How often do you feed your new born, on demand or every few hours?

[Babymay]

just wanted to know how often you were feeding your new born? My DS is 3 weeks old and having about 5 hour long feeds in 24 hours? He's only just reached his birth weight again and the midwife has advised 2 hourly feeds. But I'm finding it difficult to do that as he takes about an hour or more for one feed. Do you have any routines on how you are feeding or is it on demand? Just wondered?

DD2 is 14 weeks and demand fed, gained birth weight at 3 weeks,she was born on 75th centile and has dropped to 50th and stayed there.

I think you have to feed on demand but don't start a feed every 2 hours, just don't let him go more than 2 hours without a feed. The mammoth feeding will calm down any day. DD did a near 24 hour stint at her worst but at 5 weeks now is usually done in 15mins

A healthy baby who's gaining weight well wed recommend to feed on demand. You can possibly increase demand by keeping baby close wearing in a sling and Co sleeping.,

If baby isn't gaining well then yes we'd advises feeding at lest every 2 hours during the day and no more then 4 hours overnight.

If his weight gain has been slow and he's taking a long time to feed then some rl help with latch would be a good idea. Do you have a local breastfeeding group or baby cafe, often they are run in your local christens centre.

Babymay, 5 feeds in 24 hours is not usually enough for new babies, or enough to build up a robust milk supply. His weight gain is slow. You may not need to feed literally 2 hourly but 12 feeds in 24 hours is not unusual at all in a baby of this age (some feeds may be closer together than 2 hrs and some further apart), and your midwife is obv concerned about this, so it's worth following what she says at least for the present.

DD3 is nearly 3 weeks old.

A long feed for her would be maybe 20 minutes (but she has a hell of a suck on her).

I definitely feed her more than 5 times a day - but that includes very short feeds and giving her a break before changing sides (she's pukey).

DD2 used to have a small number of defined feeds, but by maybe 3 months rather than 3 weeks. She was a big baby and very efficient feeder.

So the answer to your question is - on demand, every few hours.

She has a long sleep at lunchtime and another in the evening. But the rest if the day (and night) she looks to be fed frequently. Sometimes she just wants to be near an available nipple :o , you know, just in case :o

At the suggestion of mumsnetters I kept a log of all feeds when my ds was little and I made sure I fed him at least 8 times - usually more - in a 24 hour period. I would agree that 5 feeds are not enough.

Can you bed-in with him and just block feed for a few days?

Noooooooooooo.... not 'block feeding'. I think you are thinking it means something other than it does, DF.

Absolutely not 'block feeding' in this situation.

ooops sorry, I don't think I know what block feeding is

Hi, thanks for your posts. I think I'm going to have to wake him to feed him more often, but the problem is he doesn't feed as well when he's still sleepy. He sleeps quite a lot in the day so don't know any other way to increase the number of feeds. Do you wake your babies up to feed them?

babymay - just keep your baby close to you (sling or baby carrier allows 'hands free') and you will be able to respond to early feeding cues...this will mean frequent feeding.

DF - 'block feeding' is to feed on the same breast without swapping sides each time the baby feeds within the same 'block' of (usually) 4-6 hours. It's done to reduce serious over supply. It should never be done where there is a possible issue with weight gain. What did you think it meant? :)

Yes you do need to wake to feed if he's not feeding enough. A baby who's not getting enough may sleep more then they should.

You say he's taking a long time to feed. Is this him staying on one side the hole time without a beak?

if he comes of at all the best thing to do is to offer the second side, then again when he comes of the seconded side offer the first side again. This is called switch feeding and will get more milk into him and help up your supply.

Hey OP

I dont wake my DD2, but I dream feed ie pop her on when shes asleep, every evening before I go to bed. She doesnt feed as well but just 10 mins usually tides her over for an extra hour or two, which goes to show how much they get, even when not feeding fully.

As suggested up thread a feeding log may be a good idea, because as much as it feels like your doing nothing but feeding you might be suprised! If you record when and how long he feeds, you could also show this to your MW on your next visit.

Just think with all these extra feeds both you and your DS will be experts by the time he's 6 weeks

I let him stay on one side until I feel he has emptied the breast, usually takes about 30 mins or so. Then I'll change his nappy etc and swap sides and he'll be on there for about another 10-15 mins. I thought by emptying the breast and not changing sides too quickly, he would get the hind milk? Am I doing the right thing?
I have seen a breast feeding councillor who's said his latch is fine.

That pattern is fine, babymay.

I don't think you need to change anything except frequency.

'Switch feeding' is a technique that's very useful, if a mother needs to up her supply and the baby's intake - but in your case you are already offering both sides and swapping when you feel the moment is right. You don't need to stop doing what you are doing here.