Pattern of feeding 14 week old

[ellangirl]

And distinct lack of sleep! My 14 week old dd feeds every 2.5- 3 hours in the day, and the longest she will go at night is 5 hours, and that is very rare. Last night and night before were hellish- feed 7, 11, 2, half 3, half 5, 7 for example.
She is an awful sleeper generally- always has been. She will now go to sleep in evening by herself, ingest own bed, just. Daytime sleeps are short- 3/4 naps of 45 minutes, occasionally longer if in a sling. Morning sleep occasionally longer too.

So, questions: how do I know that she is really hungry at night? I'm aware that my dh is tired, and don't want to wake ds, so I'm feeding just to make her go back to sleep. Will I regret this long term??
I formula fed my ds from 8 weeks, and was very much on a routine, so I feel I'm floundering with the lack of routine for a bf baby. He was always a great sleeper too.
Help!

ellangirl, sorry you are tired :(

The pattern you describe is well within normal for all babies of this age, breast or formula fed. She is actually waking 3 times in the night and feeding - probably a bit more than average but not much!

The gap from 7 to 11 gives you an evening free - yay :)

It is entirely normal for babies to need to feed in the night to get back to sleep - working out the best way to make this easiest for you is easier than trying to change the normal needs of a 14 week old. One thing you might try is to feed her more often in the day - maybe she needs the extra calories at night. That's very speculative, though - but worth a try if you are suffering :(

You can't tell if she is 'really hungry' - she might be thirsty, she might be upset, she might feel lonely, she might not yet be able to get herself back to sleep, and she might be hungry.

Hope this phase gets easier for you.

Thank you tiktok. I know what you say is true, and yet I am so tired! I suppose right now it feels like I will never get a good nights sleep again! I hear lots of people with older babies and toddlers who are still waking up multiple times in the night for feeding as they have no other way of settling to sleep, and I am a bit afraid of ending up in that situation. It won't always be like this will it?? What if she doesn't ever extend her nighttime stretches of sleep? Can you tell I am feeling desperate today?!

By the way, you are obviously by knowledgeable about breastfeeding. What is your background?