When can you demand feed?

[SassyPants87]

Currently waking my 3 week old every 3 hours to feed. The lack of sleep is killing me!

When can I start feeding on demand and letting her sleep as long as she needs to?

Sounds like you're doing really well. As long as baby is pooing and peeing regularly I'd knock the weighing on the head. As a mum of a v small ebf first baby she was weighed weekly. I became neurotic about her weight. By the time I had second baby I didn't get her weighed unless she was having her injections beyond the first few weeks. I once went to the baby weigh clinic with her and because she hadn't gained as much as I expected I felt myself start to spiral into the obsession again.
It's really tough. I never woke any of my ebf babies.

@porridgeface

I had a baby back in May, my HV advised to feed every 2hours in the day and every 4 at night

It's shocking that HV are so ill-informed.

EBF babies will all feed differently. Some will feel like the fee constantly, others will feed often & for short periods, some feed for longer & space out their feeds.

Trying to follow a schedule like this crazy & also possibly harmful for the baby.

The cues are gaining weight, plenty wet nappies, healthy & happy otherwise. Be led by baby

My little one wouldn't wake up for feeds during the first few days/week. So we had to strip her down to her nappy for each feed.
She then started waking up for feeds every 2-3 hours I kept an alarm for 3h for the next few weeks. I only had to wake her occasionally. After 3 weeks she was heavier than her birth weight. I stopped alarms over night she woke every 2-3h anyway, during the day I woke her once or twice on the rare times she went 4h. I have fed on demand completely since 4 weeks which is every 1-2h during the day and still 2-3h over night.

@Peasbewithyou I've started demand feeding but she'll only take like 6 maybe 7 feeds in 24 hours. She's still feeding well and sleeping long stretches. As long as she's gaining weight is this okay? She's 5 weeks old now

Plenty of wet and dirty nappies and gaining weight sounds absolutely great!!

Mine all slept LOADS until 6/7 weeks (4 DC) and mine never had lots and lots of feeds even the 10lb 6oz monster child...

@BertieBotts

You can feed on demand as soon as they have regained birth weight.

Don't wake a sleeping baby!!

Yes this! Don’t wake your baby, sleep is sooooo important for them too.