When can I expect my baby to stop feeding every 2.5-3 hours??

[Italianbride]

DS was born at 33 weeks, is now coming up to 14 weeks (so 7 weeks corrected). He has discovered a love of food after a slow start and is able to tuck away a fair amount despite his size (7lb 3oz at last weigh in). However he does not seem to want to stretch out the gaps between food at all and wants feeding every 2.5 to 3 hours, including through the night.

I know that he has some catching up to do so I guess I'm just after some reassurance that this period will pass and I will not be up 3 times each night forever!

If you are breast-feeding then in my experience you can expect 7 to 8 months of 3 hourly feeds or less. Sorry! I don't think that is unusual for breastfed babies though. My 28 weeker fed almost hourly for quite a few periods of time. Co-sleeping transformed my life and saved my sanity.

2.5- 3 hrs in between feeds is realistic for his age during the day and you should stick to it for now and the next few months.
regular feeding like that is really good, you'll be thankful he's got a fantastic routine!

The trick is to cluster feed at the evening, they will want to do this anyway, tanking up for the night - hopefully!

say after 6 pm you could bring the feeds CLOSER together (cluster feeding) say 2 hourly (so at 8pm and 10 pm) then he might be able to sleep for say 4-6 hrs in one go. as soon as he falls asleep after last feed you must go to bed too, you might get lucky night sleep!

of course you can start the cluster feeding later say 8pm, 10pm and 12 midnight or whatever suits you and your circumstances, the idea is to "tank 'em up"

no it won't last for ever, but I'd say if he keeps to a 3 hourly routine till he's 3-4 months old (or even older) , eventually he'll be able to sleep for longer periods at night! and make sure he has regular naps in the day too.

I love Tracy Hoggs "The Baby Whisperer" - I found it excellent advice, and wished I had the book when my eldest was a newborn! (only discopvered it with DS3!)

5 words Babies Use (Baby Language).flv - also check this out on you tube, genius!!!

Hi, noticed this in active convos. I have had 3 dc' s (all full term) and that sounds like a normal feeding pattern for the first few months. I think these babies that go 4 hours between feeds must be mythical creatures :)

Erm, sorry but what clabsyqueen said, all of it inc the co sleeping. They have such tiny stomachs they really need to feed little & often. Feeding lying down is a lifesaver. I still do lots of night feeds at 15 months but I don't even sit up let alone get up. That would make me tooo grumpy

ItalianBride DS was born at 31+5 and was 4 months (2 months corrected) before he went for 4 hours or more between feeds. With a prem it is kind of like you are in the newborn stage for longer, so just take it as it comes, would be my advice, and hopefully by 12 weeks things should get a bit easier.