Is she ready for 4hr EASY?

[jennjoy]

Hi All!
I'm bf-ing my 4.5 mo old daughter, Josie, on a 3.5hr schedule.  That's been going well for a while now, but I've been wondering, do we need to do 4hr?  She already will go 4hrs between two feeds every day.  And she never seems hungry when I feed her at all other feeds, like she could go longer.  She's the type of baby that will eat whatever is offered, so the fact that she eats full meals does not mean that she couldn't wait longer for them.
Right now she eats at 7, 10:30, 2, 5:30, 7:30 & 10.  There are two things stuck in my head that's been making me keep the 3.5 hr. sched.  One is that I saw somewhere on the boards that somebody's doctor told them that BF babies shouldn't go longer then 3.5 hrs between feeds.  Obviously, she's gone 4 hrs on occasion, and a lot of you ladies have 4hr babies, so I suppose that's wrong?
Second thing is that in Tracy's sleep interview (I think) she said that BF moms should keep dreamfeed until 8 months so there will be supply for growth spurts.  Or maybe I made the growth spurt thing up, but I know she said to keep the late feed.
So, anyway, what do ya'll think?  I'm worried if I try to go to 4hr and drop feeds, then I'll lose supply.  But I suppose that's silly too, as she would probably just eat more at her feeds.  I'm so confused!

Oh, and one other thing, I've read on here that a sign it's time to go to 4hr is that your baby stays awake longer.  She doesn't do that.  There's only about an hour, hour and a half of awake time before she's ready to sleep again.  Just wanted to throw that in there.

Thanks -  Jen.

[Samuel's mum]

I'm not sure where you read the bit about the doctor but we do have babies that do go 4hr from the start of one feed to the start of the next. Not all bf babies do reach a 4 hr feeding schedule and that's OK but many on these boards do.

I'm also not sure about having to keep the dreamfeed until 8 months - not all do. When a growth spurt hits maintaining the dreamfeed wouldn't stop the need for more frequent feeds during the day. Or even the need to come off schedule for a couple of days.

As long as you are prepared to be flexible and adapt if her hunger cues change then you should always be fine. Supply will usually only suffer if a mother is not listening to her baby's cues.

So bearing all that in mind I think you could consider 4 hrs for sure.

However the awake time thing is obviously a factor. Have you asked the folks at the EASY board? I'm sure you'll find a version of a 4hr feeding schedule that will work for you.
I do notice though that your last 2 feeds aren't even 3hr intervals. You might want to consider different intervals during the day. So have 4 hr initially but still keep 2 more closer together nearer bedtime when supply/letdown sometimes naturally dips.

[RachelC]

Are her naps falling into place to have her reach the 4 hour mark (did that make sense).  It often isn't until about 6 months that babies can stay awake for the full 2 hours.  I think you are doing great listening to her... and yes, consider the 4 hour EASY.  Your breasts will adjust to the demand being at different times.

We dropped the dreamfeed around 7 months, but brought it back for a couple days when we noticed a growth spurt.  Key thing is to be flexible!

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Agreed - give it a go, but keep in mind it might not be a full 4 hrs later in the day.  If she seems hungry earlier then feed her.  As for stretching out the A time - you can try an extra 15 min for a few days of gentle A (even just walking around the house) and see how she does - if she gets overtired with that and can't adjust, you'll know!

[jennjoy]

Thanks all! 
Yes, I've tried stretching out A.  But, for example, this morning she fell asleep all by herself while playing with her toys.  Exactly one hour from when she woke up!  She's just tired!  So, no, A time would not fit into 4hr easy, but her A time barely fits 3.5 hr one either.  So I'm thinking I'd just go for the 4hr one anyway and see how she does. 
We're actually headed to Houston in a few hours to visit family for a week, so I may not try until we get back.  I'll let ya'll know how it goes! 
PS - wish me luck with Houston trip, as we are visiting in-laws.  Yikes!
 

