More active, more hungry

[Firstleem]

My baby has been a really good E.A.S.Y. routine follower, especially on the eating every three hours aspect, and sleeping through from her dream feed at 11 until 6am - from about 5 weeks old to 11 weeks.  However, from 11 weeks until now (just over 14 weeks) she has  started demanding feeds every 2 - 2.5 hours during the day, and also waking up some time between 2 and 4am every night, ravenously hungry. 


At first I thought it was a growth spurt, but its carried on for over three weeks now.

It's not a set time every night, so I don't think its habit.

I've tested my milk yield and it is very good, and she feeds well when she is on the breast so I don't think it's supply.

I've also tried using formula for the dream feed instead of expressed milk (usually give her expressed morning milk) but this didn't make any difference.

She is a LOT more active now - which coincides with her being hungrier, so common sense says this is the reason.  However, I feel we seem to be going backwards - we should be moving towards the 4 hours between feeds now?

Any ideas or tips would be great, thank you.

[Samuel's mum]

I think you could be right that her change could be linked to being more active. It would make sense that she would need more calories. I personally would suggest you accept that this pattern make continue for a few more weeks and hold off starting solids until nearer 6 months. Then perhaps when solids become established the patterns will change a bit. It may feel like you're going backwards but it won't be for very long in the grand scheme of things and the new advice on waiting to start solids seems to be fairly convincing. 10 weeks or so will really be a blip when you look back. This may not be the answer you are hoping for so perhaps someone else can help you out! You may also find someone on the EASY forum can address this specifically from their experience. I would also add that having a df and then only one night waking would actually be a desirable situation for some mothers of 14 week olds!

[JacobMarksMummy]

Just to completly agree with samuels mum! You sound pretty clued up to me so just relax and enjoy your LO 

I have to say that I would have loved one noght waking at your LO age too!!!

[Nicola_G]

Firstleem,

A couple of other things to consider:

- How long does your lo nurse? You say your yield is good, but maybe you are stopping the feed too early for her to get the necessary calories in?
- Are you feeding both sides each feed? At this age with the higher calorie requirements you will probably need to move to both sides.
- Is your lo still gaining weight consistently?

Realistically, as Samuel's mum says, this may just be how it is for a few weeks. Certainly if your lo is gaining weight well, you have no reason for concern. I had supply issues and a lo who failed to gain weight for almost 4 weeks at your lo's age. The only answer for me was to intro solids (can't let the poor kid starve!) but as Samuel's mum says if you possibly can wait on solids, do so. The best gauge is your lo's continuing to thrive. If that is fine, it will all be fine, and don't stress about the frequency of feeds.

[Firstleem]

Thanks everyone for great, sensible feedback - reassuring to know I'm not missing something obvious.  She is putting on weight consistently and, believe me, I am very aware of how lucky I am to have such a sweet sleeper!