My daughter is 4 1/2 months old and still wakes up regularly to feed. She is exclusively breastfed, and just wondering if it's normal to still wake every 2 or so hours for a feed? She also has difficulty sleeping, she's too reliant on the boob to soothe/put her to sleep. She's also co-slept since birth. She doesn't take an expressed bottle nor likes her cot. We are going to see a Child Health Nurse tomorrow, but would like to get others opinions/advice, thanks!
Hi. Sorry to say this, but it is quite normal for a breast fed baby to feed every 2 hours. Has this recently started? If so, it could just be a growth spurt.
Yep, it's completely normal
Around 4 months, bubs can get quite unsettled, and even babies who have started sleeping through the night can regress back.
Your daughter sounds perfectly healthy to me!
It's been happening for the past few months. I understand the earlier stages, but just a little bit confused. I always thought they feed every few hours now, and have a regular sleeping cycle.
My DS fed every 2 hours through the day til he was 8 months old & alot of the time after 10 weeks fed every 2 - 3 hours over night too. He has only started sleeping through the last few months. Every time he seemed to settle into a pattern something would change it.
Could be good to talk to your MCHN, but be ready for her to say you could start introducing formula. This is normal for a baby. Don't let her try to convince you otherwise. Just a warning
Would they really suggest formula? I have nothing against formula (I was as a baby! :P) but normally if you were breastfeeding, wouldn't they suggest you try and go as long as possible? My daughter doesn't like any bottles, she only likes breast milk FROM the breast which can be a little bit of a problem in the future maybe...
Also, at what age did your babies start settling by themselves, if at all?
It depends on the MCHN. Some will, some won't. I had a gp tell me at 6 months that BFing was no longer beneficial to DS & to wean him. I spoke to the chemist about his feeding every 2 hours coz I wasn't sure (he was still very young) & she suggested comp feeds with FF (formula) as she though that 2 hours wasn't normal.
Listening to others caused me more harm than good. Listening to my baby was what worked for us
Follow your baby's lead and you can't go wrong
If you're finding it hard, the best thing is to get support at home to take the pressure off. Do you get some break time? A chance to catch up on sleep?
It is normal for most babies to still wake for feeds during the night at 6 months.
A reasonable percentage (maybe third) still wake for feeds at 12 months.
Only wanting breastmilk from the breast is easier, really. It won't be too long and she'll be eating and drinking other things, and then, before you know it, you'll be moving onto the next stage and you won't know what happened to your little baby girl!
Self settling, sleeping though - these are things babies do once they are developmentally ready, and just like everything else they do it when they're good and ready.
My bub is the same age and sleeps 8-10hrs bf so I don't know if it's normal or not but every baby is different so it could be normal for urs. You could try topping up the night feed to see if that helps cos ur supply goes down at night time, best of luck
Sounds normal to me. The only thing I would suggest is that I spoke to someone once who's baby was feeding frequently because they hadn't got attachment going very well i.e. the baby was only getting part feeds each time due to bad attachment and was getting hungrier quicker. But if you feel attachement is still as good as it has always been this probably isn't an idea, just thought I'd mention in case.
Every baby i know from my mothers group is different, some sleep through others are waking a lot and they change all the time.
My DD is 6 months, but 4 months corrected age due to being premmie. I never know when it is a growth spurt or not as she has always been an avid feeder. She is still feeding every 21/2 to 41/2 hours a night. It varies every few weeks. At the moment it is approximately a 3 - 4 hourly feed, a 2.5 - 3 hourly feed and then a 1.5 hour block overnight. I do not know what she does during the day as she is demand fed and so can have several feeds in a wake period or just one. Last week it was every 2.5 hours overnight.
She may be a baby that needs/wants her mummy. That is what i have come to accept with my DD. Co-sleeping helps me through the fatigue.
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Is this normal?
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