How long between feeds?

[toothfairyx]

Morning all,
Jonny is now 12 weeks, due date tomorrow
He weighs 7lbs and has been doing 3.5-4oz feeds since being home. Kept him on bottles as he wouldn't stay latched on, however he is having breast milk still no formula at the moment as tons of milk left to get through. I usually wake him up to feed him if he goes 4 1/2 hours, but I've just realised it's now 5 1/2 hours since he last fed and he's only just stirring now.
Given his age vs his weight and amount he can take - do I need to be worried about leaving him this length of time or should I still be waking him up?

 

[Foogirl]

The only time I would wake a baby for a feed, is if they start to lose weight. I generally trust that my baby knows what they are doing, and if they are either sleeping or feeding, Iet them find their own pattern. I know some health care professionals would advise waking babies for a feed, but I do find their advice is split on the issue, which usually indicates to me there is no right or wrong answer. In that case I followed the advice of so many grandma's which was never to wake a sleeping baby!

 

[Sam182]

I know it's formula but on the side of the aptamil tub it says a baby taking 4oz only needs 5 feeds a day so that sounds about right. Sorry if that's not particularly helpful x

 

[toothfairyx]

Yeah I've got some aptamil in just in case and that was what I was thinking - 4oz feeds = 5 x per day which means more like 5 hours not every 4.
Just the HV said not to let him go over 5 hours as his blood sugar could drop.
He put on 320g in 9 days so i think he could afford to drop 1 feed and still gain weight.
Also means more sleep for us at night lol!

 

[_jellybean_]

My son was full term, but in the nicu. I was told no longer than five hours between feeds.

 

[Foogirl]

My HV told me plenty of stuff that was plain wrong! I would suggest if you are concerned, ask your NNICU consultant. They will know better.

Should also point out that sleep is very important for all babies, but especially preemies. It's all about the right balance.

 

[toothfairyx]

Thats the other thing Foogirl - got a letter yesterday for his first hospital review - 5th April - thats nearly 3 months post discharge!! That can't be right can it?

 

[Sam182]

Our first review was on Thursday, exactly 2 weeks after discharge

 

[Foogirl]

Ours was about 6 weeks. You could always phone and check. It does seem like a long time.

 

[AP]

We didn't wake her til we were comfortable with her rate of weight gain. The HV advised us to stop at seven weeks but we waited a few more before we decided to stop setting the alarm clock

 

[danielle1987]

I would let ur lo sleep and wake when he is hungry. With regards to the hospital app. We got reece home on the 6th sept and app for paediatrician was 8th November. He was on oxygen aswell. Try not to worry too much about the times of his feeding, Hard to relax tho when ur in neonatal for a long time you have drummed into you, Feeding regimes, Monitor alarms etc etc. Ur lo will soon let you know when he hungry, take advantage of the quiet of him sleeping and get some you time x

 

[toothfairyx]

Well I've given him 24 hours of freedom and he's nailed a 4 oz bottle every 5-6 hours. Nearly 6 hours through the night lol which is great for us . He's still demand feeding ie waking up and knowing he is hungry so maybe I'll set the alarm for 6 hours just in case and see how he gets on over the next week.
I had to take Jamie for his review at 6 weeks which is another reason I think 3 months seems a long time. The letter also says "following referral from your GP" which is making me wonder if it's wrong as obviously he's not been referred in by his GP.