Stretching time between feedings...

[Maia&Lia]

My daughter is nearly 2 months old and weighs about 12 pounds. Currently we have her on a 3 hr EASY. At what point should I expect her to stretch out time between her feedings? Should she be on a 3.5 hr EASY?

She isn't much of a complainer when it comes to being hungry so it is pretty tough for me to tell if she really wants to eat at the 3 hr mark. I've basically just made it a point to feed her during day hours (since she'll go forever without complaining).

I have a monster milk supply, coupled with a fast let-down. I wasn't sure if those two things would impact her feeding routine.

Thanks for any input.

[Samuel's mum]

I would say that it sounds as though 3 hours is right for her. I wouldn't advocate stretching to 3.5 hours at only 2 months but you may find it useful to check out the EASY board stickies and look through people's schedules.

I'm not really someone who believes when a baby is a certain age they must have a certain time interval between bfs as mother's supply and breasts vary enormously. Even among those who do believe in those guidelines more than me - you don't have reason to 'stretch' yet.

[Maia&Lia]

Hi Emma,
Thanks for the reply. I finally found something in the book that talks about ways to know that you should be stretching out feedings (since she doesn't complain about wanting to eat...or not eating, for that matter). I'm going to keep an eye out for her to let me know in other ways that she is ready to go longer between nursings. I do wonder, however, at what point "most" babies are switched to 3.5 hours. I figure it must be somewhere between now and 4 months since Tracy mentions that "most" babies are ready for a 4 hr EASY at 4 months. Do you have any experience with this? I'll also check out the stickies on the EASY page for other people's schedules.

Thanks again!

Oh and on a side note...remember that "white spot" I had you check out via email photo. It totally went away. Go figure. Everything is a-okay. Thanks for your help with that too.

[Samuel's mum]

Good news on the white spot!

I'm afraid I never made it to 4 hours before solids so I'm not very useful with this. I do think however that your instincts are right - watch her for your cues, rather than the calendar. Not all 4 months old do get to 4 hours - let her be your guide.

[clh]

Just to throw another experience out there...  my ds didn't go to 4 hours until after 6 months (i.e. starting solids), either.  Good mommy for watching cues!