How long does your EBF newborn go between feeds?

[User24692]

My 5 week old only ever goes 1.5-2.5 hours from the start of one feed to the start of the next. The feed generally lasts anywhere from 15-30 mins and then by the time I keep him upright, wind him, change his nappy, it takes an hour. This means it’s then only another 30 mins - one hour before he needs fed again.

Is this normal? Will he start to last longer between feeds? How long does your newborn go between feeds, especially at night?

I’m struggling with only getting an hour sleep at a time during the night and only ever get a maximum of 4-5 hours. Thanks

I think that sounds pretty normal but there are some things you can do to try and help.

Firstly, does he need his nappy changing every time? That might save you a bit of time. Also, if someone else is around can they do the burping and changing?

Probably a bit controversial but try not winding him?

@RappersNeedChapstick thank you for replying. He does need his nappy changing every time as he pees a lot and would leak through if it wasn’t changed. To be honest winding him only takes 5 mins or so but he needs to be upright for a good 15 mins as he gets the hiccups and a bit sick if not.

I’ve moved my partner to the spare room so that he can get a good stretch of sleep for work, which does work for us it’s just a shame baby wakes so often! I’d love even 2-3 hours uninterrupted!

I feel like mine feed every 30 seconds! It does ease up as they get older. You could try changing his nappy before a feed. Also most breastfeed babies don't need burping.

That sounds very normal in the early days to me - it will get easier, the gaps will get longer (and sometimes shorter...!), the need to change nappies/wind etc will also reduce, and the time they need to feed for will reduce. But you're in the thick of it at the moment, and it is tiring and hard and feels like you're endlessly feeding. Hang in there, it gets better I promise!

I think you need to hand him over for the winding and changing, after you've fed him. At least once in the night time.

This is completely normal, the first few weeks are so so hard, just remember it won't last forever. Around 12 weeks their stomachs are bigger and I found mine went a bit longer between feeds then and also were more alert and could be entertained more with a play mat etc between feeds, newborns just want to sleep and feed really.

I tend to change his nappy when he’s finished on one breast and before I offer the other but will try changing before the feed. I don’t really tend to burp him but I do need to keep him upright after a feed for at least 15 mins otherwise he brings milk up

I’m glad to hear it gets better!

We used some special sort of night time nappies and could go the night without leaks easily. And then regular ones in the day. The nappy change tended to wake him up so was good to avoid that.

Just here for solidarity, currently 4 weeks pp. I've now got the mentality that I basically feed all day, and then sometimes get a slightly longer (3-3.5 hours max) stretch at night. That mindset has helped even if I've not had the longer stretch! I also basicallydo nothing else all day but shower, eat and nap. It's brutal but as it's my second, I know it's temporary.

Could you try to size up on nappies? That's made a difference for us, size 1 pampers absorbs a lot more than size 1 aldi so maybe a brand change too?

Agree on getting someone else to do the winding if you can, although I find another feed is often needed just after the wind comes up, so in my case that wouldn't work! I've found when there's a better latch less winding and tine upright is needed, so maybe work on the latch too?

I've tried pumping get a bottle and give me a break but the sterilising seems to just create more work!

This is my second and I do remember it being similar last time (if anythinng, harder actually, I swear I cried way more last time through the cluster feeding!) but I ended up BF exclusively for over a year in the end and it was SO worth it in the long run.

My daughter went 60-90 minutes between feeds during the day and could feed 3-10 times over night. She developed silent reflux and food allergies which reduced her day time feeds to seconds so she mostly fed at night when she was calmer.

Honestly, I wouldn't compare with others, we've all got different storage capacities for one thing. I found this article really helpful: https://www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com/blog/the-dangerous-game-of-the-feeding-interval-obsession

If you can do the feeding and get your partner to do the rest (also do you need to change his nappy every feed?)

Thanks for your supportive comments. @MrsTeepee im glad I’m not alone! I went to a breastfeeding support group yesterday and got some help with my latch. Baby has had longer stretches of sleep since (by about 30 minutes but better than nothing!).

@Shipsafeinharbour thanks, I’ll have a read. Definitely need to change nappy at every feed as he does loads of pees and they’re always full when it comes to needing fed again