Food in the middle of the night

[Karamom]

DS (2.5) wakes up a lot in the middle of the night saying he is hungry and asking me to get him some crackers. I usually do but its very annoying to have to get up and go to the kitchen and it gets lots of crumbs in the bed. Is it normal for a kid his age to wake up and need food? I try to make sure he is getting enough food during the day. He doesn't eat a whole lot but I always have food out for him to eat and I make sure he has a snack before bed. I'm not sure if he is just requesting food as a way to interact with me at night-but we do cosleep- I've told him no before but then I worry that he really is hungry. WWYD?

[mama_mojo]

After my kids night weaned, the rule was night is for sleeping, not eating, not playing, nothing but sleeping. So, I would say no way. Even if they were hungry, they could make it until morning. I have a friend who is up with all three of her kids at some point every night feeding each of them. That works for them and their family, but it would be torture to me. I don't do it at all, ever.

[poiyt]

We do give dd a snack if she asks for one (usually yogurt..as there are no crumbs), she is 18months old.

We have three reasons for doing so..

1) We never did any sleep training or forced night weaning with dd, and all on her own at about 14months she went from waking up every hour to 1.5hrs to nurse to sleeping through the night. On those night when she would wake up and say she was hungry, and sign to eat - I could believe it. After all she was used to nursing throughout the night. It seemed cruel to us not to feed her something. Usually she would wake up, want yogurt, finish the last bite and immediately collapse and fall asleep. This wasnt every night, or even every other night.

2) DH and I believe that the human body wasnt meant to eat three meals and 2 snacks a day. We believe it functions better if it is allowed to "graze" not in the sense of mindless eating, but keeping blood sugars stable, protein optimal all that fun stuff. A child who sleeps 12hours at night and wakes up wanting to eat is only listening to the fluctuations in their body saying they need to eat. Again, this is different then feeding a child who is still half asleep and not reallyhungry. Or the difference when your child woke up between comfort nursing and hunger nursing - when they need comfort, comfort them - but when they wake up hungry, we chose to feed them.

and 3) DD has her dad's metabolism - lucky lucky people! She also still, at 18months, gets the shakes when she is hungry. I believe her body metabolizes and digests food very quickly. When she naps, I try to guess when she will wake up and try to have a snack ready for her. Your body does require some food energy in it while it sleeps, so we figured when she was waking up she had gone through all her stores of food, and needed a boost.

I should mention that through this healthy grazing, and eating when she wakes up - she is not overweight, and is healthy. I know this choice isnt for everyone - and thats fine. But thats what we do, and thats why

[DQMama]

I wake up in the middle of the night hungry almost every night around 3 or 4 a.m., even if I ate a good dinner and had a snack just before bed. I keep Luna bars next to the bed. If I don't have one and am too tired to go downstairs, I lay there starving and feeling half sick until I get up and eat. Maybe this isn't normal. I do have a really fast metabolism.

So if one of my kids woke up hungry in the night, I wouldn't be able to say no, just because I know how I personally feel.

If it were me, I think I would keep a non-crumbly snack LOL next to the bed so you could give it to your child, watch him to make sure he doesn't choke, and then go right back to sleep.

[fritz]

Also, try to incorporate protein in his before bed snack. It'll do a better job of tiding him over. Could be a cheese stick or almonds or peanut butter on apple slices...doesn't have to be meat or beans.

I'd either switch to a non-crumby middle of the night snack, or bring him into the kitchen to eat it. Crumbs in the bed is one of my pet peeves, though, so we never ever eat in the bed. Your bed, your rules, though! =)

[D_McG]

How many crackers does he eat? IF it's like, 2.. then I'd cut it out (he can't be THAT hungry if all he eats is 2 crackers). If it's about 10 then I would look at the day and try to put more calories in there. I would push the snack out by an hour or half an hour every night until it was gone.

DS nursed so frequently at night and when I weaned him I fully anticipated him to still be hungry. But he never was. Not even while we were weaning. And he takes about an hour to get hungry when we get up. But I am the opposite - often feel nauseous when I wake up b/c I am so hungry.

[Mama Mko]

I don't withhold food. If my son says he's hungry, I get him something to eat. I give him a couple options usually (chicken pieces or a breakfast bar) and the only thing he's allowed to drink at night is water. He does get hungry after we're in bed a lot of times.

[momma_monkey]

my son is only nursing 1x in the morning. We just recently night weaned. He wakes up occasionally, wanting food or a drink. DP and I decided that the options for refreshments would always be the same-- 1. yogurt, 2. water/milk 3. banana. Sometimes he asks for other items, but we always tell him "after night-night." He seems fine with the limited options, sometimes refusing and then falling back to sleep.

