10 week old still feeding every two hours at night

[Tiredoutmum]

Hi there

My DD is just over 10 weeks and is still feeding about every 2 hours in the night. She is so far entirely breast fed and I'm sure she doesn't need to feed so often but I don't have the energy to go through trying to settle her in other ways, especially as my 2 year old is in the room next door and I fear she'll wake him.

Do people think this is normal for her age and when could I start trying to encourage a routine? She is huge - top percentile - and already almost popping 3-6 month baby grows so I'm worried she's eating too much even though they say you can't overfeed a breastfed baby...

Hi tiredoutmum

My DD2 was just like this (recently) and I'm sorry to have to say that i decided to just go with it.

DD1 slept like a dream, always.

DD2, the 2 hour thing. She actually slept better for the first 4 weeks or so then got worse until it was every 2/3 hours every night.

My DD1 is 2 and like you I didn't want to wake her so just went and fed.

I decided to wait until I had weaned onto food and she was taking a reasonable amount, and I was sure she wasnt hungry, then to try some random sleep training.

She just turned 7 months and 2 weeks ago when she woke at night DH went every time, now she is only waking once and she just has a pat and a dummy and goes back to sleep again.

I don't know that there's much you can do at 10 weeks really? Maybe someone else will have some ideas (too late for me!!!).

I know how horrible it is though it makes you feel like a zombie

My DD2 ia 75th centile and went into 3 months clothes at 8 weeks, 6 months at 4 etc etc

Also BF.

I don't think you can overfeed them on breast milk.

they also have a growth spurt at around 10 weeks I think? Mine went mad at about then (or 3 months?) for about a week or 10 days it was really hard work.

Nope, this is normal - my dd was doing the same. Rocketed up through the centiles. I think you just have to go with it!

Great - thanks for the tips and reassurance!

Don't feel like you've got many tips there TBH!

All I can suggest is the usual stuff - early nights, if you have a partner around they can get up with the baby & toddler when they're not at work and let you have a lie in, don't feel like you have to be superwoman and get everything done etc.

Make sure you get a break. And of course it does get gradually better and better. I don't know if you BF before, but I was talking to my friend the other day and she was saying she's going to take it a week at a time with the BF. Her DD is about 4 weeks. She asked how long I fed DD1 and she was a bit at 14 months, until I said that by then she was having one feed a day, about 2 mins in the morning, and that was it. As they get bigger and especailly when they start having some solids the BF slowly drops off to a much more manageable amount. The early weeks are definitely the hardest.

Apologies if you already know all that!

it's entirely normal, 10 weeks is still really tiny!
trust her to tell you when she needs food.
i know it's hard, and sleep depribvation is terrible, but i found it's far easier to change your own expectations than to try and change a baby's behaviour.

so get more sleep by going to be earlier, ask your partner (if you ahve one) to get up with baby and toddler in the morning and let you have an extra half hour
call on friends/family to take your 2yr old out for a couple of hours to let you have a rest with baby

it does get easier, but I honestly wouldn't expect her to be feeding any less than this

Ds2 was exactly the same at this age and I did exactly what Imsonottelling did above. I gave in at 14 weeks and started on solids (just fruit and veg until 6 months). He was hungry and needed the milk in the night until he was established on solids and then this became a habit.

At 5 months I'd had enough and during the school holidays let him cry for a few nights and he has slept much better since. My advice is:

• Set a date to start weaning to give you a date to work towards.
• Try to get a sleep in the afternoon if ds will let you. Don't worry if the house is a mess.
• Make sure you are drinking enough fluids and eating enough cake to get you through the day.

When you have a big baby it's not just about not having the energy to settle her in ways other than feeding her you can't physically walk up and down for long with her over your shoulder. Ds2 actually put my husbands (already weak) back out in the early days, he was just so heavy.

Just remember it doesn't last forever, she will sleep eventually.

Must point out that recommendation is to exclusively BF til 6 months, before MN massive come on and start going bananas.

I did actually wait til 6 months this time, as DD2 was really not ready - she still can't sit very well unaided now at 7 months!

DD1 was weaned at 5.5 montsh after she kept nabbing stuff off our plates and woofing it down. She was crawling at that age too...

They're all different aren't they!

Good luck

DD3 is still like it at almost 10 months Perhaps not what you wanted to hear, though.