Are four hour feeds enough to increase milk supply?

[Arcticprincess]

I have a wonderful 11 day old, who has settled into a routine of 4 hour feeds (where he takes 30 mins per breast) and then sleeps until the next feed. I am worried he is not getting enough milk after hearing advice i should be feeding him more often. I am also worried that my milk supply won´t increase as he is only feeding 4 hourly.

Any help, thoughts, gratefully received.

In the early days my DS fed every four hours.... Then it went up to 2 hourly quite quickly. And he woke up

How are his nappies? Is he sleepy all the time?

My ds did this, almost to the minute. He seemed just fine (he's 11), I think he was an efficient sucker He did have a few phases when he fed more often, but really the lengths just grew as he grew up a bit more. It was lovely! dd was the complete opposite, little feeds all the time. Much harder work!

Thank you, he is sleepy between feeds and fills his nappy at feeding time. As a first time mum i am just worried that my milk will dry up with these long breaks, but he sleeps soundly so i hope he is content.

Arcticprincess, for most mothers and babies four hours is not enough, you are right.

But some babies are like this and all is well.

At 11 days, it would be a good idea to have him weighed, and to ask the midwife for other signs of his health and well-being....he should be pooing several times a day for instance, and feeding enthusiastically.

I agree with tiktok - go for a weigh in to get reassurance.

Once my DS woke up more he would be alert in the mornings then sleepy in the afternoons. That gradually changed to alert later in the day (for short bursts though!)
I kept him with me/on me all the time so could watch for feeding cues which he'd do even in his sleep (his tongue would come out, start nuzzling etc).

Do you put him down between feeds? Try keeping him close for a couple of days (on you, in sling) and see if he feeds more often.

If you are feeding him when he wants then I don't think it is a problem.

He will probably go through a stage where he is upping your supply and wanting to feed more anyway, just enjoy it while it lasts (but don't expect it too!).

Morloth - the risk with new babies is that feeding 'when the baby wants' may not be enough, if breastfeeding has not got off to a good start. The baby may look as if he is feeding, but in fact is not transferring milk well. Then he conserves energy by sleeping and not feeding much....not good.

It's not possible to tell from the OP's post what's going on, which is why having the baby weighed and checked out is safer.

Ah right, I always assumed a normal healthy baby would yell when hungry.

At 30mins per breast though, he is really only going 3 hours between milk?

If he can go 4 hours between feds sound ok but as the weeks go on he'll wake up more, so make sure awake time is during the day not at night!

Personally I always woke the baby up for 3 hourly feds in the day but if a feed took a whole hour then maybe would have aimed for 3.5 hourly....

best get him weighed weekly until you are sure the weigh gain ok.

Morloth - when babies are well-fed they will certainly 'ask' to be fed. It's the babies whose personality does not make them very vocal and ask very loudly, or who are already trying to conserve energy, that don't do the asking....we can't see which sort of baby the OP has and in any case he might be just fine

We count the gaps between feeds from the start of one feed to the start of the next.

I'd agree with tiktok, it would be worth knowing a bit more about what's going on here. How often is he pooing? What's his weight like?

Thank you ladies, i have been waking him every three hours today and his nappy contents is increasing (yay) When we left the hospital he was almost 4 kilos, and i have booked an appoinment for a weigh in on Tuesday. Still sticking to half an hour on each breast also, fingers crossed for weight gain and increased milk

Ah I see the issue then tiktok, my babies are very vocal indeed when they are displeased.

The night feeds especially make your milk come in so just make sure you're feeding then, remember they all lose weight in the 2nd week and then gain it back so don't be pressurised by app on Tues, every check up I've had with a newborn I've had to remind the nurse that weight charts are based on averages and most babies are formula fed. Long as you are feeding often and for long enough, and there is enough wet/dirty nappies all should be fine. I always did baby led feeding but with ds (10 mths old) I had to wake him the odd time to feed.

Also drink lots of water and some nettle tea is good too.

Good luck.