Ds is a little more difficult for naps, my ds would insist he was hungry (even if it was right after lunch)-- I learned that for him if I let him get off the bed then that sleeping 'session' was over. So we also made the rule that he has to stay in bed and mom/dad will get him his request. Once we put a few boundaries on the waking up, it seems like ds is sleeping more and more through the night-- usually 1-2 wakings that are easy to help him back to sleep.

[mommabear207]

ds went through a phase of wanting a snack in the middle of the night everynight for a while but now it only happens occassionally. i think he really is hungry (or thirsty sometimes) i know i can't sleep well if i'm hungry so i o head and give him a snack.if you don't want to get out of bed you could leave some crackers by the bed and like fritz said you could both get up or switch to something non crumbly. i'd go with non crumbly so dc doesn't get use to getting up in the middle of the night but rather having a quick snack and going right back to sleep.

[lucyem]

Our family is on a 6 meal a day plan. 3 big meals and 3 small meals. The last snack is just before bed and we make sure it is filling with some protein. Both DS's have water bottles next to them all night. If one wakes up hungry we have them drink water and go back to sleep. That has always worked and they sleep til morning. I can only think of once we gave one food and that was because he had fallen asleep early before dinner and we figured he really was hungry.

I would do what D_McG suggested and see how many crackers get eaten. Then re-evaluate whether you need to feed more during the day or if it might be a habit now or desire for some interaction. Maybe try and find something that would not involve crumbs and something he does not like as much. I know with both mine they are "starving" for cookies but when I offer them carrots the starving often turns into a "I'm not that hungry"

[snoopy5386]

I sometimes wake up hungry in the middle of the night, although hungry is not the right word, starving is. There is NO WAY I could go back to sleep without eating when I wake up like this. Water would not cut it. It goes in spurts, sometimes it will happen a few nights a week and then not again for months and months. It happened a lot when I was pregnant, I spent many a night at 3 am eating bowls of cereal sitting on the kitchen floor. I will either wake up out of a completely deep sleep totally starving, or if I wake up to pee, I can't go back to sleep because I am hungry. If DD wakes me up around 5-6 am, I can't go back to sleep without eating sometimes. I keep granola bars and little cups of applesauce and spoons in my nighttable drawer, so when it happens I don't have to walk down our creaky floor to the kitchen and risk waking DD. So, yeah I would feed my kid in the middle of the night if they asked.

[Marsupialmom]

My oldest child did this!!

It drove us half nuts. He was hungry. My son would eat meals. I remember one night he ate 3 eggs befor he was full and he "HAD" to have eggs. Nothing else would do.

I agree with the person that said if it is just a cracker or two he isn't that hungry. He could be mixing signals. Does he have sinus issues? The crackers can be calming an upset tummy. Reflux can also be causing mix communication on hunger. It also might stop if he has a protein and a good fat before bed. It prevents blood sugar dips.

Some kids like my son needed that "meal" in the middle of the night. Changing his diet during the day didn't help. He just needed that much fuel to go on . We didn't entertain him. We cooked/cut any thing that needed to be then we layed on the couch until he was ready for bed. We kept the attitude we respect our body - he needed food. We also respect other's people body -- there sleep.

[vegemamato]

my oldest has been getting into the kitchen since she was two (and figured out how to open the fridge).. we 'let' her get snacks but we do try to limit the sort of things she eats (especially late at night). She also sleep walks and I have caught her in the kitchen eating ick things (like veganaise out of the jar or rice drenched in soy sauce).

My middle child likes to have a snack before bed, and claims that she's "too hungry to wait." I think, for them, they burn so much energy throughout the day that they need to re-fuel at night

We used to get into constant power struggles over this, until I let it go. It helped to realized that if I were hungry, I would go eat (as would most people). I just won't get up to go get them something (fruits and veggies are always available!)..

[ann_of_loxley]

What I do... Before I go to bed, I make a plate of little snacks I know my son will like (oat biscuits/cucumber/that sort of thing). Not too much, not too little (and a sippy cup of something nice - like water or milk hehe). I put it on the side of our bed (on a little table we have) before I go to bed. My DS either eats it in the middle of the night (me unaware - im sleeping! lol) or if he wakes early in the morning!
My DS is 3.5 and this is what I have been doing for the past half a year now. At the moment, he only wants something to immediatly break his fast when he wakes up - before I can manage to get up and fix his breakfast (which just is not fast enough for him lol) - so theres only a few items there and usually something oaty which is low G.I. and good for him!

I have a little stool next to our bed (our new bed is so bloody big he needs the stool to even get on it! lmao) - that I have asked DS to sit on the stool when he eats his snacks so that we don't get any crumbs in the bed = solved that problem. Of course we have sand in the bed now - and no matter how much we strip down and wash before bed, if we were out in the sandpit all afternoon because of this lovely spring weather - its getting in the bed! lol

Your DC is not old enough to help themselves when they are hungry - so its up to you to feed them! My DS has only worked out that he can finally open the fridge and reach the meat inside (he seems to only want meat these past 3 days!)...he just hasn't quite worked out that if we eat the whole turkey in one day, we have no turkey for the rest of the week! hehe I don't personally like getting up in the middle of the night either, so just make sure there is something for him there when he does wake up in the middle of the night!

