14 wk old stepped up the night feeds!

[Cydonia]

Just when I thought I was getting somewhere... DS has started waking around every 2 hours through the night, he was previously going about 3/4 hours at a time. At this age is it still right to be feeding him each time he wakes? I don't want to be creating a situation where he's being fed to sleep, but it's inevitable that this happens through the night - he wakes, feeds for about 15 mins, then falls asleep and I put him back in his cot. ( usually, sometimes he has a bit of a strop ). Am I right in thinking you wouldn't drop any night feeds until the baby had started eating solids?
He's EBF by the way and sleeping in a cot in our room.

It's normal between 14-16 weeks for this to start happening, and just to pre-warn you, around 20 -22 weeks there's another massive growth spurt where baby can wake up every hour.

Growth spurts happen when baby is either physically growing, or there is a huge mental leap taking place.

The good news is that these growth spurts only last a few days and then normality will return. Before you know it you'll be down to one night feed of a few minutes.

My DD started feeding more frequently around 8 months too - I didn't realise it until a couple of weeks later but it was my periods restarting and this can affect your milk supply for a couple of days. You deal with it by just feeding on demand again for a few days and it all settls down.

It's good to be pre-warned about these growth spurts as we have lost the knowledge amongst the general public and many women start worrying about quality of milk and whether their baby is getting enough. It's why some mums wean early because they mistake the growth spurt hunger for "needing solids" which is silly really because breastmilk has more calories than food.

Is there any way you can take the side off the cot and move it nearer the bed so you can just roll over to feed and fall asleep whilst baby is feeding? That way you will still feel like you've had a good night's sleep.

Thanks, 'it's normal' is what I wanted to hear! Well, kind of! :) It sometimes feels like his life is one growth spurt to the next, but when he first does something new it makes it worthwhile. As long as I know he needs the feed I can cope with it.
He's in a swing crib at the moment (firmly wedged so it doesn't swing!),which wouldn't really work next to the bed. I could put him into his cotbed with me in a single bed next to him I suppose if it doesn't get better soon!

Oh and I think I'd also better stop moaning about my lack of sleep too as it just leads to friends and family throwing all their advice at me, which I know is well intended but mostly not helpful for my situation! I'll just pop on another layer of make up and when people ask how he's sleeping just smile and say 'oh, not bad..'

The correct response when someone asks "How is he sleeping?" is:

"Like a baby"

Ha ha yes I'll use that!

cydonia do you offer both sides when he wakes? my ds went through phase of taking one side in night , back to sleep, next side an hour later (i was too tired to think of offering other side at that point, but when i did he started going longer stretches ! (i did have to wake him by changing his nappy)

No I don't as he normally only takes one side anyway. However that would be worth a try if he goes a bit longer inbetween.