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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Ebf hungry baby 24wks

27 replies

Onacollisioncourse · 05/05/2012 06:44

Ds is 24wk and is ebf. He has for the past few weeks reverted to waking 2-3 times a night for feeds. Usually around 11 and then either once again at about 3,30, or sometimes twice at 2 ish and 5ish.

At first I thought perhaps it was more comfort suckling but recently my dm have him 7oz in a bottle at the 11pm wake while we went to the cinema, and he woke again at 3 for a decent feed. His bedtime is about 7.30, after a feed.

He eats regulary in the day, roughly 3 hourly, sometimes 4. If we are in a busy place I have to encourage him to eat for longer though as he's easily distracted.

I just wondered if anyone can suggest how I can satisfy him better to try and reduce the night wakes? I'm just about to start weaning but will be doing baby led so know I can't rely in solids to satisfy him for a while.

Does 'tanking up' in the day really work?

OP posts:
AlpinePony · 05/05/2012 07:16

Just feed your baby!

You say you know your baby is hungry and yet you still won't feed it? Tbh I cannot fathom this outside some social services reality show. Confused

fhdl34 · 05/05/2012 07:27

my DD is still only 18wks but I'd continue to follow her hunger cues and feed when she asks for it. My DD tanks up in the day and sleeps all night but only because she asks for it that way and has done for ages. Well done for EBFing for as long as you have done, hoping we'll get to where you are, not long now

Original poster
Onacollisioncourse · 05/05/2012 07:36

Erm where exactly did I say I wasn't feeding my son? I have fed on demand since he was born and am now only questioning if I can help fill him better in the day because 3 night wakes is tiring for the both of us, especially when they can take 45 mins. He rarely sleeps past 6am so the more he wakes, the more tired he is in the day.

Didn't realise being a caring mum made me 'social services material'.

OP posts:
latrucha · 05/05/2012 07:42

It is a quite normal developmetal stage for babies to wake again at this age and not usually hunger related. See here.

Apoundinatin · 05/05/2012 08:06

You know your baby is hungry and yet you're going to BLW? I'm with Alpinepony. Feed him solids.

AlpinePony · 05/05/2012 08:14

Look, you can be as angry with me as you like - but I hope at some point the message will sink in.

BLW is lovely in principle, but if your son is hungry (which apparently he is given your description) - then perhaps it's time to feed him.

Just look in black and white at what you've said - you KNOW your child is hungry, yet you won't feed him? Where's the logic in that?

Away from the middle-class idealogy and glossy-covered books - what would be your reaction if you read on a forum somewhere "my child is clearly hungry, but I won't feed him". It's called starvation and is child abuse.

fhdl34 · 05/05/2012 08:14

apoundatin how is BLW not solids? OP never said she was letting her baby go hungry, simply that she thought he was hungry in the night. Of course she's bloody feeding him, she's hardly going to make him go hungry is she?

AlpinePony · 05/05/2012 08:15

I've seen BLW in action, it's a child ineffectually sucking on food. It's not feeding. It's like licking a fucking plate and calling it a meal.

fhdl34 · 05/05/2012 08:21

alpine the OP IS feeding her baby, breastmilk is food. Perhaps he's ready to wean, I don't know as I'm not his mum but breastfeeding him is not starving him. I hope the OP has the good sense to ignore you because classing solely breastfeeding a baby under 6 months as child abuse is, quite frankly, ridiculous and shows that you are an ignorant and ill-informed person.

cheekydino · 05/05/2012 08:25

Would you contemplate the purée route if you are keen to get some sleep? My ebf baby did the same (waking again after sleeping through) and she started sleeping through again as soon as she was on 3 solid meals of purée. I give finger foods as well and now that she's 7.5 months she can feed herself a range of finger foods and eats mashed solids as well. I get BLW if you don't mind interrupted nights but to do it on principle and then complain about interrupted nights seems a bit odd! I know they can tank up on breast milk, but I that's not what they do naturally it seems silly to make them just for the sake of your BLW agenda.

Am not against BLW by the way - just in favour of doing what suits the baby and the mum.

Apoundinatin · 05/05/2012 08:25

BLW is not feeding a baby. It's expecting a six month old baby to have the skills to pick up a whole piece of pasta, get it to its mouth, and chew it enough to be able to swallow enough to satisfy its hunger.

I never said stop EBF. I said if you think he's hungry then don't BLW. Feed him yourself by picking up a spoon for him and making the food easier for him to eat.

Belmo · 05/05/2012 08:26

I thought there were more calories and nutrients in milk than solids? Don't think social service will be interested in someone following guidelines tbh.
Sorry OP I've no advice but feel your pain, my DD is 8mo (eating lots of solids!) and still has 3/4 good feeds at night.

MamaChoo · 05/05/2012 08:29

What Cheekydino said.

LurcioLovesFrankie · 05/05/2012 08:34

I've also watched baby-led weaning in action - looks bloody brilliant to me, babies seem to eat loads (albeit slowly as they gum things) and you don't have to spend hours in the kitchen producing bloody pureed carrots, you just give them bits of what you were eating. I wish someone had mentioned it to me when DS was little (yes, I know, in retrospect it's a bloody obvious idea - in fact my only issue is with the poncy name, personally I'd just call it "letting the baby eat the same food as you").

veeeee · 05/05/2012 08:41

I had the same problem, started weaning at 22 weeks but it made little difference to the number of breast feeds per day. We are now 29 weeks and on 2 meals a day and she sleeps through the night. I purée for her 2 feeds because she is hungry at these times and needs to eat a decent amount. I give her finger foods as snacks at other times. I was convinced I would do blw but then decided that this mix works best for us.