You know, im not that hungry at 11pm - but I till will nibble on an apple before I head off to bed - DH doesn't withhold it from me just because its such a small thing that I might even ask him to fetch for me on his way to the kitchen. I mean honestly 'hes not that hungry, so withhold the food!'...common people! - Theres more consensual solutions than that! Its not exactly like crackers are a sloppy joe - it isnt the end of the world if he does eat them in bed (or next to the bed in the middle of the night). When it comes to food - its best to avoid struggles and potential food issues. I highly doubt a 2.5 year old is comfort eating crackers because of their depressive childhood past issues (such as why I might eat a whole tub of ice cream lol). Hes hungry! Feed him! A 2.5 year old only has a tiny stomach - 2 crackers to him might be like the equivalent to a whole pack of crackers for us! Not to mention that small children are much better at listening to their bodies and going with a more natural and healthy flow, which for humans really is grazing - not a sit down three full meals a day. If I overate at dinner time, I am still going to want that apple at 11pm. I am just causing my body health problems with over eating - not abating future hungers, no matter how small.

[SkyMomma]

I'm definately in the school of feed 'em if they're hungry...my DS1 just goes & goes during the day & sometimes he has periods when he just wakes up starving (growth spurt!). If you're concerned about snacks at night becomming a habit of nightime visiting with mama, then I suggest giving the snack, but keeping interactions minimal & consistent, the lights low or off, etc.

However - I strongly recommend avoiding crackers & other bready things, along with any kind of sugary snack, raisins, etc. Unless your going to brush teeth again! My very cool, extended BF supportive dentist says that crackers are one of the worst things for teeth - those globby, soggy bready parts that get stuck behind & between teeth create great opportunities for cavities (particualrly if you nurse during the night, after your LO eats but doesn't brush).

I recommend apples & or cheese. Both are a much better choice (for teeth)to sleep on after eating & can easily be kept by the bed for instant snacks. No crumbs either.

[hipumpkins]

Yup we feed em in the night if they wake up hungry (DD never does anymore but DS still does every once in while)
I don't immediately get the food though but rather shush and say go back to sleep and see if they are sure they hungry.
The persistent kid is usually hungry.
I have had kids eat anywhere from 2 apples to 2 bowls of cereal in the middle of the night so I know they were hungry.
I remember when I was pregnant I woke up sooo hungry and no way could sleep being that hungry so I don't think it is fair to ask that of my kids.

[aprons_and_acorns]

My son sometimes does that during a growth spurt. At age 2.5 he was often sleeping 12-14 hours per night so it made sense to me that he might be hungry somewhere in the middle of all that. I always give him a little snack if he wants one during the night, but its not really very often.

[GuildJenn]

Originally Posted by aprons_and_acorns

My son sometimes does that during a growth spurt. At age 2.5 he was often sleeping 12-14 hours per night so it made sense to me that he might be hungry somewhere in the middle of all that. I always give him a little snack if he wants one during the night, but its not really very often.

This is us too - 2.5 there was definitely a spurt.

[MayBaby2007]

Originally Posted by rebeccajo

I don't withhold food. If my son says he's hungry, I get him something to eat. I give him a couple options usually (chicken pieces or a breakfast bar) and the only thing he's allowed to drink at night is water. He does get hungry after we're in bed a lot of times.

This.

Originally Posted by ann_of_loxley

What I do... Before I go to bed, I make a plate of little snacks I know my son will like (oat biscuits/cucumber/that sort of thing). Not too much, not too little (and a sippy cup of something nice - like water or milk hehe). I put it on the side of our bed (on a little table we have) before I go to bed. My DS either eats it in the middle of the night (me unaware - im sleeping! lol) or if he wakes early in the morning!

And this is what I do (though I wish dd like cucumbers : All veggies currently make her gag...unless they're in soup. Silly girl).

OP, try this for a few nights and see how it goes. Can't hurt.

[jmmom]

Haven't read all the replies, but as someone who has to eat right before bed or else I wake up hungry, I would feed your child if he says he's hungry. Also, be aware that being hungry can increase stress level hormones, part of what wakes you up and keeps you from falling back asleep if you don't eat. I experience this pretty dramatically...if I don't eat, I just keep getting more and more anxious...

I second the advice to feed a bit before bed - maybe plain yogurt, or milk? My (incredibly healthy, amazingly enough for what I'm going to say) dad, at the age of 60, still eats a big bowl of ice cream right before bed. He's the same as me!