Baby sleeps 11 HOURS straight & only has 4 bottle-feeds a day - is this ok?

[Cabbage]

Hi Girls,

My LO has taken to sleeping right through the night lately; we put her down at 9pm and she doesn't wake again until 8am.

I have woken her a few times at 5am to give her a bottle, but if I left her alone, she would sleep right through.

HV told me that because she was thriving, I could now feed her on demand during the night - the problem is, that if I let her sleep through, she misses a feed, which means she only has four bottles during the day.... I have been advised to give her 5 bottles in a 24 hour period but I am unable to fit 5 in as she sleeps too much during the night... what do I do?

 

[meow951]

I would let her sleep hun. She will wake in the night herself if she's hungry. Also, if you wake her it might become a habit for her even when she doesn't really have a bottle at night.

She might be happy with 4 bottles a day, i know my LO was and in the past week he's upped himself to 5 on his own. I would just keep an eye on her weight and if it starts to be a problem then try and fit another one in in the day.

I tend to take my HV advice on board but let my LO mainly lead the way. I think babies know how much they need and adjust themselves (unless there is a weight problem etc). Plus i always think if babies sleep through they are content so must be getting enough milk

 

[Ruby x]

my LO is 8 weeks and has a bottle at 7am, 11am, 3pm, 7pm & 11pm. x

 

[Cabbage]

my LO is 8 weeks and has a bottle at 7am, 11am, 3pm, 7pm & 11pm. x

That's 5 feeds a day, the problem I am having is that I have to fit 5 feeds in a 13 hour period... She has been having her bottles four hours apart; should I fit all five bottles in the the 13 hour period 3 hours apart or should I stick with the 4 bottles every 4 hours??

 

[littleblonde]

my lo has been having 4 feeds a day since around 2 months. I have tried given her 5 feeds but she takes less each bottles so the overal amount is the same or less. Im sure it should be about the total oz a day and not the total bottles.my lo sleeos around 13 hours so i cant get anymore in.

 

[Loui1001]

my lo has been having 4 feeds a day since around 2 months. I have tried given her 5 feeds but she takes less each bottles so the overal amount is the same or less. Im sure it should be about the total oz a day and not the total bottles.my lo sleeos around 13 hours so i cant get anymore in.

My LO is exactly the same, he seems to get in enough oz through the day to sleep through at night. He is thriving and happy and I know he'll wake if he needs more milk but sometimes I worry that he should be on 5 bottles instead of 4.

 

[Jazzy-NICU]

How many ozs is she having per feed? I look at the total ozs over the day rather than how many feeds my LO takes x

 

[loz27]

my lo started sttn at this age and i had the same problem fitting i n the 5 feeds. i started to do a dream feed around 9.30pm but my hv advised against this, she said i was creating an unnesassery habit. i was more concerned as he'd had slow weight gain and dropped several centiles. i decided to go with his lead and just give the four feeds and found he was often having more oz in four feeds than when i was trying to squeeze the five in and his weight gain was no worse off on the 4 feeds neither.

i wouldn't wake your lo to feed, you might regret it later on lol x

 

[Cabbage]

Hi Girls, thanks for your replies - I haven't been able to sleep beyond 5am as I am so preoccupied with all of this... I am so relieved to see that I am not the only one who has faced this dilemma!

She drinks about 720ml (24oz) with 4 bottles, should I put more in? She used to drink 900 ml (36oz) a day with 5 bottles. I put in 180ml (6oz) in each bottle. How much are they supposed to have? I guess it's per weight, she hasn't been weighed for a while, but I am going to bring her in on Tues to get weighed. She was 11lbs 7oz at her last weigh in which was 5 weeks ago but I can't go by that as I have no idea what she weighs now....

 

[Jazzy-NICU]

Is she draining the 6oz bottles? If so add in another oz, a baby needs (on average) 150mls of milk per kg of bodyweight or 2/2.5 times their weight for example a 10lb baby would need 20-25ozs, hope this helps!

 

[Cabbage]

Is she draining the 6oz bottles?

Yes, she drains them every time so I will add an extra ounce.

Thank you!

 

[Blue_bear]

My lo is the same. he only has 4 now, when i can i try and squeeze an extra bottle in but he wont take a full one. have decided i will keep an eye on his weight but follow his lead for now. i am 100% sure he will wake if he is hungry!

 

[loz27]

i usually up the ounces when my lo is emptying more than one bottle. ive been offering 8 ounce since he dropped to 4 feeds but more often than not he as 7.

my hv said if they dont wake during the night for a feed then they are obviously getting enough during day.

i wouldnt worry, your lo is drinking well in the 4 feeds and when you up the ounces she'll likely have a few more oz x

 

[heiusm]

 

[xueke]

my LO is 8 weeks and has a bottle at 7am, 11am, 3pm, 7pm & 11pm. x

 

[Fergie]

I spoke to my nurse /HV this morning as my little one has been doing the same. He said to leave her sleeping and up her bottles to 6oz a feed and if she's hungry she'll eat, if not then she's happy as she is and she's currently 10lb 15oz @8weeks.

 

[Cabbage]

Yeah, my nurse said the same (LO is 13lbs, 3 oz at 12 weeks), she said it's ok once LO is thriving

 

[kanga]

my lo sleeps a lot too so in the day i feed him every 3 hours to fit in his 5 bottles x

 

[munchykins]

maybe you could offer your LO a "dream feed" before you go to bed. If they are hungry they will drink it

 

[BabaPu]

I was the same as you when my lb was about 12 weeks and started to not wake up for his late evening feed. For a couple of days I woke him up to feed but this resulted in a really unsettled night. We then decided to let him guide us as we had been feeding on demand up until that point and so why stop now. Since then, and he is now 6 months, he had 4 bottles in a 24 hour period. He did start to drain his 7oz bottle and so we made each bottle up to 8oz - sometimes he would only drink the 7 but often only left dreggs in the bottom. I always offer him more though if he drains a bottle.

He is now starting to wake up during the night but I think this may be due to a growth spurt. Someone needs to have a word with him that 6 months is not the age to start waking up during the night - lol!