Feeding gaps

[Poppet1710]

A little advice appreciated. My little one is 3 weeks old EBF. He was having top ups of expressed milk via bottle due to weight loss but hasn’t had one for over a week and is now above his birth weight. He had never been very good at waking for feeds so we have been waking him every 3 hours for feeds. The last 3 days he has been feeding intermittently on and off the boob from around 6 until midnight- feeding for around 5 to 10 minutes then stopping before going back on 20 to 30 mins later. I think he is cluster feeding. When he does eventually settle he will then go back to his pattern of not waking for feeds. Normally I time 3 hours from the start of each feed but where do I mark the start time with the cluster feeding? He doesn’t give many clues so I’m struggling to know how long to leave him before waking him overnight for a feed?

With cluster feeding like that, I'd probably say no more than 3 hours after he settles

If he's feeding on and off over the period of an hour then maybe 2-3 hours after he's properly dropped off. If he's only taking a few sips you could do it 3-4 hours to make sure he's a bit hungrier. Undress him a little, change him, just to wake him up a bit more. As long as he's feeding plenty in the day you can go a little longer at night. You need rest and your night milk is the most nutritious. You might want to pump once in the night if he's just too sleepy to properly feed and then bottle feed him that just to know he's getting enough. I know nipple/teat confusion can sometimes happen but I've rarely known it.

He feeds for a good few minutes then gets off. Doesn’t go to sleep just not interested in more milk at that stage. Then he will will go back on 20 mins later. He was having bottles but did end up refusing the breast entirely at one stage so I am reluctant to introduce the bottle again until he is fully established on the breast unless I need to. That being said he is gaining weight well and making lots of wet nappies, he is just never been much of a regular feeder.

When DD started cluster feeding like that, it was the start of longer stretches at night which were a godsend so I didn't wake her!!! But then she was a bit of a heavy baby to start with so I didn't have 'the fear' about her losing weight as I did with my youngest so I know how it feels.

However, if he is now gaining well, feeding well, is generally settled and plenty of wet and dirty nappies..... do you really need to wake him for feeds still?

How often do you normally try and feed him during the night? I think he's a little too young to not feed at night. It's good that he's putting on weight. Understand about the bottle. I have always had a fast let down so baby gets a lot of milk quickly and doesn't need to feed for long so it could be like that for you although you say he goes back on 20 mins later. Is this during day as well? Obviously sometimes it's for comfort.

I’m feeding him twice at night. I don’t let him go more than 3 hours before I wake him. Last night he finished cluster feeding at 11, had a quick 5 minute feed at 1 but then a longer 20 minute feed at 3 which he woke himself for. He then fed again at 6- again he woke himself for that but I was about to wake him anyway. All in all I try to get him to feed every 3 hours but he isn’t always interested.

I hope you're getting some sleep, nothing worse than waiting for them to wake up and waking at all their stirrings. He must be getting plenty of milk, sounds like he's doing well at night. That's good for a 3 week old.