Breastfeeding/sleeping q?

[July Mum]

Hi all
Just a question about my bubs feeding pattern. She is 7 days old and for the last 2 nights has slept right through the night. Her last feed is at 11pm and she sleeps through til 6,30am without a stir. Is it OK for her to be sleeping this long without a feed at this age?
The times she fed yesterday were
6.30, 10:30, 2:00, 4:00, 7:30 and 11pm
and roughly the same times today.
Each time she feeds she is on the breast for at least half an hour.

[onthefly]

Tell us more July Mum. How many wet & dirty nappies? Weight gains (if she's been weighed yet)? Jaundice? Is she very alert when awake?
Typically, you'd expect quite a few more feeds for a newborn - 10-12 (or more) would be more normal, or 8 at the very least.

If I were you, I'd offer feeds more frequently during the day - aiming for 2-hourly (that's more typical for a breastfed baby) during the day and maybe 4-6 hourly over night. There is always some natural variation with babies of course, so I don't want to freak you out about it. *Sometimes* babies can be a bit too sleepy in the early days, meaning they don't feed quite enough, and it's always better to try and address potential issues before they become real problems.

[Visitor7]

Like Marcellus has already asked, how many nappies each day? And is she jaundice (yellow skin tone)?

[July Mum]

Hi Marcellus
She has very wet nappies at each feed, 2 dirty nappies yesterday and 1 so far today, no jaundice.
She was 3940g at birth and when weighed on Monday (5days old) she weighed 3970g.
After most feeds during the day she is awake for 20min.

[turtleschell]

Sounds like she is doing really well. If I were you, I'd still wake her up at 4hr intervals overnight, as they say this is best for establishing BF.

[onthefly]

Ok, was she feeding more frequently overall before sleeping through the past two nights? Just wonder if there's been a change.
I personally wouldn't be so worried about the longer break overnight, as with the low number of feeds overall. Do you think you could squeeze in an extra feed or two during the day, and maybe one during the night if she's going long stretches? I am loathe to mess with sleeping babies, but 6 feeds is quite low is all. It does sound like she may be ok at the moment - watch those nappies, though, you would want several poos per day generally, so if they drop off it might be a sign she needs a little more.
Not sure if this is helpful - have you called the ABA? 1800-686-2-686?

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

As Marellus says - the number of feeds she has per day is low- but it sounds like she's doing fine. Babies often need a few days to recover from the birth - and then they wake up - expect change soon! It's likel that she will wake up soon and be a lot more demanding - a good thing

[July Mum]

The first few days she was feeding roughly every 4 hours through the day and going 5-6 hours through the night. Will try and get her to feed more often through the day. Thanks for the ABA number, i havnt called them but but i will to get their advice. Thanks for the suggestions too.