Question about night feedings

[ericapt]

Hi all, not sure if this is something that can be helped, but I figure this is the place to try.  My LO is 6 weeks old and EBF.  She nurses about every 3 hours during the day, with the exception of her cluster feedings in the evening (her choice).  She was doing a 4-5 hour stretch at night until 6 days ago when she began waking every 2.5-3 hours again at night.  I'm not sure if it is a growth spurt or if it's just becoming a habit, but I was wondering if there is anything that I can do to encourage her to do this longer stretch again.  I was doing a dream feed around 10:30P, but then she started waking again at 1:30A and 4:30A.  I'll post our routine as it has been the past 6 days.  She's only 6 weeks, so of course, her naps aren't consistent yet.  But here's what we have:

E  6:30A
A
S  7:30/8-9:30

E  9:30A
A
S  varies greatly from .75-1.75 hours

E  12:30ish
A
S  varies from 1-2 hours

E  3:30ish
A
S  .5-1.0 hour

E  5:30ish  (very fussy from now until bedtime)
A
S  sometimes naps for 30 minutes

E  7/7:30 P
S  7:30/8P most nights

E  10:30 Dream feed

E  around 1:30A 

E  4/4:30A (sometimes with this one she actually wakes up and it takes awhile to get her back to sleep)

Before she started waking every 2.5-3 hours she would have a long stretch without feeding from after the 10:30 DF to about 3:30 am.  Occasionally I wouldn't wake her for the dream feed and she would sleep from after the 7 pm feed until 12/12:30 am.  Not that this was ideal, but if that's when she wants to do her long stretch should I go back to that and eliminate the dreamfeed?  Or should I stick with the dream feed and hope that she stops waking at the 1:30 am time again soon?  Does this sound like a long growth spurt or does it sound like it's a habit now?  It's just tiring waking that often, because by the time I get back to sleep I'm only getting maybe 2 hours of continuous sleep before the next feeding.  I'm going back to work part-time in a few weeks and it would be helpful to get a few more hours of sleep. 

P.S.  This is just wishful thinking for the future, but how long can I let her go at night without feeding?  Is there any reason I need to wake her if she wants to sleep through?  Is it ok for my breasts to go that long without nursing?  (I do single sided feedings every time.) 

Thanks for any and all help!!

Erica

[lilisuze]

hi erica. your evening routine looks nice, and it is totally normal to have this fussiness in the evening! Definitely stick with the dreamfeed, and I guess you are aiming to have only 1 feed in the night. There is quite often a growth spurt at 6 weeks that lasts a couple of days, and if you are feeding ok still in the daytime (ie not every hour!) then she might be catching up at night. kwim?

So hang on for a couple of days and see if she settles back down. My gut feeling is she will, and you can go back to one night feeding at about 3.30 which should put her through till the morning. Other than that, protect yourself from feeling rotten, use the night feedings to read some books and enjoy the closeness with your baby that time cannot bring back. and sleep in the day while you are off work (the amount of people who told me this, and i never listened - trying to be superwoman!)

There is no restriction on the amount of time she CAN go without feeding. Personally i wouldnt wake a baby to feed unless they were having growth issues.

Is she quite small on the charts? sometimes these babies need to feed more often in the night to catch up.

HTH

Lilixx

[A pair of Charlies]

Hi there

6 weeks sound about right for a growth spurt. Babes do grow at their own rates and at this age, it's normal for them to be waking several times at night for a feed. My DS was fine on the growth charts and I was told to wake him to feed in the night if he didn't wake by himself. If I had my time again, I'm not sure I'd follow that advice now though!!

Thing to remember is that right now, their whole job is growing. That's it. Your job is making the growth possible - feeding. They will know when they need to feed, generally. Babes all grow at different rates and their tummies aren't all the same size, just as Mamas don't all produce the same amount of milk (it even differs from a Mama's right breast to the left!), so that's why at this young age the most important thing is to follow their hunger cues and their demand rather than EASY timings for feeds. At 6 weeks, I'd say if they don't show hunger cues from 3h after the start of the last feed, try to feed. At night, I'd hope for a 4h or so stretch during the core night but it's a hope. As long as you get those feeds in regularly during the day (3h) you get a better shot at a 1 longer stretch between feeds at night.

As pps, might settle back into the old long nights pattern once a GS has passed or it may last a little longer. Growing at her own rate, digesting the milk at her own rate; it's your LO's call 

Things you can do to help. Graze during feeds in addition to eating regular meals - so have a sandwich, some fruit, snacks, large glass of water at each nursing session. Stock up on milk building supplies to eat and snack on (I grazed through night feeds initially too) - I found bready cakes and muffins etc helped keep me fuelled. This will help your milk supply, which is her growth fuel, and might give her the calories she needs to go a little longer at night.

And congratulations on your happy little arrival! Enjoy the time you have together - they are never this age or size again. These feeds are a great time to get to know eachother and share the journey. Easy to say in hindsight, but I wished I'd taken more time to be in the moment. They are gone so so fast 

HTH

Charlotte x

[aidenmc]

This is very much like my lo's night routine at 8 weeks, except he wakes at 10 for a feed so there is no df. He's only gone 5 hrs at night once, at a few days old. I am also often only getting 2 hour stretches of sleep as he sometimes takes over an hour to settle due to wind. So, you're not alone .

[ericapt]

Thank you all for your posts.  I appreciate all of the wonderful advice.  I've decided not to do a dream feed at 10/10:30 and allow her to have her longer stretch early in the night.  (This is what DS did as well.  He just wanted to get rid of that 10/11 pm feeding first, so that's what I went with.)  Her pedi has never said that I need to wake her after a certain number of hours, but I have chosen to wake her after 5 hours since the start of the last feeding.  Usually she will wake before this and if she doesn't then she definitely wakes by 3-3.5 hours for the next feeding.  She is growing well.  She weighed 6.5 lbs at birth and now is almost 10.5 lbs, so growing A LOT!  I can't remember what my son was doing at 6 weeks, but as you all said, every baby is different.  It's just good to have an idea.  Thanks again and I'll just make sure she continues to grow.

Erica