7 week old feeding every 2.5 hours still

[lindseyyyy]

Hi
My DC2 is 7 weeks & is formula fed (don't hate me). Was 9lb born & now around 13.5lb. He feeds every 2.5 hours day & night-has 4oz.
Now I know 7 weeks sounds v young & there are plenty of babies who still feed every 2.5 hours at 4 months, but there are plenty of babies who do 6hours+ at night at 7 weeks. And I also have a 16 mo. And I feel like I'm drowning.
So please any suggestions on how I get him to go longer at night?
My DC1 at this age would feed every 2.5 hours by day but would do long stretches at night.
Thanks xx

I'm definitely not an expert and really have no experience of ff but I think all you can do is keep feeding on demand. As he gets older I'm sure the time between feeds will increase. I BF my DS1 and he would go every 2/3 hours, DS2 feeds all the time! He was bigger born like your DC2 and he just seems to have a bigger appetite. I think he was about 3/4 months when he started going a bit longer between feeds.

Ok thanks

Mine did fhis for six months.....

Oh no. How did u both survive?
He does settle well in between so I suppose it could be worse... But I already feel pretty done in. Think I'll be sectioned after a few months of it

Is he finishing the bottle? HV said to me this week there should always be some milk left. Try the next teat size up as it maybe that feeding is to difficult.

My DD is eight weeks and a similar size. She has between 5 and 7.5 oz a feed.

It must be very difficult with another little one, my DS1 is 12 so it was easier for me to just follow DS2'S lead. With sleeping the only thing that got me through was DP taking DS2 downstairs from 5 till he went to work at 7am so I could get a few hours uninterrupted. I also went to bed at about 7pm, not much of an evening but getting a few hours sleep was more important. It will pass.

Yes he drains every last bit. I'll perhaps put them up to 5oz & try faster teat. Previously when I've put him up to 5oz it hasn't worked. How often does your baby feed Heir?
Coconut thanks for your tips

She has 5 to 7 feeds a day. 4oz is far too small a feed for a baby that size, unless they choose to only take that much. On demand feeding means as often as they want and as much as they want.

It might take a while to make a difference or not make a difference to sleepingbut, I think it will, but it will stop him from being hungry all the time.

If it makes you feel any better my 8 week old (EBF) fed 12 times yesterday which j know because I slightly obsessively tracked it in an app and despite her having slept a few 6 hours stretches in week 6 we are now back to waking 2-3 times a night. I know that formula fed babies often sleep longer at night vs EBF babies and I also know that it's really tough, but isn't it just the case that some babies sleep longer than others at this stage? If it has recently changed/got worse (as my DD has) you might want to check out the Wonder Weeks (book or app) which says that around 8 weeks (but can start slightly earlier/later) they go through a big developmental leap which affects sleep, feeding, crying etc. It definitely explained a lot for me!

Sorry to say it, bit I'm another whose bsby ate every 2 hours day and night until 6 months old! She would drink between 3 and 5oz in each feed.

After this though she settled right down and slept very well.

I know it's crap, but keep going, you'll get there.

This will be me when DC3 is born, DD2 will be 17 months and have an older one too. I've resigned myself to at least a year of shitty sleep

Thanks Heir. Mine has 9 feeds of 4oz in 24 hours. HV told me not to increase as on highest centile for everything. But I'll try over next few days to get 5oz down him. Would u stay every 2.5 hours by day ( ie feed him up in day so needs less at night) or stretch it out to 3 hours so he takes larger feeds?
Like I said he settles really well at night so I think it is just a feed thing (fingers crossed anyway)
Thanks for the other posts. I take my hat off to u. It's not so much the tiredness, more that it makes me irritable & emotional that I hate

My lo is averaging the same amount of milk as yours. She is firmly on the 75 percentile.

I am no medical expert, just a first time mum. Remember it is your baby and you should do whatever you think. If it was my baby I would have him weighed and then the next day offer 5oz, the day after 6oz etc and have him weighed a week later to check he is still on the same percentile. One week of more milk will not make him obese.

If it is warm weather you should also offer ff baby water in between feeds.

If you think he is comfort sucking or feeding then think about offering a dummy.

My little boy is 15 weeks and feeds every 2-3 hours including at night (he's bf though). I'm just riding it out tbh, it's what I expected from a baby though that doesn't make it any easier at 2am

Sympathies OP

Both my dc fed every 3 hours until weaning at 6 months. They took 1/2 he to take each feed.

Bothy dc were ff.

How is it going?

The hv told you to restrict your baby's milk feeds? In order to stop him growing/gaining weight?

Get another hv. And complain. Babies should be fed to appetite, if he wants more, feed him more. He may well not increase his milk intake overall, but take fewer larger feeds.

Your hv needs retraining.

Your baby's yummy is tiny at this age, 4oz is quite a lot in volume, so he may not manage 5, and it's no guarantee he will go longer anyway.

I FF DD2 the same way I BF DD1, little and often whenever she wanted it.Both girls were 95th centile and followed their centile perfectly.

yummy?! tummy even!

I breastfed but that sounds normal to me. I think our babies know better than we do when they are hungry and full. Definitely carry on following his lead. Remember they have a lot of growing and developing to do at this stage so they need lots of calories.