Newborn formula feeding

[Lucban]

Hi I need advice on my formula fed baby.
My newborn is 4 weeks old and he usually feeds every 3/4 hours. After 4 hours I wake him up because midwives and the Internet tell you dont let them go any longer than 4 hours. However, sometimes I wake him after 4 hours and he isn't interested in feeding and wants to go back to sleep. What is the best advice? Do i let him sleep even if it's been over 4 hours?

Is he full term and a good weight? Gaining weight and plenty of wet nappies?

If so I would let them sleep and feed on demand as long as the above points are checked. Keeping an eye on his intake overall. My pair were big babies ate furiously during the day and conked out for 7hours early on.

In the day yes but not at night.

At 4 weeks I think it's okay to let them sleep IF they are gaining weight well. Until then, continue wakingand getting some milk in, even if it's just a little bit

He was born at 41 weeks and weighed 6lb 1oz and now he weighs nearly 9lb. Lots of wet nappies!! It's not every feed he does this maybe 1 feed a day where he wants to sleep longer. Usually he is pretty good at waking for feeds. I think I'm worrying too much, he drinks around 4 to 5oz too.
For example this morning he woke up at 430am he drank 4oz, went back to sleep and he woke up at 730am drank 1oz and now he's fast asleep. Shall I leave him to wake up again? Or wake him?

You don’t need to wake a healthy full term infant that has regained their birthweight and is continuing to gain well. However, I would personally continue to wake after 3-4 hours during the day with the aim being that they take most of their calories during the day and can then therefore hopefully go longer at night, but that’s a choice, not a necessity!

If he weight is fine and he is weeing enough (which it sounds like he is) then I would just feed on demand and not wake him.

Hi OP,

My LO is 5 weeks and sometimes in the night there are 4 hours between feeds and the LO hasn't got up. I try to feed unless the LO is uper tired and does open their mouth or is too tired to suck. I think like other ppl have said if he is drinking ok during the day should be ok but double check with your health visitor.

I didn't wake my DS when he was 4 weeks as his jaundiced had cleared and he regained his birth weight and was gaining weight.

I now have 3 week old twins and will stop the night time feedings soon. They were born at 36 weeks and again have regained their birth weight. They don't go full stretches at night at the moment though.

I feed every 3 hours in the day though.

im a first time mum to an almost ten week old, born at 38+6 weighing 8lb 10oz.
I am much like @FlounderingFruitcake in that I wake to feed during the day but not night. Even as a newborn my little one only woke once to feed in the night (feed at 11am, then again at 3am and back up at 7am). He’s now beginning to drop his night feed all together (inconsistent but getting there).
I wouldn’t wake in the night to feed but I try to get all the calories in during the day so they sleep more at night. My baby is generally good at feeding even when asleep though but if he’s not alert then his nappy gets changed which always wakes him!

he’s fed about 3hourly in the day, 5oz at a time.

I never woke my formula fed baby at night. He sometimes went 5-6 hours without feeding, sometimes ate every two hours (at night) and eventually he stopped night feeding at 16 weeks altogether. I wouldn't wake baby at night, I'd wait for them to ask for food. He's a perfectly happy & healthy 3 year old now.

Thanks for asking this question I had the same concern.

I would stop waking to feed at this point. It's important in early days/weeks but once they are steadily gaining weight, I wouldn't bother. I waited until 6 weeks with my own little one, but only because that's when i happened to mention it to my health visitor who told me to stop.

For my little one, she just started to drop her night feeds one by one. First she stopped waking for her 11pm feed, then a few weeks later she stopped waking for 2am.....kept the 5am for a good while but then eventually dropped that too and I never gave it a second thought.

I should say that the reduced night feeds definitely coincided with her increasing her daytime oz's per bottle - so it all evened out.

I never woke any my three formula fed babies during the night. I gave a late feed at maybe around 10.30 or 11pm and then left them to sleep for as long as they would, which was often for quite a lot longer than 4 hours. All slept through from relatively early on.

I would wake them in the day if they looked like sleeping for longer than 4 hours. I got as much milk into them in the daytime as possible.

That worked for us. They are now aged 27, 24 and 20 and all fine. I now look back on some of the things I used to worry about and ask myself why I was so bothered by it, but I think it is easy to feel overwhelmed when you have a newborn. Then you do overthink things. I know I did.

A full term baby will wake when they're hungry - I done the same with my first born. Was stressing out every four hours and waking to feed. The visiting midwife told me she will wake when she's hungry and to let her (and me) sleep.

I would and did let my pvair sleep. Needless to say I woke more than them to make sure they were fine.

Once they are hydrated and healthy and meeting the minimum quantity of oz over the 24 hours I would crack on.

DD has just turned 6 weeks old and usually she can go around 2.5-3, sometimes 4 hours at night without a feed.
Typically she would take around 3-4oz during the nighttime feedings, however she has recently started waking every 30-40 mins, acting hungry every 1.5 hours and only taking 1-2oz.
She’s a great feeder during the day and will drink anywhere up to 5.5oz every 3-4 hours.
Is this a sign of a growth spurt maybe? Why is it only happening at night? Is there a reason for the frequent wakings and drinking less? Mama needs sleep!🤣