need some advice!

[Rhiannon]

hello,

LO is nearly 6 weeks old, and up until a week ago we were demand feeding him and he was having 2-3oz every 2-3 hours!

as we didnt think this was working the best for him we managed to get him to have 4-5 ounces every 4 hours instead and this is working nicely and he is settling much easier at nap/sleep times.

he is having feeds at 9am, 1pm, 5pm, 9pm, 1am, 5am.

as soon as he settled into this feeding routine he stoped waking up in the nights for his 1am feed, however i thought it was best to wake him up to take it as otherwise he might wake up at another time and break his routine.

i know new babies cant necessarily be forced into routine but this is working well for him. im just wondering if anyone has any advice on how long before i should leave him sleep through his 1am feed and not wake him up.

thanks in advance xx

 

[blahblahblah]

With my LO I kept to a routine in the day, and let him do his own thing in the night. If you are giving him a bedtime and doing the whole 'boring' night feed thing, the chances are that he will go longer in the night. If you don't wake him he may go an extra hour or two, which would mean getting up for a 7am feed rather than have more broken sleep.

I worked on the basis that even one less feed in the night was worth the feed times varying during the day. Why get up twice if you don't have to?

 

[Claire788]

Hiya hope you dont mind me asking, my LO is doing the same 2-3oz every 2-3 hours, how did you get him to change and get a better routine? I'm curious to know in case he doesnt do it on his own!

 

[ellie27]

Our Anna is about same age and takes 4-5 oz every 3-4 hours or whenever she is hungry.

I dont think a newborn should go 9pm-5am without a feed inbetween - I think thats a bit long - just my opinion based on what my midwife recommended. I do find it hard to believe that your LO sleeps for 8 hours without waking!!! If it was me I would wake baby for the feed.

As you did say, newborns dont really have a routine as such and will wake/want fed whenever - I wouldnt be surprised if these feeding times all change in the next week or so.

 

[OmarsMum]

Omar is 3 mnths old & can go for upto 8 hrs at night without a feed & he only takes 6 oz bottle at bedtime. He only takes 5 oz bottles 4 or 5 times a day. Ur LOs r a bit younger, so I think it's ok as long as they'r happy about it.

btw, he's a big baby & I feed on demand.

 

[Rhiannon]

Hiya hope you dont mind me asking, my LO is doing the same 2-3oz every 2-3 hours, how did you get him to change and get a better routine? I'm curious to know in case he doesnt do it on his own!

basicly chose set times for feeding and kept him occupied during the day so he didnt realise he was missing feeds like taking him out for walks or in the car. after 2-3 days he is settling into it - is a bit grizzly an hour before his feed but he takes 5oz then and is a much happier baby!! pm me if u want xx

 

[Rhiannon]

Our Anna is about same age and takes 4-5 oz every 3-4 hours or whenever she is hungry.

I dont think a newborn should go 9pm-5am without a feed inbetween - I think thats a bit long - just my opinion based on what my midwife recommended. I do find it hard to believe that your LO sleeps for 8 hours without waking!!! If it was me I would wake baby for the feed.

As you did say, newborns dont really have a routine as such and will wake/want fed whenever - I wouldnt be surprised if these feeding times all change in the next week or so.

i didnt want to leave him go 8 hrs without a feed-just they say not to wake a sleeping baby.. xx

 

[Eala]

My general feeling is that he wouldn't sleep if he was hungry?

We totally demand fed, and just followed my LO's lead when it came to night feeds. She started off with 2 (at about 2am and 5/6am). At about 5 weeks she dropped the 5am feed, and a couple of weeks later dropped the 2am feed as well.

Why not give it a try one night and see just when he wakes up? The thing is, if you find that what happens doesn't work for you all, you can change back to how you were before Maybe be prepared with a slightly bigger bottle than normal. Though my LO never takes a big bottle in the morning, no idea why!

 

[OmarsMum]

Though my LO never takes a big bottle in the morning, no idea why!

Omar is the same. He only takes 4-5 oz when he wakes up after 8-9 hrs sleep without a feed. I think it's like coffee for them, just few sips to make them start their day

 

[suzib76]

i wouldnt wake lo tbh, unless you have been told for medical reasons not to let your lo go 'x' amount of time without a feed then it is totally ok to follow baby's lead

we were up twice a night for a while but Lana is only up once now, also when she wakes in the morning will only take a 4/5oz