Newborn bottle feeding......how long gap between feeds???

[MrFranklyShankly]

Hi folks, my dd is 3 days old and has been bottle feeding for the last few days....she takes about 2 ounces, hospital staff told me to feed every 4 hours but I'm struggling to get her to go two / 3 hours, she is screaming after about an hour so I end up giving in and giving her another bottle but I know I need to get her to go longer in order to get her to take more....today has been a bit of a struggle with lots of tears ( for both of us) anyone any advise on what to do??? Thanks
A tearful frankly

I think what you're doing sounds perfect.
I am a MW and don't expect a new baby to be going 4 hourly until after 6 weeks really - and some not even then.
Congratulations.

Not based on professional advice, just personal, but the first 12 weeks are just about surviving with minimum tears/stress/expectation .... Then you can think about sorting a bit more of order out

You really dont need to make her go 4 hours.

With both my DDs I demand fed, they were both ff from day one (apart from attempts at bfeeding DD1) and fell into their own pattern.

DD1 was very regimented, she went 4 hours between. DD2 is all over the place. Sometimes its 4/5 hours, sometimes 1. Mostly around 3 now at 8 months.

You need to find what works for you, but the advice the MWs give is just that, advice.

Congratulations :)

4 hours is a big gap for a small baby, just carry on feeding when they seem hungry. If every bottle is empty, start to make them with another ounce in it. They will gradually space out over time. But a new baby only has a tiny tummy so will need a feed little and often.

I was doing every 2 - 3 hours with FF my DS (now 7 months) Some babies do take a lot and go longer but thats more unusual i would say (I'm a mum of 5 and they all were 'snacky eaters').

DS would be hard pushed to take 2ozs per feed for quite a while and didnt really go 4 hours until he was about 2 months or so.

Its really hard work but it soon passes - just laze about and snuggle up it's the best time it really is :)

Congratulations btw!

You should be demand feeding at this stage.

2 ounces is a lot, her tummy will be about the size of a walnut and you don't really want to stretch it as that will lead to her taking more than she really needs.

If she takes 1 ounce and then comes back for another an hour later then that is fine. Especially in this heat, going 4 hours without a drink would be madness.

Try and relax and enjoy your baby, get to know her cries and her cues and follow her lead.

The 4 hours thing is bullshit.

Iirc DS fed every 90 mins or so in the first weeks, then every 2 hours until about 10 weeks when I managed to stretch it out a tiny bit more. Even at 6mo he never managed 4 hours between feeds

Thanks for advise ladies will try to just go with the flow then and let her lead the way....baby blues have hit and feeling a bit like I'm doing it all wrong! Thanks again :-) f

4 hrly is not appropriate advice for a newborn - quite shocking that midwives are still saying this. When the dust settles, complain about this, and about the distress it has caused you and your baby :(

First of all, don't worry OP - you and baby are both new at this and you'll find the system that works for you.

Am suprised you've been told 4 hourly for fuch a small baby. Ive always been advised s to feed on demand, so at first it can seem like feeds are all over the place (an hour here, 2 hours there etc) but it WILL gradually settle into more of a routine and longer gaps as baby gets bigger.

My ds1 didn't go 4 hours between feeds until he was weaning, but some babies do quite happily. Ds2 is 6 weeks old and still will only take about 2-3 oz slooowwly and feeds every 2 1/2 hours. As someone else says, best thing to do is just go with it - first few weeks are exhausting & hard but it passes. When they are tiny they just take what they need.

Best wishes & enjoy your new baby :)

My dd was in scbu & they had her on 4 hourly feeds at discharge (37 weeks gestation!!!)

I think it was too much for such a small baby. When she came home it was 2-3 hourly & I let her set the pace rather than having an edforced pattern - as scheduled feeding is associated with childhood obesity.

I have formula fed all 3 of mine on demand. Tbh dd1 was hard pushed to go 90 mins sometimes between feeds. Mine were also big cluster feeders especially between 3-5.30pm.

DS rarely went more than 2.5 hrs between feeds until he was 6 months. At 10 months he's only just started going 4 hrs - for a newborn 4hrs is ridiculous!