Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Flip

Original poster

Controlled Feeding - Is this a good idea?

21 replies

LDNmummy · 08/11/2011 13:20

I am trying to get my 5 week old into a routine of sorts and my first step to achieving this is attempting to implement a feeding schedule.

She has no routine at all at the moment and I want her to sleep better too. Right now she still sleeps all day and wakes at night.

My friends did this and found it helped them but after an experience with CC I wish I could forget, I am apprehensive to try things that might leave my baby feeling seriously upset or distressed.

One friend told me I could try waiting progressively longer periods from when baby starts to show hunger (10 mins first then 15 and 20 etc..) and the other said it worked for her to just feed every four hours and soothe her baby during these longer intervals with a dummy and lots of contact.

I am starting today and am thinking of starting somewhere in the middle with a feed every two hours and soothing baby inbetween with a dummy and lots of contact.

Any MN's try this approach and is it advisable/ any good/ OK for baby?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

LowLevelWhiiingeing · 08/11/2011 13:23

she's only 5 weeks old, I think to expect a little baby of this age to sleep well at night is setting you, and her, up for failure. IMO she's too young to leave to cry. she has needs that she needs to be met.

CombineArvester · 08/11/2011 13:25

No no no no no. Don't do a feeding schedule please. Scheduled meals are imo for solid food. Or a dreamfeed when she's older. Feed her when she's hungry, it is cruel to make a tiny baby wait for a feed unless you have to.

Lots of babies naturally fall into their own routine. Mine started leaving longer gaps between feeds at about 2 months, maybe 2-3 hours in the day.

Sleep / bedtime routine is a whole different thing. Maybe now you can start doing bath/feed in quiet dark room/sing song/bed every night or something like that. She is still little for this though.

worldgonecrazy · 08/11/2011 13:25

You don't say if you are bottle or breastfeeding? If you are breastfeeding then forget routine for a couple more weeks, your LO will get there in their own time. Feeding every four hours could harm your milk supply at this early stage.

StrandedBear · 08/11/2011 13:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mrsbaffled · 08/11/2011 13:30

Your baby will naturally fall into their own routine soon enough. I really wouldn't try to enforce one on them as it will only cause misery if you are denying food when they are hungry. 4 hours sounds a terribly long time to wait between feeds. 2-3 hours is much more natural at this age.

However, you can encourage them to sleep longer at night by cluster feeding in the evening. Feed as much as you can between 6 and 10pm say, and LO should sleep for a good chunk of time in the night.

mumofthreekids · 08/11/2011 13:32

I found that at around 6 weeks my babies "woke up" and stopped sleeping all day. Then you can start teaching them the difference between day and night, eg encouraging them to "play" for a while rather than going straight to sleep after a daytime feed. You may well find that the feeds start to fall into a bit more of a pattern around this age too.

So I guess I am saying that IMO it is likely to happen naturally in the near future without you trying to force it.

In a few weeks if you still feel there is no routine at all, you can start being a bit more proactive about it.

Moulesfrites · 08/11/2011 13:39

Why would you do this? Surely it is much easier to just feed than to try to distract and listen to her cry until an arbitrary time. I eat more frequently than every 4 hours and I am 28 years old. She is 5 weeks old, her stomach is the size of a walnut, if that, and it fills and empties quickly. A routine will gradually evolve. My d had a bedtime established by 10/12 weeks and was feeding every 3 hours during the day by 4/5 mo, and then once he started solids the routine changed again to accomodate these, bfs and naps. You don't say if you are bf but not feeding on demand can affect your supply at this early stage.

Original poster

LDNmummy · 08/11/2011 13:44

Thank you everyone. I am glad I asked first now!

I wasn't sure as my friends had done this and it seemed fine but I am also very apprehensive about any controlled routine.

With her sleep, it is just that she doesn't seem able to sleep deeply and I was wondering if a feeding schedule would help.

OP posts:

naturalbaby · 08/11/2011 13:46

i've had 3 babies and non of them ever went as long as 4hrs between feeds during the day, even when on 3 solid meals a day!
focus on trying to keep her awake during the day more and keeping things dark, quiet and calm at night to help her body clock.

babies have a lot of growth spurts in the first few months, it is very very difficult to know when they are really hungry or just unsettled so the first option should always be milk.

i used a dummy too much to try and get into a routine with dc3 when he was a few weeks old and he got hysterical with hunger - i was blinded by the routine and totally confused about what he really needed/wanted.

