Sleeping through the night and Feeding Q's

[yhtking]

My DS has started sleeping through the night till about 6 or 7 in the morning. He usually takes about 5 bottles within the 24 hour period anywhere from 26 oz to 30 oz a day (5 am, 8:30am, 12:30 pm, 4:30 pm and 8:30pm).

Now, my question to all of you is that if he sleeps through the night and skip yet another feeding, how could he maintain the 30 oz average daily intake? That means he would only take 4 bottles (7 am, 11 am, 3 pm and 7 or 7:30 pm). We usually give him the last bottle around 8:30 and put him down in his crib around 9:30 at night. Should I wait till 11:30 at night to give him another bottle? Won't that be too late for him to go to sleep?

Oh yeah, he typically takes about 6 oz per feeding and he just turned 3 mos today and weight about 11.5 lbs. He is a small baby, so there is another reason why I'm asking all of you the question. I want to make sure he is gaining adequate weight if he skips another feeding.

Thanks in advance,
Mom to Baby T (6/6/3)

[wendmatt]

Congratulations on sleeping through the night. My dd's bf and always fed every 2 hrs! However, you could try feeding every 3-31/2 hrs instead of 4. If he takes a little less, he may still be taking a total of more over the day. That's worth a try. I wouldn't give the bottle really late unless he's hungry or he'll get into that habit. I'm def not an expert in the bottle feeding dept though! Good luck and enjoy your sleep!

[AngelaS]

I wouldn't worry about it. If he was hungry, he'd be waking up to eat, wouldn't he?

Also, I've always heard that babies eat 1.5 to 2X their weight in ounces. So if he's 15lbs he'll eat between 22 and 30 oz a day. :)

[khakismom]

When babies drop a feeding, you typically add more to the feedings they keep. If he now skips the 5 am feeding, he will probably take more than 6 oz per feeding. My DD started sleeping thru the nite about 2 weeks ago. She was taking in 6.5 oz. and eating every 5 hours. Since we dropped the 4 am feeding, she now takes 7-8 oz every 4 hours. This builds her up for the long nite sleep (her sched is 8, 12, 4, and 8). I would stick to the schedule you have of 7, 11, 3 and bedtime and give him more to eat in his bottle. I wouldn't drag out his bedtime to 11:30.

As for his weight, he sounds like he is doing great. Every baby is different! :) Good luck, and congrats on the sleeping thru the nite!! :)