Question about feeding routines.

[sarah1980]

I have noticed from reading threads on here that generally babies will have regular feeds throughout the day for example every 3-4 hours and then quite often miss one out at night. I know the goal is to get baby to sleep right through but what I would like to know is when do you start missing out the night feeds? Is it usual that you would start to get into this routine right from birth or do newborns need to be fed regularly during the day and night at first then the routine of going longer without at nights is started, if so when do you start this?

Please excuse my ignorance, this is my first baby and I'm clueless lol!

Thanks,

Sarah.xxx

 

[Neko]

Newborns feed around the clock.

Most tiny new babies feed every 2-3 hours. They can't take in much at a time. They start lengthening their time between feedings as they can take more in. My daughter still doesn't sleep through the night, but I do get one good five sometimes six hour stretch during the night. She's not a great eater, so I give her a bottle every 3.5 - 4 hours during the day. I want her to eat during the day and sleep at night.

 

[bathbabe]

Harrison fed every 3hours day and night. He dropped the night feeds himself, by simply not waking up..X

 

[Nessicle]

Last night was the first night since Ava was born that she slept right through from her last feed at 9pm to 5am and she's weird with her feeds she wont always take 4oz every 3 hours sometimes she takes 1-2oz then is hungry in another hour its a right faff x

 

[Farie]

When a baby is young its really best to just feed on demand, they have tiny tummies and need to eat as and when. Its very rare that you find a baby who will naturally settle into a fixed routine

Most bubs will find there own pattern by 3-4 months, some sleep through, some don't. They are all different.

 

[zoe87]

When Hollie was newborn she would feed every 3 hours up until 10 o clock at night then sleep through till 4 then wake up for another feed then sleep through till 8. this lasted 2 weeks. Since then she still feeds every 3 hours up until 9/10 o clock where she has her last feed and then sleeps right through and wakes between 7 and 9 in the morn.

 

[whoops]

Until Lily started gaining weight and keeping it on, I fed her every 3 hours, which sometimes included waking her at night.

Now I feed on a loose 3 hour schedule during the day and let her sleep at night - she usually wakes for one feed at about 4am.

 

[bigbetty]

In the last couple of weeks Fran sometimes goes about 6hrs between feeds at night, but not always. It can be between 8pm and 2am or 11pm and 5am so there isn't any set pattern.

Just go with the flow hun, this is our first too and we just feed her when she is hungry - you soon learn the signs and LO will settle into their own pattern.

 

[sarah1980]

Thanks for all your replies ladies. Is that what is meant by feeding on demand, letting baby tell you when its hungry as in baby will wake up crying when it is hungry during the night?

Sarah.xxx

 

[Leanne87]

Tyler feeds every 3-4 hours during the day (he is 4wks old) he takes 5oz at each feed (sma gold). He has his last feed at 12.30am and sleeps through till 7am (most days) he has done this since birth.

7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, 10pm, 12.30am (then repeats)

 

[Jibber Jabber]

Max feeds 3 hourly during the day with his last bottle at around 6.30 - 7.00pm. He then has a dreamfeed at around 10.45pm and that lasts him till 6.30am. He gradually stopped waking, we noticed that he was just waking out of habit when we put his dummy in and he settled straight away.

They will drop them on their own, I think I read that if they take 1-2ozs then they are just habitually waking.

 

[llsarahll]

When Ryan was born he was feeding every 1.5/2 hours
Even through the night I didn't really start a routine till around 2/3 months now he feeds 3 hourly

 

[whoops]

Thanks for all your replies ladies. Is that what is meant by feeding on demand, letting baby tell you when its hungry as in baby will wake up crying when it is hungry during the night?

Sarah.xxx

That's it - rather than feeding at a specific time, you let your LO decide.

I sort of feed on demand - as in, I don't generally wake her during the day to feed anymore, and I'd never make her wait because it's not a certain time, but if she's crying after 2 hours and not 'due' for a bottle for another hour, I put hunger down as the least probable reason why she's crying, and I'll try to settle her in other ways first.

The problem with feeding purely on demand is that some other cries can be misread as hunger.

 

[bigbetty]

Thanks for all your replies ladies. Is that what is meant by feeding on demand, letting baby tell you when its hungry as in baby will wake up crying when it is hungry during the night?

Sarah.xxx

That's it - rather than feeding at a specific time, you let your LO decide.

I sort of feed on demand - as in, I don't generally wake her during the day to feed anymore, and I'd never make her wait because it's not a certain time, but if she's crying after 2 hours and not 'due' for a bottle for another hour, I put hunger down as the least probable reason why she's crying, and I'll try to settle her in other ways first.

The problem with feeding purely on demand is that some other cries can be misread as hunger.

I agree with this. We have fed on demand from birth and Fran doesn't usually cry when she is hungry she just sucks her fingers and gets agitated - but this can sometimes mean she is just tired as well lol. She normally goes 3-4hrs so if it hasn't been that long I will try and settle her first but if all else fails I know she really is hungry! She will sometimes only go about 2.5hrs if she is having a growth spurt.

 

[sarah1980]

whoops and big betty - thanks for that, just what I wanted to know, makes sense now.

Sarah.xxx

 

[lozzy21]

As the others have said babys will feed every few hours round the clock for the first month or so. At first you should feed on demand but not let them go longer than 4 hours day or night untill they have regained their birth weight (its normal for babys to loose a bit of weight when they are first born) and then contunue to put weight on for a week or so.

 

[Bluebell321]

We settled into a routine of 3 hourly feeding throughout the day about 3 weeks ago. Emily feeds at 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm. She was waking in the night around 4am for a small feed, but has stopped this about a week ago. We demand fed in the beginning, but this routine now works well for us. Occasionally I have to wake her at 7am as she's still asleep!

 

[babz1986]

Ellie never really had a feeding routine at all lol - right from newborn I knew she'd be ready for her next feed anywhere between 2-4 hours but couldn't give an exact time - where as my friends little boy was dead on the 4 hourly routine.

At night was random too - although she did tend to wake up for feed between 2 and 3, and she did only tend to wake just the once.

This was like it for the first 4-5 months.

We started early weaning at 4 months as she was on hungry baby milk and feeding every 1 1/2 - 2 hrs and been sick because she was taking too much, even weaning she was still waking in the night (only the once) with every now and again she sleeping through.

Its only been the last month really that she's been sleeping 12 hours at night, but seriously just go with the flow - I tried to get Ellie into a routine but it didn't work - some fall naturally into one, others dont