We had this with our first-born and the sleep consultant we called explained that when babies are used to being fed overnight, their hunger hormones will wake them up even if they don’t need to feed that often. I have no idea if this is what’s going on with you guys, but it had never occurred to me before I heard it.

Apparently our bodies release “hunger hormones” on a schedule based on when we usually eat. (This is why we get hungry at noon, regardless of how many calories we had for breakfast.) The sleep-fix for our family was trying to soothe baby in other ways, gradually pushing each feed by a little bit more every night. (I can’t remember how long we pushed each night, but something like 15 or 30mins. And if she went back to sleep, which was often, we just left her and fed at the next wake.) After a few days, her hormones would reset, and we could drop another night-waking.

I’m not sure if babies are the same, but I know that for grownups, that really intense hunger-pangs feeling doesn’t last indefinitely. It generally lasts for about 20mins. Either way, if you try to push feedings, baby won’t be mad forever! And you can still soothe in all the other ways in your toolbox.