breastfeeding and night feeds- how often are you up?

[vannah]

my dd id 6 weeks old and i am b/f her with 1 formula feed at night.
she needs feeding every 2 hours, if Im lucky - every 3. This happens at night too.

is this true of all b/fed babies?

[3andnomore]

at that age it probably is true for bf feeding Baby's...do you feel there is any difference to the feeding pattern after giving Formula, if not, then I would start to wonder if it is beneficial at all.

Do you sleep in the same room/bed? Just wondering because you are asking about being up at night...and I remember not really waking in the night, sort of just latched little ones on half asleep and probably was back asleep soonish, and when Bubba was finished he was just put back either into cot beside me, or in the big bed beside me (I could never really get the hang of laying down and feeding, lol)

[morocco]

normal in the early days and ff won't nec help them sleep better at night either

as 3andnomore says, i don't get up at night either cos dd is in bed and dreamfeed but i finally got hang of feeds lying down - its brill

[morocco]

normal in the early days and ff won't nec help them sleep better at night either

as 3andnomore says, i don't get up at night either cos dd is in bed and dreamfeed but i finally got hang of feeds lying down - its brill

[Piffle]

depends some nights ds2 (9 mths) sleeps through from dreamfeed at 11pm, other times it's every 2 hrs. Teething causes it mostly we think. When not teething he is a dream.
FWIW I know plenty of FF babies who sleep worse than ds1 - he is a quick feeder and instantly settles after a feed, some of my friends are up winding for an hour!!!! At 9 mths too!

[Egypt]

9 mnths here too and am up anywhere from 3-5 times. bf too. sometimes ff at df but makes no consistent differences either way.

[NellyTheElephant]

Sounds very normal. Please do not think that ff makes any differnce - it's a myth!! Babies do what they do. Both mine were exclusively bf and slept through 12 ish hours a night from about 9 weeks. I have friends whose ff babies haven't slept through until 6 months. Every baby is individual. My only suggestion would be not always to immediately feed her when she wakes. Maybe try re-settling her first. If no luck witin 5 mins, then feed, but sometimes you might find she goes back to sleep without feeding as night wakes are often for comfort rather then for a feed.

[dal21]

Think it is true of all babies that age, they are still very young. I dropped nightfeeds when DS was 12 weeks - I second Nelly's suggestion - I basically started to resettle DS without giving feed when he was 10 weeks old and upped his feeds during the day (basically persisted in putting him to the breast for longer). He still wakes at night at 19 weeks, but resettles without feeding.

[vannah]

thanks everyone.

I dont mind the night feeds as such, just the amount of times im doing them. I cant lie and feed, she latches badly plus I have to sit up to wind her for at least 10-15 mins afterwards else she vomits and chokes.

She is in a basket near me...

[blueshoes]

Hi vannah, you can try the feeding lying down thing in a few weeks' time. As your dd gains head control and just gets bigger so that the alignment is better, you might find it will work. I know that if ds did not feed lying down, he would have been weaned a lot earlier. Makes such a difference to be able to drift off the sleep whilst feeding. Oh, ds co-sleeps because he wakes far too many times to mention.

[blueshoes]

Same goes for the winding. Your dd will need it less and less, especially after 6 months.

[Mungarra]

I agree with NellyTheElephant. It may not always be necessary to feed her. My six week old can sometimes be settled back to sleep without feeding if she's just waking up and making noises (if she's actually crying then she'll need feeding). She sleeps in a bedside cot next to me and sometimes she'll go back to sleep if I just hold her hand.

[LoveAngel]

At 6 weeks I was feeding every 3-4 hours, I think (although I stopped soon after). I think every 3 hours is pretty normal for such a young baby, isn't it?

[Indith]

ds fed every 2 hours during the night (and every hour and a half in the day) at that age, ever hour or 45 mins when on a growth spurt

He gradually readjusted his feeds by himself.

[skidaddle]

hi my ds is 5 weeks and feeds every 2-3 hours
bl**dy knackering, isn't it?!

[spottyzebra]

well dd was ex bf till 6 months, and started sleeping through 11 till 7 from 3 weeks and from 6 weeks has slept through everynight so far
now sleeps 12-14 hours

so if anyone tells you formula makes them sleep more and bf can't sleep through, its shit

also its fab to not have to get up in the night, just bring babe into your bed or cosleep, how wonderful
cherish the times, its your special quite time with them

[spangly]

Hi. My DS is breastfed and at 20 weeks will wake anywhere from hourly to 3 hourly. My DD (now 2 1/2) however, slept for 13 hours from 12 weeks. I guess every baby is different