Author Topic: 3 month old - not sleeping to 2am feed even with big day feeds  (Read 1398 times)

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Offline KathG

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3 month old - not sleeping to 2am feed even with big day feeds
« on: December 13, 2012, 07:23:31 am »
I am not sure if this is for the bottle feeding forum or this forum.  Its about night sleeps related to feeding.

Everywhere i read, it seems most 3 month olds can sleep from 6pm to 2pm then next feed at 6am again. I am reading that many babies this age are even sleeping through completely?
My DS is 5.7 kgs (12.5 pounds).   He is in my opinion getting lots of formula and he seems to just keep wanting more. He is getting fatter by the day which also worries me yet he just seems hungry all the time.   He is putting on on average 300 gms a week which is on the upper side of recommendations.
His feeding routine is:
2am: 120 mls
6am: 120 mls (4.22 ounces)
9am: 120 mls
12noon: 120 mls
3pm: 120 mls
6pm: 120 mls + 60 mls top-up to make it to 2am feed 
That comes to 780 mls (27 ounces) in 24 hours.
Some nights, he doesnt make it til 2pm. He wakes hungry at 11pm, then feeds at 4am again, so he gets an extra feed for that day which means he is taking in 900 mls in total. 

I tried dreamfeeding him at 11pm one night so that he would miss his 2am feed but he still woke at 2am so once again, he got an extra feed in that day which is just making him put on weight fast and furiously.
I feel overweight and overfed babies look unhealthy so although I dont mind a chubby baby, I am trying to avoid him getting formula fat.
But my main concern is - why at 3 months, with his solid weight, can he not do the dreamfeed scenario or last until 2am from 6pm? 

Thanks

Offline jessmum46

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Re: 3 month old - not sleeping to 2am feed even with big day feeds
« Reply #1 on: December 13, 2012, 12:59:11 pm »
From the sleep point of view, it's pretty normal for a 3 month old to have two feeds overnight, or a DF and one night feed.  A good rule of thumb is that he should be able to go as long (or longer) between feeds at night as he does during the day, which it looks like he's doing :)

I'll move this over to bottle feeding for you as they will likely have some more specific advice, but just a quick question - does he drain the bottle at each feed during the day or is there some left over?

Moving it over now for you :)

Offline Seona1973

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Re: 3 month old - not sleeping to 2am feed even with big day feeds
« Reply #2 on: December 13, 2012, 19:23:24 pm »
A general rule of thumb is 2.5-2.7oz of formula per pound of bodyweight so in your lo's case he may take between 30 (2.5oz x 12lbs) and 32oz (2.7 x 12) per 24 hours.  Does he finish every bottle?  If he is draining them then increase each one by an extra ounce (30mls).  120mls is not a big feed so you could make it larger if he is draining the bottle.



Offline *Kara*

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Re: 3 month old - not sleeping to 2am feed even with big day feeds
« Reply #3 on: December 14, 2012, 03:45:46 am »
Hello hun,

A 4 oz bottle is a bit on the small side for his age... you do want him to stop drinking before the bottle runs out... I would increase each bottle to 5 ozs and see if that makes him stop before it's empty.

As for volume over 24 hrs, babies take what they need.  It is extremely rare for a baby to overeat - there is almost always a medical cause (reflux being my first thought) for a baby to eat too much.



Offline KathG

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Re: 3 month old - not sleeping to 2am feed even with big day feeds
« Reply #4 on: December 16, 2012, 08:45:08 am »
Thank you all for your replies.
Its what I suspected but didnt want to aknowledge... I may be underfeeding him a little. He DOES drain every 120 ml (4oz) bottle.
So, I've increased each feed now to 150 mls.  Whole on the 120 mls, some/most days I've done a couple top-ups and its reached 1000 mls /35 ozs of milk per 24 hours! That is over the recommendation from Seona. 
But he was weighed a week ago so he may now be 6 kgs (and not 5.7) and so "is allowed" that volume per 24 hours. I'll weigh him tomorrow to get us on track.

Regards this quantity of milk - over 5 oz per feed, should he be moving to a 4 hour EASY routine?  I fear that he won't manage it even on this increased volume as he still finishes the bottle but not as hastily as he did before.
Should I not be moving him to 4 hr EASY also because he is now 3 months?


Offline Lolly

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Re: 3 month old - not sleeping to 2am feed even with big day feeds
« Reply #5 on: December 16, 2012, 09:00:26 am »
A 3 hour EASY is right for a 3 month old. He moves to a 4 hour EASY around 4 months when he can stay awake for 2 hours without getting over tired.

The guide to how much formula in 24 hours is a really rough guide - many babies take way more than that, many less. The important thing is to feed to appetite - if the 5oz bottles are being drained he needs 6oz or maybe even 7oz - pleant of 3 month old babies are taking that much at a feed. Remember that these early months are times of huge growth spurts so what seems a big amount of formula now doesn't get much bigger as they grow. By 6 months when they start solids most babies are taking about 32oz of formula and have been since they were tiny.

Laura