Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

My 8 wk old wont go longer than 2 hrs 4 a feed unless he's sleeping through it... How can I make him go longer when he's awake? PLEASE HELP XX

42 replies

louloupoo · 09/10/2010 16:53

If he's awake the max time he'll go is 2 1/2 hrs b4 he starts bawling :-(

When he's asleep he can go 4 hrs so he's definitely capable.

And he still isn't going any longer stretch during the night. In fact today he's slept about 6 hours already, is that right?

He woke at 6, fed at 7 and slept from 8-8.40 ish, then had another feed at about 9.15 and fell back to sleep at about 9.30 until about 11. He's been asleep now since about 1 and is still sleeping.

He only feeds for about 10 mins at a time from one boob and wont take a second. He never drains my boob either.

Nights tend to start with a 4 hr stretch from about 7.30, then feed about 11.30-11.40 and straight back down for about 2 1/2 hrs til about 2 ish, feed then awake for 1/2 hr b4 falling asleep for 2 hrs again. He tends to wake between 5.30 and 6 and stays awake until around 8 ish.

Its far from an ideal routine. I'm fairly happy to follow his lead but I'm concerned he's getting things the wrong way round.

Any thoughts or advice welcome ... Please xx

OP posts:
MrsC2010 · 09/10/2010 22:37

Meant to say that her feeds aren't as long as they used to be either, but she is piling on weight (14oz one week... Confused) so she must just be getting more efficient.

I decided to ignore all questions about routines, books etc and just chill. We're far happier for it, I really feel we enjoy each other more.

Lynli · 09/10/2010 23:40

It is just a fact, he burns less calories when he is asleep, than when he is awake.

Lionstar · 09/10/2010 23:42

Try telling my 1 YEAR old that he has to go 4 hours between feeds!!!

Longtalljosie · 09/10/2010 23:53

Its far from an ideal routine"

sounds pretty ideal / average to me! Thank heavens you're not one of my friends, whose baby wanted to go 4-hourly in the day, and 1.5 hourly in night hours, despite persuasion...

MumNWLondon · 09/10/2010 23:59

I take the point but I liked to have a routine and I was pointing out that you can have a routine with shorter feeding gaps if you want.

BTW I know someone who called GF to say she couldn't get her DD to follow the routine to the letter and GF laughed saying that it was guidelines only and you should adapt for your child.

Demand feeding has never really worked for me as I like to have some sort of structure and I found that DS2 slept much better when it a routine (feel asleep happily in his cot) than when doing demand feeding (screamed as he was overtired). Also I need to take and pick up older DC from school so didn't want to have a feeding time when I was going or coming from school.

However demand feeding works for others - the OP seemed to imply that she needed some sort of routine although her baby couldn't go more than 2.5 hours, I was just trying to point out that it was possible.

ClimberChick · 10/10/2010 03:04

Mine went every 2 hours until 6 months regardless of whether it was day or night, but the pressure from people who think 3 hours isn't very long does make you very defensive and unsure at times.

thesecondcoming · 10/10/2010 08:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

barkfox · 10/10/2010 09:37

louloupoo, I think if your baby is putting on weight well and is healthy then he and you are doing everything right.

Form this thread, and many others, it looks like there are as many different 'patterns' of feeding as there are babies.

My BF DS at 12 weeks has only recently done a couple of 4 hour stretches between feeds at night - it's usually 2-3 hours. During the day, it's anything between half an hour and 3 hours. Generally around 2 hours, now I think about it, but I don't want to imply it's 'every 2 hours', it's nowhere near that regular.

I admit I get envious when I read on here of babies even younger who have longer/more regular breaks, because in all honesty, I would find that less demanding on me. (that said - how on earth do mums with BF babies deal with their breasts if their babies sleep through the night?? After 4 hours, one of my boobs is full to bursting!)

However - my baby is healthy and happy, and has gone from the 9th centile at birth to the 50th, purely on breastmilk. He is starting to last a bit longer between feeds - that's just because he is a bit older, IMO.

What helped me abandon my very vague hope for imposing routine was reading 'The Baby Whisperer', funnily enough. She tells you that your baby SHOULD go a certain number of hours between feeds - and if he cries between these timed feeds, he cannot possibly be hungry - and there must be some other reason for it. (all of this is very at odds with her touchy feely 'listen to your baby's cues' stuff, btw).

