Is That Overnight Feed Habit or Hunger?
Notes de l’épisode
Wondering if your baby actually needs that 2am feed or if it's just become part of the routine?
This week, Sally and Bec tackle one of the most confusing parts of baby sleep: figuring out what's genuine hunger and what's habitual waking. If you've been stuck in a pattern of feeding at the same times every night—or if you're nervous about dropping a feed that's been your trusty snooze button—this episode is for you.
What You'll Learn:
• How to tell if overnight feeds are habit or genuine hunger
• Why 10:30pm is the most common habitual feed time (and how to nudge it out)
• The mirrored feeding approach: how your day schedule predicts night feeds
• What happens when you resettle instead of feed (spoiler: most babies surprise you)
• How many nights it takes to reset your baby's internal hunger clock
• Why that 5am feed might be keeping early rising at bay—and when to drop it
• The golden rule: once you drop a feed, don't bring it back
• How to confidently move from multiple feeds to sleeping through
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:56 Daylight savings survival guide (spring forward or fall back)
09:31 Habit vs hunger: how to know the difference
12:06 The four-hourly feed structure explained
15:41 Why 10:30pm is the most stubborn feed time
17:30 How to confidently resettle habitual wakes
21:17 What happens after baby sleeps through multiple cycles
24:25 Using the mirrored pattern for younger babies
29:54 How many nights until the hunger hormone resets
30:32 Sleep Detective: 5.5 month routine
31:58 Sleep Detective: 6am hysterical waking
35:55 Fast Forward Back: lazy dinner hacks (party porridge!)
🎙️ ABOUT NAP TRAPPED
Nap Trapped is your weekly dose of sleep sanity from consultants Sally Woods and Bec Maher. They take the toughest baby sleep questions and turn them into practical, evidence-based solutions—no shame, just support (and Aldi chocolate).
Links
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