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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

4/5 week old - feeding timings - advice please !

9 replies

herbgarden · 20/02/2009 19:44

DD is my second child....

She is F/F and is now at 7lbs. She was born 3 weeks early by c-section and was very very sleepy.

As she was so little (5lbs 7oz on leaving hospital) I woke to feed her every 3 hours to ensure she got good weight gain as she was very very sleepy and would have gone for hours without a feed otherwise (not good given weight).

We are now 5 weeks on and we tend to put her down at around 6.30pm (so I can read DS stories and have a bit of time together without her squawking). She wakes around 10pm and takes 4oz.

She then wakes pretty much like clockwork each night at 9.30/10pm and DH does this feed so I can get some sleep after an early night and then 1.30/45am and then 4.30am ish. and each time gulps down 3oz. SHe does go down to sleep again each time.

During the day she doesn't gulp down quite as much and I reckon if I didn't wake her, she'd miss feeds.

So, my question is, if your dc had a similar pattern and woke twice in the night, did her feeding in the night just naturally extend a bit longer? She's still little and still young so it's fine, I'm just interested. DS went a little bit longer to one feed around 7 weeks but he did weigh nearly 9lbs at 4 weeks which I think makes quite a difference.

DS is waking in the night so I often don't get to sleep from when the first waking happens so I'm feeling a bit knackered !

OP posts:
SnowlightMcKenzie · 20/02/2009 20:42

Bumping for you

Dillydaydreamer · 20/02/2009 21:01

Birth weight does make a huge difference because the bigger they are the bigger the tum!
DD1 was ff from 6wks but was 9lb12oz born so she went straight to 4hrly feeds.
My friends little one was similar BW to your dd and was feeding 3hrly until about 8wks x 2 per night, she is now about 10wks and they feed at 7, 10, 1, 4, 7 and 10 and let her wake them in the night. HTH

Dillydaydreamer · 20/02/2009 21:05

A good ploy for a sleepy baby is feed in a vest, change nappy mid feed to wake up.
You could try stopping the feed after 2oz in the night so she hopefully will feed better at daytime feeds if she will settle on that iyswim.

herbgarden · 21/02/2009 12:06

Thanks Dilly, I'm queen of the undressing baby thing (even when it's cold) - I've been known to give her a warm dunk in the washing up bowl if she's really sleepy as she loves a bath and will go into this awake calm mode which makes her feed better !

Thanks for the advice re your friend. I think you're right though re the size of them and the frequency of feeds. I reckon she'll be 9/10 weeks before we're down to 1 feed. For now, I'm going to just try to get through the sleepless few weeks with toddler in tow !

OP posts:
Dillydaydreamer · 26/02/2009 20:34

Hi herb, my friend gave me an update today and her dd2 is now 11wks today and going 1030-7 with the GF 4-6wk routine so there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

2cats2many · 26/02/2009 20:36

Both my babies fed 3 hourly during the day and dropped the 9pm-ish feed first. My dd dropped the 4pm-ish feed next (am still waiting for ds to drop that one!) and dropped the midnight feed last of all, going through from 7-7pm by about 5 months.

herbgarden · 28/02/2009 14:47

Thanks dilly for letting me know that.

She's stretching a bit more to nearer 2/2.30 - so more like 4 hours after her 10/10.30 feed and then goes to 5/5/30 (altho she has a cold and sometimes being snotty wakes her and whilst she might not want a feed,she starts rooting as it's 3 hours since she last fed so probably wouldn't easily get herself back off after that). DH says he's finding she wakes later after that late feed too whereas before she was waking quite early so I'm thinking she seems to be getting better at the going longer thing.

OP posts:
Dillydaydreamer · 01/03/2009 21:29

Herb as its your second just keep in mind that in a few months you know things will be easier The first months always felt like a lifetime for me but now I can't believe my 2nd will be 1 in a couple of weeks. Time flies when you're having fun !

Blondeshavemorefun · 01/03/2009 23:01

sounds as if she is in a fab routine - well done

the babies I mn/nn for normally drop the 3/4am feed at about 7/8weeks and then the 10/11pm by 12 weeks

as your dd was 3weeks prem and only 5+lbs

  • i would be inclined to extend my normal routine by 3 weeks and give up the am feed at 10weeks and the dream feed by 15/16weeks if she hasnt already slept through by then
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