5 week old going 5/6 hours between feeds?

[Sue Dunhym]

My baby girl suddenly seems not to need to eat as often as she was and can sleep or go for 5/6 hours sometimes without demanding food. She is healthy and gaining weight well, although she hasn't pooed for 5 days.

Given how much it was drummed into me at the beginning that she must eat often, I get a bit anxious now when she goes so long. Is it ok, do you think? It has now been 4 hours since she last ate and she's been asleep for the last 3 hours. I am having to physically stop myself from waking her as she must need the sleep and she is a nightmare when she's tired. And yesterday she had a nightmare day when she was awake and crying on and off for 12 hours (not due to hunger).

Tell me to count my blessings and not go crazy and wake her!

ETA: She is exclusively breastfed.

 

[MelanieAnn]

Hi Sue
Babies do need to feed frequently - but it's also really variable!

This might help to work out if she's getting enough: https://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/t022600.asp

One way to encourage more feedings is to spend time skin to skin. Preferably in bed together, maybe for a whole day. Another good strategy is to keep baby really close, eg, in a sling. Also you might want to think about the classic ways in which babies are quietened without the boob and avoid them - eg, dummies. Generally it's a great idea to encourage baby to breast whenever possible, esp at the beginning!

Melanie

 

[Sue Dunhym]

She doesn't have a dummy. She has plenty of wet nappies - always wet when I change her. She seems content when I feed her, and takes in plenty of milk as far as I can tell. But it has been 5 days since she pooed, which I understood was normal.

She wouldn't sleep if she was hungry, would she?

 

[MelanieAnn]

In the first six weeks, though, it's normal to poo 3/4+ times a day. After that..... well, it varies! But in the first six weeks, "poo is the clue" to whether or not she's getting enough hind milk (fat = poo).

All might be fine.... not all babies are at the peak of the bell curve... but it sounds like you're worried?
Could you call a helpline?

Melanie

 

[gemabee]

i was told the poo thing is fine... my lo can go days without... then have a day were he has lots of poo's.
personally i think there's no problem hun... if ur lo is gainin weight nd has wet nappies then she's feedin enough.
if ur worried talk to ur hv or gp - sometimes the advice i get on here worries me... nd then i find out its incorrect... so take all advice (unless from a professional) with a pinch of salt -
no offence to anyone meant... but i've got myself upset with advice i've read on here... thinkin i'm doin somethin wrong... only for the information on here to actually be wrong.

 

[Sue Dunhym]

No, it's very normal and perfectly fine for bf babies to go up to 10 days without pooing at this stage. I checked with my HV last week and they were unconcerned about the pooing. Their digestive systems are mature enough and because breast milk is so perfect nutritionally there is a lot less waste.

 

[ShanandBoc]

my nearly 4 week old who is ex BF goes 4-5 hours between feeds, sometimes she may want boob after 3 hrs but generally its around 4 and she is gaining weight and pooing nicely lol

 

[emera35]

I was worried about the pooing when LO was tiny too. For the first few months he seemed to have a poo day every 5 days or so, when he'd poo like mad, and then nothing at all for another few days His weight gain over that time was normal, so i stopped worrying once i realised he was fine. Does she feed closer together at other times? I know we used to have only one feed in the night (so 1 feed in 12 hours), but then he'd be feeding very often in the afternoons. Like has been said, you could try lots of close contact, skin to skin etc if if you want to encourage her to feed more, or check with your hv or doctor if you are concerned

 

[kaylz]

My LO goes 7/8 hours at night without a feed! I feed him at 8pm and put him down and then lasts until 3.30am/4am most nights before I feed him. He is packing on weight (91st centile) so no problems there

However, he cluster feeds in the early evening and first thing in the morning to make up for it.

Don't worry -they know what they need and your instincts are probably right that if Maz was hungry, she'd wake up and tell you about it soon enough