes 4 times.. and he will feed for 6-15mins.
Sometimes he will go back to sleep for another 30mins or 1 hour, but wakes up crying.
He self settles on bedtime and begining of his naps .. I’m just exhausted and wondering what to do!!
Love your website

Hi @Kim, thank you for writing to us and congratulations on your new baby! I would suggest feeding her. Babies that little definitely need the calories, and they also need the sleep and help flipping their days and nights around, so I would try to avoid any long stretches of wakefulness at night to make sure that doesn’t become a regular thing for her. Your doctor might have suggested the amount of feedings she needs at night based on her birth weight and current weight, so I would be sure to stick to that even if it means you do need to set an alarm for yourself to feed her. I hope this helps! Here is a link to download a free guide with tips for parents of newborns if you’re interested: https://www.babysleepsite.com/15-free-baby-sleep-facts-new-parents-must-know/
I hope this helps!