Baby refusing to eat in morning

[naomummy]

Wondererd if anyone had any advice. my 5 week old wakes up once or twice in the night for fairly short feed (either at 2 and then 5 or at 3 - sometimes she will go for four hours and sometimes less). When she wakes up around 7 she will often refuse to feed or have very little and go until a feed between 10 or 11am. THis then has a knock of effect of her not getting enough throughout the day and by evening she is really hungry and gets very worked up and again we have a battle feeding her. Finally she will settle by about 8/9 and sleep until 10/11 when she wakes up and has a good feed. I'm feeling quite stressed about this as I feel that it starts the day off badly. Should I refuse to feed her at 5 when she wakes up?? I feel bad doing that and she probably wouldn't settle back to sleep anyway!

She is very young at 5 weeks old. Their body doesnt understand the clock. Just go with the flow, and feed her when she wants feeding. If she is gaining weight fine etc - dont stress about it - its not worth making yourself or her unhappy (especially in this heat). Most babies tend to fall into a more regular way of feeding when they are a bit older.

I really wouldnt refuse to feed a baby. She is too young to understand - she is still pretty much a bundle of insticts.

Enjoy her.

Agree with VVV there.

She is still very young.

If you re trying to follow a feeding routine you've seen somewhere, my advcie is throw it away and follow what your baby wants.

Thanks I know what you are saying its just when you're tired and baby is crying things can get out of perspective!! I've found the feeding thing quite stressful - she is gaining weight and seems happy but when you can't see how much they are getting you can start to worry - I guess you just have to trust they will tell you when they want food!

PS the baby routine books - already binned after 2 weeks!!!

naomummy- part of being a new mum.

You'll get there and you will find support on MN.

Keep as you are, if you are a new mum and able to please rest when she is sleeping during day.

Yes they WILL let you know when they are hungry.

Yes she's still tiny. I would just feed her whenever she wants at this stage.

When you say you have a battle feeding her in the evening, is this because she is too tired to feed adequately?

I know. The tiredness is awful. Sleep deprivation is a form of torture in some countries.......

If you feed her whenever she wants, it will have the added bonus of increasing/stimulating your supply, which in turn, will make her more settled.

It is also worth noting that they go through a growth spurt between 4-6 weeks where they will want to feed all the time. This is designed to up your milk supply also.