4hr easy w/ breastfed baby realistic?

[rossilu]

hi!  i am trying to get my 5 1/2 month old on a 4 hour easy but am having trouble.  he can go 4 hours w/out eating but something ALWAYS seems to get in the way of that happening consistently.  first, he is still nursing at night, usually only once now (last night was at 2:00 and he woke at 6:30) ~ we are tackling day first ~ and when he wakes he is not hungry.  i try to feed him, but he only takes a little (ie snack) and then is ready to eat 1-2 hours later but since he had a "snack" he still doesn't eat a-lot and so the cycle goes.  how can i get him on a feeding "schedule" while still exclusively bf'ing?  i nursed my first 2 sons on demand (and this one for the first 4 months) so i'm having trouble here.  so, should i feed him more often during the day (every 3 hours to start) and then switch to 4? or should i try right off the bat making him wait 4 so he will eat more at each feeding?  how have you ladies adapted easy w/ nusing? thanks so much!

[Samuel's mum]

It's true that some people find it difficult to move to a 4 hour EASY. Your baby would be young to manage it successfully. I'm not sure of someone managing it while exclusively breastfeeding to be honest. You've still got some major growth spurts to come - especially at around 6 months - and a 4 hour EASY may not allow your supply to keep up. I would suggest sticking with 3 hours during the day - especially if you want to focus on reducing feeds at night. You may want to post on the EASY forum as people there will have experience of moving to 4 hours. Sorry I can't be more help.

[daisymelan]

Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones, but my lo has been on a 4 hr EASY since he was about 4 or 5 months old.  But, he did this himself.  I didn't have to struggle, he just slowly stretched out his A time and his S time on his own.  If you are just starting on an EASY, aim for 3 hours, but mostly, watch your los cues.  See waht natural EASY your child adopts and work from there.  He did start by spreading out his night feeds first.  Sometimes it would be a 3 hr easy, others a 4...  I just watched him to make sure it was what he needed.

Of course, during the growth spurts you have to accommodate.

And as for your lo wkaing only once at night, I think that's awesome.  I'm not sure how your other children did, but that's great for a bf baby.  Now if your lo wakes close to their normla wake time and are hungry, could you just give a small feed so that come their first morning feed they are genuinely hungry? 

If you get the days worked out, then hopefully it will carry over to the night, but as Emma has said you may want to try the EASY forum as well.

HTH

[annamum]

I just wanted to add that it really depends on a baby if he can stretch to 4 hours or not. Some babies fed on demand naturally go to 4 hour routine and some need to feed more often. The thing is to watch your baby for cues, if he is ready you will know. I also had a major growth spurt at exaclty 5.5 months, watch out for this.

Generally, breastfed babies do better on a 4 hour routine when their naps are longer and when they are on solids.

[deenz]

My friend's (big) baby was on a 4hr routine virtually from birth.

My dd1 went to a 4hr routine at around 4m (but a bit closer together later in the day).

Dd2 is kind of on a 4hr routine since just over 4m, but actually I tend to feed her 'twice' during her awake time!  She has been a fussy feeder, and I have just found that this way works best.  So it's not really a true 4hr routine.  She'll have the first part of her feed, and then maybe an hour later have the second 'sitting'!

[CaedensMama]

We are just getting to 4 hour - we can do 3 but 4 was hard - again - if your LO is not ready don't push it - the routine is key and not nursing to sleep - if you can maintain the routine and it is 3 hour - it is okay!

[milliesmaw]

I find sleep is the key. If I can get a long nap (lol ds, not me!) then we can do 4 hours but otherwise it's 3 or 3.5. Actually easier if I'm out and about and there's lots of distraction but at home it gets more difficult to distract and he gets overtired.

[teezee]

we had trouble going to a four hr routine for a couple weeks then with some persistence on my part it all fell into place.  just go slowly 15 min a time and if lo isn't taking full feedings than u should be going longer without feeding during the day.  as far as night feeds - my lo would wake up 1-3 times a night for a feeding from about 3months til about 8months and the only way i stopped her from doing this was by cutting down her minutes bfing at night (slowly of course) and as i did that she started nursing more during the day, and then she as she got more and more of her calories during the day, she started sleeping at night.  i wish i would have known this when dd was your lo's age as i would have gotten a lot more well deserved sleep the past few months.  good luck with everything!