Is my breastfed son just super hungry compared to my firstborn son or is excess wind the problem?!

[eisbaer]

Hello, I am a GF follower( don't read any further if you don't know what I'm referring to, btw!), and have my four week old DS2 in a great routine already, same as DS1. However, he can't seem to stretch beyond three hours (3 1/2 max) between feeds, and I've checked he is getting enough to eat as I give him a bottle of expressed for two of his feeds(evening and 10 p.m.) and I can't get him to take more than 130 ml then,but he'll still wake up before 10 p.m. for that feed, then at about 1 a.m. for the next, resulting in another feed at 4-5 a.m. What I'm wondering is, is he just much hungrier than his brother, who was a poor feeder generally, or do you think I could somehow get him to take more at a feed, i.e. is he too windy or tired to be taking capacity? Or is it way too early to try to stretch him? Or (and this is the last "or") do you think he's waking himself due to being very windy and having trouble passing bowel movements and wind and then getting fed again when it's not the prime cause of waking? Bit confused as I can't remember the tough first few weeks with DS1 as it was all I could do to get him to wake up to feed atal since he was so early, anyone got experience of hungry boy while trying to instil routine??! Anyone got experience of uncomfortable windy breastfed baby or tips?

[DeJaVousdoo]

I have no tips on how you can force your baby into GFs regime. I just really felt that I should mention that feeding so infrequently is risky for your milk supply.

[eisbaer]

must have plenty milk thanks all the same, he gained 13 oz last week.

[isaidboo]

I think at such a young age you should still be feeding on demand. Which would be more like 2 hourly ime.

[chequersandchess]

Why would you want to stretch him beyond 3.5 hours? Why don't you just feed him when he's hungry?

[slim22]

he wakes up hungry, just feed him.

[CharCharBaGOOOOOOORE]

I would say he is hungrier than your first son. But I would say he is very much so in the range of normal for a bf baby. It is unrealistic expecting a four week old to go longer than 3 hours between feeds, and is very bad for your milk supply. You may have plenty of milk now but restricting feeds can have effects further along the line. You should feed him as often as he wants, be that three hourly or hourly or even constantly. If you feed him more in the day he is more likely to go longer at night with a full tummy. It is way too early to 'stretch him', in fact I would say it's never a good time as they should be allowed to regulate their own appetite. You're due a big growth spurt in a few weeks anyway, which will knock it all out of kilter. Probably don't agree with me but there you go.

[2manychips]

I dont think my dd went 3 hrs between feeds in the whole of 1st 6mo!

[CharCharBaGOOOOOOORE]

DD was the same 2many but she was one before she stretched them any longer!

[tiktok]

eisbaer, your baby is behaving normally and has normal needs for his age. These may differ from his brother's but they are still normal

It sounds hard work just trying to figure out the options - and easier just to feed him in response to his normal and actually (IMO) not very challenging or frequent needs.

It is true that trying to schedule him now could have an effect on your milk supply further down the line, but the main reason why people posting here feel a tad uncomfortable at your question is that your baby is very young to have expectations of what he 'should' be doing, and very young to have his needs 'engineered' in the way you're trying to do....sorry and all that

[Libra1975]

Hello. I'm a GF follower as well, however DS1 is 15 weeks and still wakes up in the night wanting food despite what GF says about them going thru the night (does she really expect 4 week olds to go thru the night? My book is in DS1 room and he is asleep!!). If he does wake up hungry then I feed him.
So as a GF follower I would say as much as a routine is good babies haven't read the book so sometimes you have to fit the routine to them rather than the other way round, in your case it sounds like you have a hungry baby who wants feeding at night and at 4 weeks I think you should just go with what he wants whilst your supply is being established.

[eisbaer]

thanks to all, just for the record, I would NEVER not feed my son when he's hungry, sorry if I gave that impression.

[tiktok]

It's ok, eisbar, I didn't think you were saying that

Just to add, though, what you are doing - giving two bottles of ebm in the evening instead of breastfeeding direct - could really undermine your long term plans to breastfeed.

By doing this, you are making your breasts go a long time between 'sessions' and this calibrates the amount of milk you make downwards - you may have loads of milk at the moment, but this may not continue. Many women make more than they actually need in the first weeks, and this may apply to you, but it does not last.

You may already know this, and sorry if I am saying something not new, but others reading this may need the info.