Should I really be waking to feed?

[OuchBollocks]

DS is almost 7 weeks old, EBF, plenty of poos and heavy wet nappies. He feeds maybe 10 -12 times a day, fed on demand. At 2 weeks he was between 50th and 75th centiles, today he was also between 50th and 75th centiles, though arguably closer to the 50th (hard to tell precisely going by pencil dots!) Anyway he does a chunk of 4 or 5 hours at the start of the night after a long cluster feed (after which he wakes approx 2 hourly, sometimes more) I told the HV this when he got weighed this morning, and she told me I should be waking him to feed after no more than 3 hours because he's 'drifting downwards' on the chart. Is this really right? I'll do it if I need to but with a toddler getting up at 6am that block of sleep is the fine thread by which I'm hanging on to sanity!

No. Wait and see if he drops below. He is a good size at 50+

Thank you

Another vote for no. Your HV is clearly mad. He hasn't even dropped 25 centiles, and even if he had, unless he was only on the 25th centile to begin with, it wouldn't necessarily be a cause for concern. It's pretty normal for a bit of variation in growth rate - as long as they are putting on weight, the rate is going to vary. Would you have been worried at all if you hadn't him weighed?

Even when dd2 was discharged from scbu we only set the alarm 4 hourly. To deliberately wake a baby above the 50th centile with no health issues after 3 hours just to feed is really very weird. I would be backing off slowly.

My initial reaction was to smile, nod and ignore, but then I started to second guess myself. To be honest I probably wouldn't have had him weighed at all but the HV was doing a follow up home visit because I was immobile due to injury.

My dd dropped from the 75th to the 25th and I was advised to feed on demand so I did.

I wouldn't. I don't know anyone who would to be honest! Maybe if it was 12 hours without a feed but 5 hours is fine. Slightly jealous you get that long but would enjoy it not worry. He's gaining weight and seems healthy so don't worry. HVs like this are crazy.

MiniAlphaBravo my DD didn't sleep for any longer than 3 hours at a time maximum until she was 2 years old so I was enjoying it while it lasts! :) DS seems to be a bit more chilled than his big sister so far.

As a mum of 6, NO!
Enjoy the sleep.

At this age, a good poo can make the difference between a fair few centiles! That's what my pragmatic GP told me when health visitors freaked out over my babies and their weights. They were weighing daily for a bit, which drove me bonkers. Sounds like he is thriving. Smile, nod, ignore. Continue as you are unless he drifts down the centiles over a few measurements. And enjoy that window of sleep as long as you have it!

I wouldn't. He obviously knows when he's hungry & is feeding well during the day so I can't see 1 5 hour stretch making a huge difference. Some hvs can be a bit overzealous.

Out of curiosity, how long would you let a baby that age sleep at night before waking for a feed?

If he's demand fed I wouldn't wake him at all, he'll wake when he's hungry.
I wouldn't worry unless his weight really started to drop.