How long can he go between feeds?

[SkilpadsMom]

Hello everyone,

I'm a new mum to my DS who is 10 weeks old and 14lb 6oz. He is EBF on demand, and it was really easy to tell when he wanted to eat sleep etc for the first 8 weeks, as he followed a self-set routine-of-sorts:

eat, play, yawn then put to sleep - this lasted about three hours...
Suddenly, he had a day where he was feverish and drooling and didn't want to sleep, but literally ate all day. ( He is night sleeping 7.30 - 1.30am and then through to 6 am)

Now, I can;t tell when he wants to eat, and am feeding him about every 3 hours, but he isn;t taking much at a time - can he go 4 hours or more, and am I feeding him when he actually wants to sleep, because I'm worried he needs more food etc.

Help please? am I being silly/controlling?!

Hiya, not silly, no. If he's hungry he will let you know, and there will be no doubt about it. Watch for his cues, you do know really (when he's hungry) its just a case of realising you have arrived at a point and don't know how to go on from here because his routine is changing. Don't overthink it, as long as he's weight gaining well throw away your clock and feed him when he shouts for it. A new routine will gradually appear.

You are doing fab, Keep going :)

Don't worry! Just do what feels right, you can't overfeed, a bf baby will regulate it's intake. Bf can help them fall asleep, partly as the feel so safe a comfortable with you. Young babies need to eat little and often. Three hours at this age is about the max between feeds i'd think.

The marathon feeding you talk about sounds like a classic growth spurt. I'm on my phone but i'm sure someone will be along with more info and links soon.

My ds is now seven months but when he was new i too struggled to tell if he was hungry. So if he grizzled i would try everything, boob, nappy, wind etc. Starting with food as this was most often what he wanted. Even if tired he would have a supper suckle as he fell asleep. I have heard people say they don't need the food at this point, but there was always milk in his mouth so i figured he would have needed to make up the calories at another time. Plus even if it is "only" for comfort, we all need comfort and for your baby you are the best source of this.

His routine will continue to adjust. Feeding to requirement as long as there are no queries over weight or hydration etc is what's best. Let yourself follow his cues. They will change a lot between now and 6 months. Don't be surprised if he starts to feed a lot more again at times. Just trust your body to meet his demands.

Thanks everyone - will do!

If it help my DS is 10 weeks and we've had terrible couple of days with him not feeding like normal and having trouble sleeping. I was going to see how he was tomorow and then ring the HV.

He's normally a happy baby but seems so miserable at the moment.

oh Helen, I'm sorry!! I was there the last 3 days...
He's back to normal today, and I have just put him down for the night, after a little grizle now (unusual for him, though).

If its just to calm your worries, I would ring the HV. No teething starting?

No, he seems to be really snotty so I'm thinking he might have a cold. He was much better last night, slept through from 11 til 5 and has had 2 goodish feeds this morning.

I was contemplating ringing the docs but I think I'll just wait and see how he is the rest of the day.

It's always when you think they're really miserable and then they turn round and give you a little giggle and a smile. He's napping now...