not sure if I'm feeding when he's hungry - 2mth old

[GirlWithTheMouseyHair]

I'm exbf my 2 month old DS but finding he's not really asking for it - I feed him if he's gone 3.5hrs without and he rarely asks for it before. He wakes in the night for feeds anywhere between 3 and 7 hours. He feeds well, growing steadily and has regular wet and dirty nappies. I think I'm paranoid if I just leave him to feed when he asks he won't get enough calories during the day and he'll wake more at night - should I just follow him?

He seems to be thriving, I would trust your instincts and carry on with what you are doing. You could leave him longer and see what happens, if he starts waking more often at night then go back to offering regularly.

Hiya. I know someone that was feeding every 5 hours because her lo wasn't asking for food. Some need little and often and some don't. I ff and am a routine kinda girl so my ds had no choice really, but luckily he seemed to want the same as me.
Your ds will ensure he gets enough food so don't worry about that, maybe just give it a few days following what he wants and see what happens.

thanks girls - think once thins have settled after xmas i'll give it a go doing what he wants but if he starts to wake more at night will bring back the structured feeds.

I'm also waking him if he naps for 2 hours during the day and tending to feed as soon as he wakes, which he does guzzle down...

You'll work it out, it does just take time.

You're doing a fab job.

thanks - i spend so much time second guessing us both!!

Don't we all? It took me an awful long time to trust my instincts (still have my moments though 16m on). I used to ring all my friends to ask them what I should dress ds in to go out!

I used to feel extremely apprehensive about feeds when my DD was really young and I started off with offering every 3 hours and getting all het up if she wouldn't take it, and I took every time she cried as meaning she was hungry. It led to overfeeding I think which made her cry more. Certainly she had colic although I don't think that was due to me pumping her full of milk every time she opened her mouth!

Once I got the hang of it at about 8 weeks though I let her get on with it and now I purely feed on demand and don't clock watch and we are both much calmer. As long as there are wet and poo nappies and your LO is putting on weight then really there is no need to worry about feeding at a specific time, and I certainly wouldn't wake my DD if she was sleeping in the day.

Having just re-read my post it looks like my DD is really old, she's actually only 15w and at 8w your post could easily have been mine so please don't think that you'll feel like you're second guessing forever, you really won't be, you'll slip in to a natural routine as soon as you trust yourself and your baby enough to let go of the clock.

thanks lollipop - I seem to go in cycles of second guessing myself and making the mistake if reverting to the books which only make me feel indaequate and upset DS, then manage to cope well trusting my instinct for a while before it goes tits up again!