Feeding question: he slept through night, but...

[robandtakako]

Hello,

My 2 month old son Nicholas slept through 7 hours last night (12 to 7). We were glad to be able to have a good chunk of sleep (though I had to wake up and pump at 4 a.m. due to lots of leaking and fullness), but I am wondering how I should handle number of feedings.
Books and my PD say when breastfeeding, newborns need to be fed 8 to 12 times / day, every 2 to 3 hours. This means I have to squeeze in at least 8 times feedings between when he wakes up and goes to bed (which is every 1.5 to 2 hours)? If so, I have little time left other than feeding/burping/changing/helping him nap. Or is it OK to reduce the number of the feedings like to 7 or 6 so that there will be good 2 to 3 hours between feedings? How do you manage breastfeeding when your baby starts to sleep through night?

Here is what we are doting now….
I usually breastfeed him 8 times/day (15-20 min each side). I do not put him in a solid schedule, but do not feed him on demand either since it is hard for me to tell hunger cry from bored/tired cry. Everyday feeding schedule starts from when he wakes up. Roughly every 2.5 -3 hours during day (and i try to run some errands with a 3 hours slot), every 2 hours in the evening (since it seems my supply gets low towards the end of the day) and one time during midnight (around 4 a.m.). The feeding before putting him to sleep is at around 9:30 -10:00 immediately followed by a bottle (4 oz) my husband gives. Nico gets very fussy in the evening and does not seem to be sleepy after the bottle (though he gets drowsy after the last breastfeeding), so my husband wears him in Bjorn and does some chores until he falls asleep. By the time he fell asleep, it is around 12:00. (I am concerned about him going to bed this late, but that is another story.)

Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

Takako
(Nicholas, born on 8/21/03)

[C99]

Well, I hate to say this, but don't count your chickens before they hatch! Some babies will do a 7-hour stretch every once in awhile before they do it consistently. And if he does do it consistently, throw out the books on how often he needs to eat and enjoy the sleep! Feed him on demand for now and just enjoy it. Nate's 9-m/o and still eats on demand during daytime/waking hours. A 2-month-old will probably still eat every 2-3 hours so if that is what you are doing, you are ok. I wouldn't worry too much about scheduling your baby at this point. His sleep patterns won't mature until he's 3 or 4 (or 5) months old anyway. :) HTH

[hellokitty1]

Ditto to Caroline's comments. The 7 hour stretch is great but if it was just last night, don't get too excited (:() DD did it too at about that age and we were so excited the next morning but it was a random thing and didn't happen the next night. It did happen a few more times for the next few months. Fortunately, DD did start to sleep through night around 4.5 months.

[wreckgirl1]

My 7-week old slept through the night (8+ hours) from the time she was 2 weeks old. But we've found that she gets really fussy in the mornings then, and it is best for us to wake her up if she is making noises (not awake, but making noises) enough to wake either of us up after 6 hours. She immediately goes back to sleep for at least another 2 hours then! I know, I'm very lucky to have such a sleep addict! She's awake for longer stretches than most during the day, though!

I don't really worry too much on any individual day about making sure that she feeds at least 8 times/day, but looking at our feeding chart (yes, we still chart it...DH and I are both scientists/engineers...we LOVE data!) she does usually eat at 8-10 times a day most days. We pretty much still feed on demand, though. She does tend to cluster feed (every 45 minutes or so!) a couple of hours before she goes to sleep. Maybe you could try offering it more often right before bedtime. It makes sense to tank up a little more before bedtime - kind of like eating before hibernation!

HTH!

Cynthia

[hez]

OK, so we're an engineering couple, too, and I've still been charting... DS is 7 weeks today :) Real reason is that if I don't write it down, I have no idea when DS last ate. I think I lost a few brain cells (you know, short term memory) during pregnancy, and never got them back. Anyway, if I know when he last ate, I have a decent guess at why he's fussy/crying.

DS eats between 7-8 times a day on average. There are some days he eats 10 times, some days he eats 6 times (those usually precede or follow the 10 time days). I do the same thing at night-- if he's starting to make noises, I pick him up & feed him. So much more pleasant when he's not screaming at me!

And looking at my chart, he usually eats somewhere between 7-9pm, and then again between 10-12. After that 10-12 feeding is when we actually make it to bed... before that he's either fussy or he naps with one of us if it's a TV night. On average, he goes about 5 hours at the longest at night. Fine with me-- I've learned to be OK with more than one nap for me a day :)

[robandtakako]

Thank you for your input. Yes, it was a false alarm. Last night he slept 12 to 5. I think that 7 hrs was a random bonus (hope he does it from time to time...).
Since we are frist-time parents, it's good to hear voices from real experience. Thank you!

Takako
(Nicholas, born on 8/21/03)

[robandtakako]

Heather,

Does Payton nap with you while you are watching TV, or one of you watches TV and other stays with Payton for his nap? I am just curious...

I should experiment with more frequest feeding at evening.
Oh, yes -- i do still keep logging feedings. Otherwise I will forget when i fed him.

Thanks,
Takako
(Nicholas, 8/21/03)

[hez]

He usually naps with one of us (in our arms cradled or on a shoulder) during TV time-- it's a good cuddle time for him and DH. On occasion he'll sleep in his pack-n-play in the family room where the TV is. Tonight, for example, he ate at 7, played a little, napped with DH, ate at 9:15, and then fell asleep so we put all 3 of us to bed :) He woke up at 2:15 or so (1:15 now with the time change!), and I'm hoping we'll be good for another 3-4 hours!

Isn't it crazy how a little thing like writing down feedings keeps you half-way sane?

[lizajane]

IMHO, don't worry about how many TIMES he eats. just worry about if you have enough milk and if he is gaining weight. schuyler only ate 6 times/day at around 3 months. a lactation consultant was surprised at home much he slept, but didn't tell me to wake him up, either!

[KGoes]

DD started sleeping longer at night at about this same age. Let Nicholas cluster feed in the evenings if he wants to - my LC says that babies calorie load at night to help them sleep longer and late in the evening breast milk tends to be richer than morning milk. DH gives DD a bottle of EBM (pumped the night before at the same time) after her bath in the evening so that we can help remind her to fill up. With a few small bumps along the way, this "scheduling" has worked well for us, especially because I needed her to go to bed a bit earlier. DD dropped feedings on her own and now feeds 7 times a day - breakfast at 6 a.m. from me; 3 feedings at day care (about 8-5p.m.); dinner from me and 9 p.m. bottle from DH. Keep counting the wet/bm diapers to make sure you are staying on track.
You are doing great!!!
Kelley
DD born 7/30/03

[robandtakako]

Kelley,

we tried cluster feed in the evening in the past couple of days, and it worked wonder! Nico did not get cranky much and went to bed with much less cry. thank you for the suggestion.

Takako
(Nicholas, 8/21/03)