Newborn Routine

[AtoZ1519]

Just wondering if anyone has any tips or advice on how to get my 8 week old into a feeding routine.

He was born by a very complex elective caesarean and I struggled with my recovery for weeks battling infections and haemorrhages. As a result I didn't produce enough milk and my little boy lost more than 10% of his body weight. We were told to top up with formula while I recover and my milk makes an appearance which we did. As a result of this I ended up pretty much feeding constantly. Up until now that's been hard going at times but I've had my sleep reserves to fall back on. But now I'm really struggling!! I'm basically running on empty and want to get into a feeding routine of every 3 hours. During the day he does sometimes have to wait for a feed when I do the school run or dealing with my eldest. We have a 4.3 year old who has just started school and struggling a little so I'm mindful that he gets the sleep he needs. What's the best way to help ease him into a feeding routine? I'm still using top up feeds but not all day as trying to increase my supply.

Note..my partner leave a for work at 4:30am and gets home at 5:30/6pm or later (10pm).

Sorry to disappoint you but if you are breastfeeding, at 8 weeks you are still trying to establish supply which means demand and/or cluster feeding. Three hourly feeding routing is probably unrealistic at this point...hang in there!

I was feeding almost constantly, but in reality most of the day it was probably every 1-2 hours. The feeds spread out eventually. One of my friends did 4 hourly feeds from day 1 and it seemed to work for her. Just do what you need to do for yourself and your baby. Try to relax and enjoy feeding. Have a cool drink and a snack nearby and make the most of the cuddles.

8 week olds feed a lot more than every 3 hours, especially breastfed ones. Their stomachs are tiny and little and often is what they need.

It will get better, I promise, but it’s not going to settle just yet

Omg I hear you! I had a baby just like this and I spent the first few months of his life agonising over our lack of routine (not helped by being good friends with an Uber Gina Ford mum whose baby was times with military precision). I’d say to scale back your expectations (including of what you need to do on a day to day basis), get into some good box sets, and eat all the cake. It will change quite quickly, when you least expect it!

If you've had complications that delay milk it also delays BF getting established. I can't speak for everyone but mine didn't start going 3 hourly until she was over 6 months, 8 weeks is still really little.

I did 3 hourly feeds from about 6 weeks although my son was a normal weight. I followed Gina Ford's guidance roughly (she gets an unfairly bad press in my opinion) and the things which really helped were:

• expressing extra milk after morning feeds to keep building my supply - you can then store that and give as top-ups in evening or dream feed
• working really hard to keep baby awake and feeding as long as possible at each feed - if he seemed to be dropping off, stroking his spine or gently flicking his ears would sometimes keep him going. If he fully empties the breast (especially important to get the rich hind milk to fill him up), he can go a little longer before next feed
• sticking to a routine, so feeding approx 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, 10pm and minimal amounts at night

It can be done but it doesn't work for every mum and baby. It did make my life a LOT easier and I kept up BF for a full year.

I’m afraid breastfed babies won’t go that long between feeds until they are older. Trying to stretch them out would be quite cruel. You need to accept that the baby needs feeding when it’s hungry or switch to formula if you feel you’re not coping. Formula fills babies up for longer as it is digested more slowly.

This newborn stage is the hardest thing in the world but it will get easier with time.

Thank you everyone. I desperately want to continue breastfeeding and dropping the formula. I breastfed my eldest until just after he was 3 years old and like to do the same. I'm just struggling with the lack of sleep and was thinking if I could get 3 hours that would be beneficial. If I can't it's ok my little man is more important.

I do try and keep him awake for feeds but not always successful. And I can't express anything because he's constantly on my boob. The most I've been able to express was 15 mls but usually it's just a drip or two ☹️

It might just be a case of waiting for him to get bigger and be able to feed more quickly.

Can you try feeding every 2 hours and then work on extending it by 15 minutes at a time?

@user1480880826 Did you read my post where I did manage fine on 3 hourly feeds? My son was well-fed and content, didn't need any formula. It annoys me when people generalise on behalf of ALL mothers and babies everywhere, and language like that makes mums feel unnecessarily guilty about trying to establish a routine that works perfectly well for many.