Advice on spacing feeds out more...

[Daffodilly]

Hi

I am exclusively BFing my DD who is now 13 weeks. She currently feeds about every 3 1/4 - 3 1/2 hours between 7:30AM and 7:30PM. Plus usually 1 (or if I am unlucky 2) in the night.

Last week she started waking more often in the night so I figured she must need more milk and encouraged her to take longer feeds in the day. This seems to have helped with the night (so far). But now with the bigger day feeds she can go longer in between. Problem is that if I space them out much more she will end up dropping a whole feed in the day and I am worried about what this will do to the nights.

Does anyone have any advice about how to best tackle this? I?d like ultimately to get her on a regular 4 hour feed pattern ? at what age is this realistic to expect?

Thanks

Daff

Hiya Daff, not sure how to space the feeds out, I just let my little one feed on demand and he chose to space them out much more as he became more interested in whats going on around him, perhaps just go with her signals, she'll take more during those growth spurt weeks then settle back to her own pattern. My little lad is 8 months old now and has a lot less feeds now as he is starting to enjoy solids, but even before solids he would sometimes go for ages without feeding if he was out and about, and then catch up when we got back home and there was less to entertain him

Sorry, not really answered your question but unless you really need to space the feeds out I found it easier and less stresful to let them sort it out, then you know they are getting what they need when they need it

Sparky x

I will be feeding on demand. I agree with muminfife - Every baby is different. My ds started off having to be woken every 3 hours during the day for a feed and the suddenly at the age of about 3 weeks went to hourly. He then went to feeding every 1-2 hours for quite a while and never really ever lasted more than about 2.5-3 hours between feeds. In the end he fed, on average every 2 hours!!

Thanks for the suggestions. We've never really got on with going on demand. In the early days she was so sleepy that her blood sugar got dangerously low and had to be woken for regular feeds. By the time we finally got BFing established I just stuck with the pattern that worked. I would feed her more often if she wanted it - but generally she needs to be offered food. That said she has never knowingly refused food!

As you say they know what they need, so I think I'll try spacing them a bit more and see what she does.

Daff