Feeding on demand ?

[theriviera]

Hi,
My DD is 1 month old. For the first 3 weeks I was waking her every 2 hours during the day to eat. In the fourth week I stretched to 3 (still waking her) as it takes forever to get her down and she wasn't falling asleep until the 2 hour mark.

Yesterday I let her sleep in the morning and I finally woke her at the 4 hour mark. She fed more frequently in the evening but all in all I only fed her 7 times yesterday.

At what point do you follow your babies lead and stop waking them to eat? Or should I let her sleep until a certain point (3 hours, 4 hours between feeds) and then wake her?

I'm confused. I don't remember DD1 going this long in between feedings.

Thanks!

[ashleybama24]

I did it from day 1. I let DS sleep as long as he wanted and eat when he was awake and hungry.

[Momto1]

I stopped waking her to eat after her two week appointment, which is when I knew that she was gaining weight well.

Now, she decided to wake to eat on her own every 2-3 hours after that after that (sigh) but on the off chance that she slept longer, I didn't wake her to feed.

[veronica]

the twins just got good news about weight gain yesterday (they are 4 weeks today) so we are doing it now. However, they have both decided they like to eat every hour :(

[waitingforgrace]

I let the baby lead after the 2 wk weight check appointment.

[theriviera]

thanks everyone! dd is gaining weight well so I guess i will let her sleep. i was worried b/c she's not always getting 8 feedings a day in but at this point, she will let me know when she is hungry, right?

it's so hard to trust myself, even as a 2nd time mama!

[waitingforgrace]

thanks everyone! dd is gaining weight well so I guess i will let her sleep. i was worried b/c she's not always getting 8 feedings a day in but at this point, she will let me know when she is hungry, right?

it's so hard to trust myself, even as a 2nd time mama!

Just trust the baby. My DD didn't generally get 8 feedings a day and she did just fine. Good luck and enjoy the extra time while she's sleeping :)

[daisymommy]

Just be on the lookout for mastitis! and a dip in your supply, as well as not enough wet/dirty diapers. If any of that happens, wake more often to feed.

[Dream]

DD had lost weight at her 1 week appointment and she was sleeping longer sometimes 4-5hr so her ped said I should wake her up every 3 hrs for a feeding. We went back after 2 weeks for weight check and she had gain. Since then I didn't wake her up but also by then she was waking up every 3 hrs by her self to feed.