Zimbah · 05/05/2012 08:42

Waking at night at this age isn't generally hunger related, it's a developmental stage. So weaning him isn't likely to make much difference. I know it's not much comfort when you're knackered, but it's normal for an EBF baby to wake several times a night for a feed, even if they've previously slept a bit longer.

I've never had any success in tanking up either of my DDs in the day as neither were interested in 'extra' feeds, they wanted what they wanted and no more! I did BLW with both of them but spoon-fed porridge, yoghurt etc. I can't say I've noticed much decrease in night wakings with 11mo DD2 even though she now eats quite a lot of solids, three meals a day and one or two snacks. She still wakes 2/3/4 times a night for a bf.

Is there any way you can make night feedings easier - do you co-sleep or feed in bed so you can snooze/rest?

Gina1981 · 05/05/2012 08:43

Omg - there is no need to have a go at the OP. There is no mention that she is starving her child at all! She wants to wait till 26wks like the WHO guidelines state!! Yes there is far more calories in BM than in formula or a bowl of pureed carrots!! So weaning or blw won't correct the situation!!

Obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinion but there is no need for bullying and comments re social services! This forum is for asking other mothers for advice and their experiences!!

Gina1981 · 05/05/2012 08:48

Op ignore the ignorance of other posters!

My DD is 24wks too and is waking 1.5-2 hrs at night at the mo! Sometimes she wants feeding and others she just wants a cuddle! I've started a mix of purees and blw and has had no benefit whatsoever yet on her sleep, but I wouldn't expect it to at this stage! Do what you think is right for you and your baby! I feel your pain as im in the same boat re sleep! Just remember this wont last forever! Good luck

Original poster
Onacollisioncourse · 05/05/2012 08:49

Alpine, I think you are misguided in thinking solids are the answer. Breast milk has way more calories than any carrot is going to have, so you'll have to excuse me if I think you're talking tosh!! I'm not looking for a middle class ideology, I'm looking for the best way to bring up my son, and IMO continuing to feed him bm until he's ready to cut it down himself, IS the best thing. I'm NOT leaving him to go hungry. Did I post on here saying my baby won't stop crying because he's always hungry? No. I just said he'd become more hungry at night. I suppose the next thing you'll be suffesting is baby rice???!!

Thanks the others for supportive comments, and for the link. I have the wonder weeks book which is great, but I'll take a look at the link too.

OP posts:
Original poster
Onacollisioncourse · 05/05/2012 08:58

Sorry x-posts with others, I started typing my post and got delayed.

Thanks for more supportive comments. I have wondered about it being a developmental thing, and I did think it was a comfort especialy because we were up to 4 wakes at one point, but realising how much he's eating has me think he must be hungry.

I'm not put off by some of the stupid comments on here.

OP posts:
trio38 · 05/05/2012 08:58

What a silly, unhelpful post Alpine. Where does she say she's not feeding her hungry baby?

I know how disappointing it is when sleep gets worse. It sounds like feeding as much as possible during the day is your best bet right now. Also trying to feed in quiet places so your baby isn't so distracted.

I will be weaning too in a couple of weeks and I'm going to offer a mix of finger foods and spoons precisely because I can't face waiting another 3 months for her to take a useful amount of solids.

Depends how committed you are to blw though... Good luck. I hope your nights improve soon.

TrinaW · 05/05/2012 09:04

OP ignore Alpine. No one can tell you how best to feed your baby, whether it's breast vs bottle or BLW vs spoofed. To do so is rude and arrogant as no one knows your baby as well as you. We're BLW a little milk monster and she loves it. We gave spoon feeding a go, mostly to satisfy my mum when DD started waking loads in the night (she had slept through from 8 wks) and she hated it because it wasn't right for her - something me and her dad knew because we know her best. Sounds like a developmental phase to me. Check out The Wonder Weeks website - more info on it there, but effectively your LOs brain is developing and it's unsettling so they need their mum a bit more than normal ANC more energy to process everything.

InNeedOfAKickUpTheArse · 05/05/2012 09:05

onacollisioncourse Both my DC (EBF) started waking more at about this time. DC1 settled back into better sleeping naturally at about 8mo. DC2 (9mo) still hasn't and has a bedtime feed, 11pm-ish and 4am-ish feeds. Personally I've found that trying to persuade her to have more milk feeds in the day doesn't work as she's too distractible and simply won't feed if not hungry. Also, as she is a speedy feeder and goes back to sleep well I've chosen not to fight it and instead have invested in some good concealer!

BTW, I've mostly BLW with DC2 and although she's now taking a healthy amount of solids at each meal it's made no discernible difference to her waking - I think it's much more closely linked to developmental/growth spurts/teething/how much I've been around in the day (I'm back at work now).

TrinaW · 05/05/2012 09:05

*spoonfed not spoofed!

Junebugjr · 05/05/2012 09:14

I had this with dd2, who was every couple of hrs in the day til she was on about 2 meals a day.

She started waking every 3hrs during the night for a bf at 4 months. Had had a titful (pun intended) by 23 ish weeks and started her on porridge and banana around teatime and a dream feed at 10pm. She started sleeping through almost instantly.

The thing is you never know with baby's, it could be a developmental stage, or it could be hunger, or teething etc etc. At this age, it was hunger with mine, but could be something different with yours.

As for BLW and spoonfeeding, I never gave it much thought, I did whatever suited me at the time, depending on the meal I was cooking for the family. If it was soup, she was spoonfed, if it was a Roast dinner, it would be put on her tray to eat herself.

Hope your nights are better soon, sleep deprivation is a killer!