When I pick my crying baby up, and he roots frantically at my chest and headbutts my boobs, and crams his fists in his mouth - he's hungry. Too hungry, in fact. He's not 'overtired' or colicky, he's HUNGRY, and needs feeding. He can't tell the time, and it doesn't matter a flying fuck when his next feed is 'due.' He is right, and the book is wrong. End of story.

Remember too that a lot of what relatives and friends say is influenced by our expectations of a formula fed baby. So questions as simple as 'when will he next feed?' or when is his next feed 'due' tend to make more sense if they mean 'when will you next want to think about making a bottle up?' Which obviously requires a bit more organisation and planning than just offering your breast.

And although it's much disputed on this board, FF babies IME tend to go longer between feeds, and sleep in longer stretches at night, than BF babies. Formula is more work for them to digest, so it makes them feel fuller for longer. Unfortunately, BF babies can be seen as malfunctioning if they feed more frequently than a FF baby....

So I wouldn't worry about it at all, although I do understand you might well be finding it exhausting. Your baby sounds very healthy and normal. Congratulations, btw, and well done.

Porcelain · 10/10/2010 09:41

My 8 week old is the same. I read somewhere that the 4 hour idea comes from formula, which takes that long to digest, so a dc baby has milk sitting in his ytummy long after a bf baby has digested and is ready for more.
Use it as an excuse for a nice sit down with a cuppa. I keep track of times purely to help if I am going out and need to know how soon he is likely to get hungry.

ItWasADarkAndStormyNight · 10/10/2010 09:44

I've got a 6 mo old who does less then this, your doing ok. Mine wakes up the same at night though so your lo is actually doing really well :)

RibenaBerry · 10/10/2010 09:53

Mine fed every 2 hours until they were onto solids...

One thing that you have to realise about schedule books is that a fair number of them were actually designed around formula feeding, and the experience of older generations is often shaped around formula feeding. The feeding pattern is likely to be very different. Whilst many of these books have been amended to talk as if they apply to a breastfeeding relationship, in practice few do (not commenting on any particular books btw, but anything that says an 8 week old should go 4 hours raises alarm bells for me as to how well the person understands breastfeeding).

LittlebearH · 10/10/2010 10:00

I BF every 3 hours up to 5 months and was told by a family member that it was ridiculous and should be at least 4 hourly. I felt like as she has 3 children and I am on my 1st that she must be right so I did. Big mistake. My milk supply dwindled, my period returned and DD did not gain weight and my let down failed even with pump,due to my anxiety. So then forced to bottle feed formula. Which is fine but I wanted to BF for a bit longer.

If FF 4 hourly fine but if BF, frequency is key.

Good luck x

Daanoy · 10/10/2010 10:46

My LO is 17 weeks and only recently started spacing out feeds to 3-4 hours. Before BF was all over the place but averaging about 1.5 hrs between feeds. I didnt try to get my baby on a schedule but he naturally found one. So keep BF on demand - sounds like baby is doing great! Smile

Graciescotland · 10/10/2010 11:02

As a first time mum myself (DS is eight weeks on Wednesday!) I know how you feel. I found letting baby set the routine led to constant snacking/catnapping and was exhausted. Since six weeks we've been trying the easy routine. (pick up a copy of the baby whisperer) three hourly feeds and cluster feeding at night meant that I got eight hours sleep last night...Bliss :)

formerdiva · 10/10/2010 11:42

Completely normal. Just go with the flow, accept that you will spend a lot of the next few weeks breast feeding, and probably (but not definitely) in about 4 weeks time the feeding patterns may start to change.

I made the mistake for my DC1 of reading Gina Ford, The Baby Whisperer etc who criticised mothers responding to every cry with an offer of a feed. Pah! The chances are in the first few weeks it is a feed that they want, so there's no point trying to distract them out of it. I think I also wanted to believe DC1 couldn't be hungry again because I found feeding pretty painful for the first 12 weeks.

Second time round I chucked the books away and fed whenever DC2 cried/murmered/blinked Smile

PDog · 10/10/2010 12:40

What everyone has said really. My dd was exactly the same and I worried about routines too. The best advice I was given was to watch the baby, not the clock and trust your instincts. We were both much happier for it.

ayjayjay · 10/10/2010 13:08

Agree with the other advice given. My 13 wk old DD is still feeding every 1.5-2.5 hours duting the day, she only feeds from one breast each feed as well. You're definitely not doing anything wrong although I understand how it can feel like you are especially if you have formula feeding friends who all have babies on 4 hour routines.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page