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Hi all
Ella was born April 30, 5 weeks early and after a 10 day stay in hospital we are home (thank god). I am breast feeding and feed on demand, so this could mean she will go four, three or even two hours between feeds. Will she settle into her own routine and how long before she settles into a pattern. I guess all babies are different and go at their own pace, but i was just wondering if i am doing the right thing by going with her sleep pattern?
I would say you're definitely doing the right thing. We did similar, and it was only once she got to about 9 weeks that we started trying to have some kind of sleep pattern. This is actually when she started to sleep alot longer at night. I was happy before then to feed on demand, and during the day now, i still feed her on demand (usually 3-4 hours now, but will feed after 2).
congratulations by the way xoxo
Jennifer the best thing you can do for you & your baby is to go by their needs especially in the newborn time. Have you read Pinky McKay's book Parenting by Heart? I found it so helpful when trying to figure out "what to do" when I had heaps of advice coming in. Good luck!
first of all, a huge congratulations on the birth of Ella!
When Ben was born, i fed on demand... And that would mean Ben could want fed at any given time, 2 hours, 3 hours. And then all of a sudden I noticed he "fell" into his own pattern at around 5 -6 weeks. Now, at almost 3 months he feeds every 4 to 5 hours, naps a few times a day and sleeps through the night. Your right, every baby is different. My experience found that Ben created his own routine, Im sure Ella will do the same. Good luck with it all!
You are doing a fantastic job. As Ella gets older you will probably notice that she is a bit more predicatble in her sleep patterns and therefore feeding will be in more of a routine. I breastfeed Sammy whenever he wants to and it has become easier as he has gotten older. There are some days where he will feed more often than others. I guess it just shows how marvelous and adaptable our bodies are in caring for the needs of our babies.
Jo
You are definitely doing the right thing, infant led feeding is the way to go! I say go by what she wants, you'll know if she's hungry or not LOL! Depending on Seth and his tummy or the amount of sleeps he has I can often feed hourly to as you say 4 hourly (even 6-8 hrs overnight). I just basically try and tick all the boxes, are they tired (are there cues/), dirty nappy, bored, wind, hungry... etc. Thats the best you can do ;) They eventually settle into a routine... Don't know too many kids that eat every hour on the hour!
*hugs*
Cailin
Thanks everyone, we are feeding every 3 hours now, and she seems to have settled more. We make sure we bath her around the same time every night and i think she is getting used to things. Thanks for all your replies, its great to know that we are doing the right thing!! LOL
I stopped paying attention to the gap between feeds after about three weeks, but Lucy settled into her own routine at least during the night. From about two weeks on she'd go six hours overnight and more often during the day.
A couple of times she's suddenly started wanting to feed more often and thankfully when you're feeding on demand there's less guesswork, I offered the bb and when she took it assumed she was hungry!
Now, at 10 weeks, she's got a much more predictable routine at night and first thing in the morning, but afternoons and evenings can change from day to day depending on her. I read in someone else's thread once that we sometimes need a drink in between meals because we're thirsty so babies probably do as well and that made sense to me.
Btw, if anyone ever says you're going to be in for a harder time with infant-led feeding, don't listen to them! My baby went six hours between feeds at night from 2 weeks and started sleeping through the night (9pm-5/6am) about a week and a half ago. Babies are smarter than we think!
Tallon has a routine - eat, eat & eat! LOL. He started off pretty much every 3 hours.. like clockwork. That changed to being more erratic, but I just went with it. I guess we kinda have a routine now. I don't look at the clock when he feeds (which sometimes I wish I would.. lol) but it's usually around the same time these days. And his awake playing times are pretty much the same each day now.
Don't get your hopes up on the sleeping through bit tho with all these good bubba's mentioned in this thread! I'm still up every few hours through the night. Very occassionally we get a 4-5 hr stretch. But we have a very happy contented bub, and people always comment on what a good baby he is.. and how placid he is. So I'm happy to just go with what he needs :)
And just as you think you have a routine.. they change it on you! Possibly due to growth spurts or something else.. he wants more feeds, or less feeds, or bigger feeds. They know how to regulate the milk supply, so just let them do their thing I guess :)