Reasoning behind 4 hrs between feedings

[lepetitmatin]

I have a question about a baby going 4 hours between feedings during the day. I've heard and read that doing this may help a baby wake up less at night to eat, when compared to a baby who's being fed every 2-3 hours during the day. Can someone explain the reasoning behind this?

A little background on my EBF now-6-month-old... when she was around 3 months, she started sleeping longer stretches at night. A good 5 hour chunk at first, then up every 3 hours or so thereafter. Around 4 months old, I noticed she started spacing out her day feedings, but she also started waking at night more. I chalked the NWs up to the 4mo sleep regression. I also had a weird worry that she wasn't getting enough during the day (her weight gain was fine, this was just a hunch). So I started dreamfeeding her and feeding her whenever she'd wake, whereas I used to settle her in other ways for NWs before. When she was 5 mo, I went back to work and started pumping during the day. I get on average 12 or 13 ounces for the 10 hours I'm away from her. At that point, we also extended her A times to help her nap better, which totally worked. But her caregiver during the day essentially was giving her bottles every 2-3 hours (instead of what I'd been doing when I was home) because she thought that feeding her before her naps would help her sleep. We also just last week when she turned 6 mo started experimenting with solids, and also added in 2 ounces of formula before bed which she usually happily drinks dry.

So since the 4mo mark, her NWs have been terrible. More than a sleep regression I now wonder if it is because a) I fed her at most wakings to get her to get some more calories in and to get her to go back down easily, thereby creating a horrible habit, and b) we are feeding her more often than she needs during the day. Now that I'm pumping during the day and can see how much she's actually getting during most of the day, I feel more ready to try to follow her lead more and space her out to eating every 4 hours, by consolidating the 3 bottles she's been getting into 2. I think she'd drink it all that way, and honestly at this point I'm ready to try anything that will help her nights. I just want to better understand the reasoning behind moving to 4 hours between feeds helping NWs. Will consolidating her bottles really help? If so, why? Is the idea that her tummy will expand and be able to hold more, or that she'll full and be able to go longer? Why won't she just end up waking every 4 hours to eat at night?

TIA!

[Martini~]

Honey, the reasoning is simple and comes from two things:
- firstly if you follow 3h routine but A time is already longer than 2h, feeds are just before naps which may results in creating a prop
- secondly, some children (doesn't mean that many) will eat better when really hungry; my ds at around 3mo wasn't hungry at 3h mark and that's why I spaced the feeds, firstly to 3:15, 3:30 and finally 4h.

However especially when children are on breast, they never can go for 4h+ feeds and need additional food in between. The clue is to make sure the top up feed is not just before sleep but around 30min before nap time. It's up to your judgment when she drinks more. Mine needed 4h routine, some will never have a good nap without top up feed.

At 6mo+ when A time is around 3h the routine may go even 5h between feeds sometimes but solids are added very slowly so that may help. In terms of milk she should be drinking at least 18oz per day (many drinks lot more like 24 or 30oz+). She also should have solids slowly offered but only after milk feeds so it doesn't affect her appetite for milk.

Her NWs look like prop thing to me but it's difficult to day without seeing the whole routine. Could you post it please in EAS format? Thank you!

[michaeljacknnugg]

My DS definitely could go 4hrs between feeds (I think it's to do with the child, their intake and what your milk is like) but also dropped a night feed when his day feeds started to space out too. I thought it was his tummy growing so that he could take more in, and so be satisfied for longer.

[lepetitmatin]

Martii85 - thanks, I understand how it interacts with EASY, but still wondering why spacing out means less nightwakings for food... at this point, her A time is 2.5-3 hours, so is kind of on a EAES type schedule, and her naps are generally wonderful (1.5-2hours uninterrupted for the most part).

MJ&N - that's definitely one justification I've heard, but I still don't get why this wouldn't make baby wake up every 4 hours at night as well? Curious...

[*Ali*]

I think the idea is that they take in more overall and get used to going longer between bigger feeds. If a child is eating every two hours in the day then they may demand night feeds little and often too.

This isn't always the case though and often bf LOs need more daytime feeds to get the maximum amount of milk in the day to keep them full at night. It depends on storage capacity of mum to a certain extent and also depends on whether LO relies on the breast to wind down to sleep and therefore looks for a bf ever time they wake at night.

Tbh it is probably an out dated theory based on what we now know about milk production and we like to think Tracy would have updated her advice had she still been around.

Current recs are to feed on cue when baby is hungry rather than trying to stretch feeds.

[Martini~]

Your welcome Honey.
If you prefer topping before a nap, I would just make sure the routine is rather EAEAS than EAES so try to squeeze some A time between second feed and A times instead of feeding to sleep. At that age it might become a prop and be a reason for NW.

[lepetitmatin]

Thanks, all. We tried it yesterday - consolidating her three bottles into two (so she was getting the same amount of milk, just further apart), and it worked beautifully. Will stick to it for a week or so and see if NWs change.