Who's baby feeds every 4 hours?

[Bunchy09]

Not mine!
My mum, MIL & other 'helpful' relatives & friends keep telling me that by now he should only be feeding every 4 hours. I've just read in a book (during night feed!) that babies should be fed every 3.5-4 hours & that more often than this means there's something wrong with how they're feeding & how much milk they're getting.
Well Angus feeds every 2-3 hours during the day then 4-5 at night. I know he's filling up at feeds as he is content after them, his nappies are full & he's putting on a very healthy amount of weight.
However with everyone going on about this every 4 hours malarkey I'm getting paranoid that he's feeding more often because he's not getting enough during feeds!
Please tell me he is feeding normally for a 10 week old baby or is he feeding too often?
Thank you
xxx

 

[tommyg]

I keep getting the same mince from relatives the 4hour thing might work for FF babies but Breast milk is easier to digest so they get hunger quicker. Just flicked ahead in my week to week book it says for 10 weeks 5 to 8 feeds per day which won't be far off what your doing.

Ask those relatives how long do they go in a day without consuming something, either a drink, a meal or snack I bet its more often than 4 hours. Like wise I'd bet in the animal kingdom the young suckle more often than 4hours and why should babies be diffrent?

 

[InvisibleRain]

Mmmm i know the feeling hun, My girl feeds around every 4-6 hours, and feeds for around 40-50 minutes. Every baby is differant though; and appariently she's gaining enough weight. yet she hasn't shown any stool/Number 2 in a couple of days, yet she's clearly getting enough having softly dribbling some milk afterwards lately... she's a healthy baby.... i guess it depends? She doesn't feed every 2-3 hoours like Midwives etc tell you to do so, when bub's is hungry they'll let you know.... same as when they're finished!....
if you're very concerned take bub to get checked up maybe?

 

[indigo_fairy]

Sounds good to me! When BF my daughter she fed every 1-2hours in the day which is perfectly normal for a BF baby because the milk is digested alot quicker than formula - which is where people get this idea from I guess. As for night feeding we worked hard to increase my supply due to issues at the beginning and night feeds were 1 hour apart for a good while at this age, then gradually went to 2-3 hours.

Every baby is different and from what you said it sounds like your baby is doing perfectly fine. Don't let 'well meaning' family or anyone else tell you when your baby should be eating you know your baby best.

 

[kelly29]

my lo feeds so reg, i actually have no idea how many feeds she does have i know she's growing so all is good i'm under the impression that bf or ff should be fed on demand, esp bf babies as the digest it so much quicker annoying, but i'm sure its the best my lo was sleeping the night, but now she's waking again every couple of hrs that's the thing no day is ever the same? i'm pretty sure most bf mummy's will tell you the same just feed when lo wants it. i hate it when everyone always has to put there crappy input it ( knowalls ) you know what's best so don't worry my family are always saying ( oh no she doesn't want more boobie?) she's bloody hungry they think i b for fun
keep up the good work x

 

[Linny]

My baby feeds every 1-2 hours through the day but only takes about 10 mins. She gulps the milk and i have a very fast let-down. Her weight is perfect, she's gaining how she should and has plenty of wet/dirty nappies!

Through the night its 2-3 hours which is a nitemare but still hoping it'l settle!

Every four hours does sound wonderful though

 

[CeriB]

Erin feeds anywhere between 2-6 hours day and night. There is no routine!! It is normally (in the looses sense of the word) 2-4during the day and 3-6 during the night.

TBH, you can't put a time limit on demand feeding and they just eat whenever they need to. As long as everything is how it is supposed to be (or there abouts!) it's all good!!

 

[summer rain]

Ignore that book and your relatives too; for us 2-3 hours is normal throughout the day (sometimes its even an hour) but he has been bringing his bedtime earlier and earlier by himself; was 1.30am, then midnight, then gradually it has come forward to about 10pm then he sleeps until 5 or 6am usually. At ten weeks though he was still waking at 3am, cluster feeding until 1.30am and feeding every 2-3 hours in the day as well. Even FF babies are advised to be fed on demand by the NHS these days.

 

[LilMamma]

I have been worried about the frequency my baby feeds too. She is 10 weeks old and feeds every four hours (sometimes sooner if she starts whinging). She is fed expressed breast milk. I suppose this is considered breast feeding, so milk more easily digested.

My concern is that maybe I am not feeding her often enough (and this is where I need advice). She is actually a rather small baby - she weighs in at 4.1kilos (8.9lbs). My family are all petite and my husband slender also. I have tried feeding her every 3 hours or on demand in the past week and to be totally honest, she will take in the same amount of milk during a 24 hour period regardless of which routine I choose. She is gaining weight, but slowly. The GP and paediatrician were not concerend when I told them she was feeding every 4 hours (in fact the GP suggested it!).

Is she too small? Am I doing the wrong thing? She has many wet and poopy diapers every day. I don't believe she is dehydrated. She has not lost any weight. She seems happy and does not cry alot. She sleeps through the night. Her last feed is around 6.30pm, she has recently started sleeping through her 11pm feed so I do not wake her. She wakes up next at 3am. Should I be waking her up at 11pm to get that extra feed in? She is currently having 5 feeds in a 24 hour period at 4 hours. She takes in about 4oz at every feed (sometimes more, sometimes less).

Someone suggested to me that she should be fed every two hours. I really don't know what to do! I am just following my babies cues. If she was hungry she would cry and be unhappy, right?

Ohhh I am feeling like a bad mummy at the moment