Generally, babies of average size sleep for three hours between feedings at night (four if you are really lucky), and nurse every two to three hours during the day. It is a rare baby that can accommodate to the proverbial "four hour schedule." It also helps to remember that "three hours between feedings" is calculated from the beginning of one feeding to the beginning of the next. Given that in the very beginning, feeding, burping and diapering may take nearly an hour, that leaves you with barely two hours of sleep at a time.

Once your baby gets on a more reasonable schedule of waking two or three times a night (that is between 8pm and 6am), you are in better shape. Nevertheless. you may still be in for a fairly long haul before you get a full night sleep.

Some babies start sleeping through the night on their own around three or four months. But most babies need at least one night feeding for quite a while longer.

Some babies are just plain ravenous! If your baby seems hungry both during the day and at night, he might still really need that 2am feeding. However, if your baby is unusually hungry only at night, then it is likely that he is waking for your company and comforting -- not the calories.