Here's my theory to throw into the pot! When moms are awake during the day taking care of their daily activiites they will immediately respond to signs of hunger and may even offer the breast before the baby cues, if they are uncomfortable with too much milk. When the baby shows signs of hunger mom will respond. But at night in a dark cozy cave, dwelling, tree whatever, exhauted from her day of foraging and lugging water and other daily activities,  unless the baby is at a higher level of alertness and fussiness, the mom and baby might sleep too long. There are no alarm clocks in a cave, and mom's body is craving sleep. So the baby has to be more insistent at night. The babies who were soothed by the dark and were content to sleep with their mama all night long,got skinny and sick and did not pass on their DNA. The babies who were bothered by the darkness, who started to act like little pistols at sundown and kept it up all night long, brought in a good milk supply, put on weight and thrived.! So we have survival of the night time fussiest THis has already been set up in utero, through the fact that babies like to be rocked to sleep, so they are already more predisposed to be awake at night(Anne's theory). ANd also explains why babies find the bright lights of daytime a signal that it is safe to sleep(Cathy's theory, kind of)...THis also seems to be in line with nursing mothers waking more easily at night than their partners. Nature got it right on both ends...babies respond by being more alert and moms respond by being more arousable....
Kathy Lilleskov RN IBCLC

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