Original poster

LDNmummy · 08/11/2011 13:48

I am breastfeeding.

It was recommended by doctors for my friends to try this.

OP posts:

RitaMorgan · 08/11/2011 13:50

Think how often you have a meal/snack/drink during the day - it's a lot more frequently than 4 hourly I bet! Let her eat when she is hungry, stop when she is full (no trying to persuade her to have an extra oz she doesn't really want) and regulate her own appetite.

RillaBlythe · 08/11/2011 13:51

She's only 5 weeks, honestly, routine will come. My DS2 is 7 weeks & I can see a pattern emerging. It's too young to make her cry.

naturalbaby · 08/11/2011 13:59

if it was advice for your friend's baby then no matter how similar your babies are, your baby is not the same as hers and does not need the same routine/advice.

fresh air will help baby sleep better, 4pm seems to be the magic hour for an afternoon walk in the fresh air (tried and tested!) as much natural daylight as possible.

worldgonecrazy · 08/11/2011 14:16

Doctors are not breastfeeding experts - many of them have no training at all in breastfeeding and what is normal. Most midwives and hvs also have minimal or no training in breastfeeding. If you want breastfeeding information Kellymom is a great website put together by breastfeeding experts, with medical/research references to back up their suggestions.

Original poster

LDNmummy · 08/11/2011 15:08

Thank you everyone, I will follow your advice as it is tried and tested by real mums.

An afternoon walk it is

OP posts:

massistar · 08/11/2011 16:55

Flippin heck, and they wonder why breastfeeding rates are so poor in this country! At 5 weeks she is still tiny and in general scheduled feeding does not work well for breastfed babies. In saying that I didn't have a clue with my first and went down the whole Gina Ford route which almost drove me to the point of insanity. I found a great breastfeeding support group where they had a breastfeeding counsellor and loads of peer support from other mums who'd had real experiences. Best of luck!

massistar · 08/11/2011 16:56

Just read that back, wasn't criticising you OP, but the health care professionals giving out crap advice!

mumeeee · 08/11/2011 19:02

She's only 5 weeks old too early to
do a feeding schedule. Just feed her when
she's hungry.

Octaviapink · 08/11/2011 20:06

NO! Feeding on demand is crucial for establishing the links in the brain between appetite and satisfaction. Babies who aren't fed on demand - especially breastfed, because it's so easily digested they can't go terribly long between feeds - get so desperate that they eventually switch off their hunger signal. Then they don't know when they're hungry or when they've had enough and can set up all kinds of food related issues later on. You also need to feed her when she's hungry to ensure you have enough supply to satisfy her. Be prepared for days when you are pinned to the sofa.

Food and sleep are not related - five week old babies are still very tiny and haven't yet worked out much about the world. They don't sleep terribly deeply - it's not a reflection on anything you have done/failed to do and it certainly isn't related to a feeding routine. She will fall naturally into a routine of her own. In a few weeks you will probably find that she's awake for about 90 minutes, asleep for about 45 all day. Night is a different story. The routine will change multiple times as she grows - you can safely be led by her.

MigGril · 08/11/2011 20:29

Not sleeping very deeply at this age is a good thing. If she slept to deeply she wouldn't demad feed very well and it's also a SIDS risk, which is why they recomend baby's sleeping on there backs as baby's tend to sleep more soundly on there tummy's and are more likly to over heat.

Those first few months are hard work but you sound like your doing a great job.

fandango75 · 08/11/2011 21:19

The hospital out our son on a 4 hour feeding schedule (he was in neo natal for 2 days)

we mix fed

He never cried in between / was never left to 'wait' when hungry i think this is because he only knew 4 hour feeds from literally the minute he was born (they would call you up to neo natal for the feeds as mums obviously in other ward)

He has no food issues now whatsoever and has a healthy and varied diet (nearly 3 years old)

He has always slept well and we have no issues at bedtime / night waking (he slept from 11pm until 5.30 from 4 months old)

We would not have put him on this schedule ourselves however seeing how well it worked for him we were not about to change it when we left hospital

I think healthcare proffessionals should be listened too (as well as other reliable sources) so you can make an informed decision about the best way to feed and nuture your baby.

good luck

Flip