EASY for big babies!

[Mum of girl, boy, boy]

Hi there,

Just wondered if there was anyone out there with big babies and how / if they adjusted EASY for them.

I've had two previous children and I am a strong believer in EASY and baby whispering. I really actually enjoy the challenge of getting them to sleep well and also reading their cues. Of course though it is all luck (grrrr)!!!

The reason I am posting is to try and get a guide with my big 6 week old. At birth he weighed in at 8lb 4oz (3770g). That's obviously not that big but a good size all the same. At 2 weeks he was 10lb 4oz. At 4 weeks 12lb 4oz and at 6 weeks I know he's over 13lb and still gaining at the same rate.

I don't actually have a typical day because of doing school runs but if I can avoid school runs it is now at 2 big naps and 1 shorter nap. If I go out and about it looks more like 2 little ones and a big one with me trying to catch up at the first nap of the next day if that makes sense. Feeds were 3.5 hours most of the time with the odd one at 4 hours. Night feeds were 7pm, 2pm then 5am on a good night. I've tried to play a bit and move to 4 hourly because he started messy about at feeds sub 4 hours and he feeds really well taking big feeds if I leave him longer although last night he was up a little more for nappy changes. Is the best way to go with this trying to drop the night time feeds and sticking to 3.5hrs. I'm worried if I don't he's fill up at night and switch the day and night feeding ie big feeds at 2am and 5am and then not be really than hungry until the afternoon (which has happened a bit)

I am a bit concerned with his size. I know I don't really overfeed him by offering the boob every second but he is rather big. He settles well by himself although I would say he does look for a feed on waking during the night. Our room is cold and I think he likes the snuggle. He is always awake when he goes to sleep. Not rocked etc. Occasionally (like one per week) I will use a dummy if I know he's completely overtired to get him back on track. I swaddle and he's not ready to find his fingers yet which I am sure will buy an extra sleep cycle if he was looking to be fed in the night etc.

I would be interested to hear what others have found with bigger than average babies especially breast fed. My first child was pretty chunky but we are now looking at my third being 6 weeks and the same weight as my 1st was at 11 weeks.

Weight wise I think he is getting close to being able to go much longer at night. I was thinking that I should try and find a way of getting him to drop the 5am.

Any thoughts?

Thanks Poppet

[huntersmummyinoz]

bumping you up

[Mum-of-Two]

I have personally found two different sorts of big babies.  Those who eat constantly and those who, because of their size, are often able to sleep through the night early in life.

My little guy was about 12 pounds at 4 weeks... I can't find his records right now but he's a big boy (both he and his sister were/are in 95-99%).  So is his cousin who is literally off the percentile charts (wearing size 2T at the wee age of 10 months).  Both were breastfed babies, mine to the age of 3 months, cousin to the age of 6 months.

My guy doesn't eat at night anymore, just started that at 3 months.  We are having troubles with his sleep right now and it has been suggested maybe he wasn't ready to give up his night feed even though he is eating enough during the daytime hours and will fall back asleep with the paci prop.  His 10 month old cousin, on the flip side, is still getting up at 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. to eat a full bottle.

I am no EASY expert here but it surprised me to see you are already on the 3.5 EASY at 6 wks.  I wonder if feeding him more often during the day might help.  Or, have you tried cluster feeds at night?  Or, have you tried the dream feed?

My other gut reaction here is that it is normal to still be feeding at night, especially a breastfed baby who burns the calories faster than he would formula.  I see your wanting/needing to tweak the EASY to start eliminate feeds though, thats about the time other babies start SSTN and its hard when yours isn't yet.

I hope you get some good advice from the experts here, they're great!  Best of luck and HUGE hugs on the sleep deprivation -- totally understand how hard it is.

[mooresey]

I don't have much expertise but thought I would add my two bits as I have a BIG boy too.  He was over 9 lbs at birth and is off the charts with weight and height.  I am still breast feeding him and he is 10.5 months old now.  He started "sleeping through the night" (and I cut out night feeds) at around 6-7 months old, so much later than I wanted but he seemed hungry up until then.  Whether or not he actually NEEDED the feed is up to the experts.  He has never been much of a sleeper, so anything I can get I am happy with!  In my opinion, I don't think the size of a baby will dictate his sleeping patterns or feeding needs as those two factors seem to be closely related to age rather than size...but again, I am no expert.  I slowly transitioned to a 4 hour feeding schedule closer to 5 months but it took a while and was definitely on a 3.0-3.5 hr schedule by 4 months old. 

[greenteamomma]

My little guy is 5 months and is also in the 95th percentile since birth.   I say diddo to mooresey'comments.  We cut out the feeds that were at 1 and 5 around 4 months and went with a df.  He did need the cuddles I think and that is what we did to get him to stop...one night feed at a time.  He did cry and I just did AP and cuddled and rocked him.  We are still dealing with early wakes but that is another issue, not feeding related.