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Confused about when to let Ian sleep through the night, I posted this in the La Leche League forum and also emailed Linda Worzer, the woman who taught our Bradley birth class:

"My month-old baby son is gaining weight well and I think our supply-demand relationship is getting very close to established. I no longer get way engorged at night and can go 4 hours at a time at night feeding him.So how do I know when I can go longer? Do I wait for him to wake us up to feed or do I continue to wake him every 3-4 hours?

His pediatrician said he can even go 5 hours w/o feeding at night, but he was thinking solely of his good weight-gain. What about my milk supply? I'm scared it will diminish. But if my lo is sleeping so soundly through what used to be a feeding, my instinct is to leave him alone and let his hunger pangs wake us up.

Help!! I'd love more sleep for all three of us, but I don't want to screw up my milk supply or his weight gain. btw - He feeds a ton during the day, about every 2 hours."

Here is Linda's response:

"He is mature enough to wake and let you know when he needs to eat. You can allow him to sleep as long as you wish at night. Many babies "cluster feed" (as you mentioned) during the day to ensure they receive all the calories and nutrients they need.

At 6 weeks of age, most babies experience a growth spurt during which they return to more frequent requests for feedings. After that, it's not uncommon for a baby to sleep longer at night and possibly to nap longer during the daytime.

Your milk supply is firmly established by three weeks postpartum, so no worries there.
Relax, enjoy, and get more sleep - before you know if, he'll be teething and waking frequently at night again ; )

P.S. My second child (who was exclusivey breastfed) slept consistently 12 hours at night from the age of three months and took one two hour nap in the daytime. She topped the growth charts in height and weight."