Newborn..feed on demand or Wake up for feeds?

qwertytlk

Hi, my son is 9 days old and in hospital we were advised to feed 3 hourly, even if that meant waking the baby for food but as im home and getting into a routine i am wondering what do people advise, to just feed the baby on demand. I.e. When he wakes for food anywhere over the 3 hourly mark, whether that be 4 or 5 hourly or to keep feeding 3 hourly? Also if i keep feeding 3 or 4 hourly, then will he sleep longer at night of not woken for food or will he be used to feeding and wake every 3-4 hours anyway?? Thanks

Butterflylove

My little girl is 5weeks now and had Jaundice at the beginning so had to feed her every 3 hours otherwise I could leave her to feed every 4-5 hours I was also told never to wake a sleeping baby,

Does your son sleep alot? Could he possibly have jaundice and is this why they recommended waking him for feeds and doing so every 3 hours?

If he does its nothing to worry about their skin is just a touch on the yellow side,

cynder

My guys woke every 2 hours and took 2 ounces, so i never had to wake them up. I prefer feeding on demand but each babies needs are different. One of my guys was jaundiced for 6 weeks, and was 5 weeks premature.

uriah

Unless there is a specific medical reason why the child must be fed every three hours, I'd work with nature and the child's own wishes - feed on demand.

implausible

The rule in our house is - don't poke the bear!

(unless of course, there is a medical reason)

qwertytlk

Thanks for replies, i was eleven days overdue and he was jaundice and had to go under lambs for 24hours and had to feed every 3hours but he has been checked with the light and had blood tests since and the level is way down an his colour is way better so baby doctor said it was up to me.. Im just wondering what is best as i would like him to sleep for a bit longer at night if possible. He was sleeping alot and was taking a long time to feed when the jaundice was bad but that all changed once he got the Lao treatment for 24 hours and as i said jaundice is almost gone. He takes between 60 and 90mls each feed now. And i have been feeding him approx 4 hourly but im conscious if i keep feeding him 4 hourly, or 3 hourly that he will get used to that and always wake then, or does it not really work like that? Or does it depend on baby?

hacked

God no don't wake a sleeping baby! If they are that hungry, they'll wake up themselves! I fed my little girl on demand and it worked well for us, but I was breastfeeding.

bulmersgal

I tried to feed between 3-4 hours during the day and let her wake me at night. This seemed to work for us

Butterflylove

qwertytlk wrote: »

Thanks for replies, i was eleven days overdue and he was jaundice and had to go under lambs for 24hours and had to feed every 3hours but he has been checked with the light and had blood tests since and the level is way down an his colour is way better so baby doctor said it was up to me.. Im just wondering what is best as i would like him to sleep for a bit longer at night if possible. He was sleeping alot and was taking a long time to feed when the jaundice was bad but that all changed once he got the Lao treatment for 24 hours and as i said jaundice is almost gone. He takes between 60 and 90mls each feed now. And i have been feeding him approx 4 hourly but im conscious if i keep feeding him 4 hourly, or 3 hourly that he will get used to that and always wake then, or does it not really work like that? Or does it depend on baby?

that's a great feed for only 9 days my little one didn't go under lamps but was very yellow if You've been given all clear and your happy with the amount he's taking then let him sleep, my little girl is five weeks and will feed every three to four hours during day and goes for a six to seven stretch at night on 6oz as long as he's taking his bottles that's all that matters top up his feeds a oz every one to two weeks if you need any advice or just to talk feel free to pm me

Winnie

My son is just over 2 weeks old and tends to wake nearly every 3 hours on the dot sometimes it can be 2 and half hours..........should he not be starting to stretch to four hours by now? He lost a bit of weight once born but has since put it back on but I just hope he is not being overfed now but I do only feed him when he wakes up crying for it. Plus he is drinking approx 120ml each feed, he was 8lb 4oz when born so a slightly bigger baby.

uriah

qwertytlk wrote: »

Thanks for replies, i was eleven days overdue and he was jaundice and had to go under lambs for 24hours and had to feed every 3hours but he has been checked with the light and had blood tests since and the level is way down an his colour is way better so baby doctor said it was up to me.. Im just wondering what is best as i would like him to sleep for a bit longer at night if possible. He was sleeping alot and was taking a long time to feed when the jaundice was bad but that all changed once he got the Lao treatment for 24 hours and as i said jaundice is almost gone. He takes between 60 and 90mls each feed now. And i have been feeding him approx 4 hourly but im conscious if i keep feeding him 4 hourly, or 3 hourly that he will get used to that and always wake then, or does it not really work like that? Or does it depend on baby?

If there is any hint of jaundice, then I would absolutely follow the instruction to feed every three hours. And I would continue to do so until the medics tell me all signs of jaundice has disappeared.

