How often do 12 week EBF babies feed?

[NinkyNonker]

I saw someone on another thread expressing surprise that a 12 wk old was still feeding every 2 hrs...is this unusual?

12 wk old DD can go 3 to 4 hrs if we're out/asleep, but will want feeding every 2 hrs if not. Sometimes even every hour...hard work! She was 7lbs at birth, but is around twice that now...she put on 14oz one week!

I guess what I'm wondering is am I doing it wrong, should her feeds be spacing out by now? She never cries for food (normally), I've been spotting her cues where possible to avoid it. Should I be trying to distract her or is this normal?

Depends on the child. My niece slept through at 12 weeks and fed 3 hourly during the day, sometimes 4 hourly.

My dd fed every 2hrs day and night for the first 7 months. Often more. She too started at 7lbs and for weeks put on 1lb a week. By 6 months she was 25lbs.

DS used to feed every 90mins-2 hours for months. Every baby is different and so is the amount of milk each mother can store. It doesn't sound like you are doing anything wrong. It sounds like you are doing a great job! Continue to demand feed and she will space them out in her own time.

Erm, whenever they like? DS was prob about every 2 hrs (and tbh he's 4 yrs now and apparently always starving).

Today my 13 week old fed at 7am, 8am, 10.30am, 11.30am, 12pm and 2.30pm. I expect he will want feeding again by 5 and again at 6.30pm when he goes to bed, and he might get an extra one in there too!

We had a phase around 8-10 weeks of 2.5 hourly feeding on the dot, but his needs are so random now I really can't be bothered trying to schedule.

DD is 13 weeks and feeds 90mins-2 hourly in the day, goes down around 9pm and sleeps through to 4am, feeds, back down til 8ish.

I feed ds whenever he is hungry, tired or upset I probably could distract him more and space out feeds, but actually I find this way easier and him happier.

Cool, that's ok then. She sleeps well at night at the moment (fingers crossed touch wood), sometimes 7pm till 4 or 5 am. Then 2 hrly from there. I was just worried that I was reading her cues all wrong. She's a strong, happy little thing which is the main thing, and obviously I don't mind feeding her whenever really. My mum also looked a little or at the amount she fed. She knew better than to say anything more than "she wants feeding again?!"

I've heard this analogy somewhere- Breastmilk is like a healthy, nutritious salad, formula is like a burger and chips so sits quite heavily in the stomach and fills a baby up for longer whereas BM is digested easily and rapidly so they need feeding more frequently.

12wo DD is similar to yours OP, can go 3-4 hours when out and about but will happily feed every couple of hours when at home. She's currently going through a growth spurt and is feeding every 30 minutes during the evening.

She is sleeping through the night (well 11pm - 6.30am) so I'm just working on the basis that feeding plenty in the day is protecting my sleep!