Time between feeds will lengthen naturally as time goes on.

mrsberries

Firstly, congrats!!

My 12 week old started sleeping through the night from 9 weeks so think we finally cracked it (each baby is different though).

What we figured with her is feed her every 3/4 hours during the day and wake her if necessary but dont at night. So on demand at night and at scheduled times during the day. Its great for planning and getting into some sort of routine.

Good luck with it all

Butterflylove

uriah wrote: »

If there is any hint of jaundice, then I would absolutely follow the instruction to feed every three hours. And I would continue to do so until the medics tell me all signs of jaundice has disappeared.

+1 on this! I read it wrong assuming all Jaundice was gone! It wont take long for it to clear and once it does you'll see baby more awake and alert!

Cat Melodeon

Re stretching out feeds and sleeping through the night, I'd say take your baby's lead. Once they are healthy and there is no medical advice to do otherwise, they'll let you know what they need. Most babies I know have been fed on demand, some went to sleeping through the night within 2 months, most took a lot longer. My own was exceptionally bad - nearly a year old and in his own room before he'd reliably sleep through - but I think now that was more due to the other half snoring than the way we fed the baby. Luckily for us it wasn't too much of an issue as my work hours had been slashed and we were able to manage the broken nights' sleep with naps and turn-taking.

The biggest advantage I see to it is that it cancels out a lot of the stress and guesswork of trying to make a baby stick to an arbitrary schedule. When you feed on demand, they take as much as they need as often as they need, and as long as they gain weight at a healthy pace there's no need to be worrying about it. I understand in a case where there are health problems or where you have to go back to work quickly it might be necessary to try and get a good routine going, but unless circumstances demand it, I think going with the flow is probably the most stress-free and baby-friendly option. My lad is nearly two now and I can't remember a single instance where I had to battle to feed him, whether it was breast, bottle or solids.

Iwannahurl

On demand, I say.

Babies are not robots. It'll take a while to develop a routine, but IMO it's important to work towards that goal (without putting undue pressure on yourself or baby).

I had a bad reaction to the hospital's attitude towards feeding, both breast and bottle. They reminded me of old-fashioned nuns rather than modern evidence-based professional practitioners.

Check out Clare Byam-Cook for practical, no-nonsense advice.

hacked

Iwannahurl wrote: »

On demand, I say.

Babies are not robots. It'll take a while to develop a routine, but IMO it's important to work towards that goal (without putting undue pressure on yourself or baby).

I had a bad reaction to the hospital's attitude towards feeding, both breast and bottle. They reminded me of old-fashioned nuns rather than modern evidence-based professional practitioners.

Check out Clare Byam-Cook for practical, no-nonsense advice.

+1 on this!! I was in Holles Street and highly unimpressed. Especially with the breastfeeding. I Was told numerous times once I had the baby if I was going to breastfeed I could request to see a lactation consultant.

The midwife with me when I was first brought down to the ward was a bit useless, so i requested to see a consultant to make sure I got latching down correctly. I was promptly snapped at and told that all midwives are lactation consultants!:eek: BS!!! Got some of the worst adivce ever from midwives whilst I was there.

Skadi

I feed mine on demand. It is normally around every 4 hours but she decides. If during the day she hasn't woken up after 5 hours, I will simply take the blanket off and then leave her wake up naturally herself. I find in the morning she goes longer between feeds and takes a smaller amount but then she makes up for it during the day with some feeds in the evening being 3 hours or less apart.

She's just over 3 mths old now, but was born 12 wks premature. She's had a few nights where she has gone 6 hours for feeds.

newmammy2011

mrsberries wrote: »

Firstly, congrats!!

My 12 week old started sleeping through the night from 9 weeks so think we finally cracked it (each baby is different though).

What we figured with her is feed her every 3/4 hours during the day and wake her if necessary but dont at night. So on demand at night and at scheduled times during the day. Its great for planning and getting into some sort of routine.

Good luck with it all

This is what I do with my 12 week old twins.
I was also told to feed them every 3 hours in the hospital. They werent jaundiced but I was told to keep this up while I was in the hospital to make sure they didnt get jaundiced.
Since we left the hosp I havent woke them at night.
They are currently being fed at 7.00am, 10.30am, 2pm, 5.30pm and 8.30pm and the sleep thru

lasser

DO you eat and drink when you are hungry and thirsty or do you look at the clock and say no it's not my time to eat or drink yet I have to wait another hour or more e.t.c ????? Feeding on demand is the way nature intended it to be and imo so much easier than stressing out over trying to get routines going therefore potentially upsetting your lo and yourself as trying tog et a routine going with a BF baby can be quite challenging -