[RachelC]

Good luck with the trip... and yeah, not worth changing much until you get back 

[jennjoy]

Well, we're still in Houston and things are going well!  I actually went ahead with the four hour easy because she was stretching it out with her naps anyway.  She does seem to want to eat at 3.5 hr in the evenings, which is fine.  And this new schedule drops one feed, so we've gone from 6 to 5.  She seems to have adjusted to that as well!
We're still working on the A time.  She only just recently has started taking better naps, and it seems like the A time is starting to stretch out on it's own.  I've been keeping her up as long as I can manage with quiet time, and that's been doing well.
BUT! we are still in Houston, so I'm getting anxious to get home and see how she does in her own environment.  It was a bear getting her to sleep that first night - I don't think she liked the new surroundings very much!  Haven't heard her scream and carry on like that in a long time!!!  She's doing better, but I can tell she really wants her own room and bed back.
Alright, thanks all!  I'll talk later!

[Wink's Marmy]

OMG - your LO is SOOOO Cute...

We are on 4 hr. EASY & sometimes she goes 3.5 but usually 4. We also dropped the DF about a week & a half ago and she has slept through that feeding every night since, and basically sleeps through the night now with occasional wakings. Since going on 4 hr. EASY & dropping the DF & sleeping through the night, her feedings quickly went from around 7 per day to 4 per day. It sort of scared me, but I was so comforted to find that she has had the most weight gain since going to 4 feeds per day than she has ever had (I weigh her weekly). It surprised me. But I guess they just take so much more in when they eat when they are actually hungry, you know?

Anyway, Erin gave me the same advice about increasing A time & it worked beautifully. DD stays awake 2 hrs. each time & sleeps so much better now.

Also, I noticed you said "ya'll". Where do you live?

[jennjoy]

Originally from Iowa, spent over 10 years in Virginia (that's where I picked up "ya'll"), and currently in San Diego!
I have admired your lo's pic for a while.  Her smile looks like mine's smile.  But that hair is awesome!!!  And that name is precious - do you reallly call her Wink for short?

[Wink's Marmy]

I love VA. My whole family is from northern VA/DC area.

Yep. We call her Wink, Winkie, WK, whatever!

Yes - similar smile! Big & wide 

[jennjoy]

Yes, I had been up there once or twice.  I was living down in Norfolk/Virginia Beach when I was there.  Graduated from Old Dominion, actually.  My dad and loads of friends still live there, so I get to go back once in a while!  Where are you located?
Just got back from Houston and today was a huge bear.  Every time we take a plane trip, she's a handful the next day.  She wants us to hold her and vibrate like an airplane, and it takes all day to break it.  We've got another trip coming in two weeks and I'm not looking forward to the airplane aftermath! 

[Wink's Marmy]

I love Virginia Beach. I have been to the ODU campus for work stuff (used to be a college recruiter).

We are in Memphis, TN.

I am purposely avoiding plane trips right now just out of fear. In fact, just sticking around home mostly, with a few trips to Nashville (3 hr. drive) to visit my parents. In August, she'll take her first plane trip to Maine. Funny about your LO & her wanting the simulated airplane feel. My DD is so sensitive to new environments that she doesn't sleep at all. So traveling (one of my favorite things to do) is on hold for now!

[jennjoy]

ODU has changed so much since I was there!  It's amazing!

As for the trips, my mom is in Iowa, dad's in Virginia and in-laws are in Houston, so NOT traveling is a luxury we just don't have!  After this next trip to Iowa (my step-sis is getting married) I'll FINALLY get to stay home for a while! 

[HaysleyC]

Hi!  Your daughter is lovely!  I can relate with you about the traveling.  My husband is military so we're moving every 2-3 years.  Right now we're in Dayton, OH and our family is in Louisville, KY which is about the closest we'll be to them and we travel there quite a bit on weekends so the grandparents can see their granddaughter but that always poses a challenge for us.  The last time we visited, she became very congested and night time sleep and naps weren't going well.  I'm trying to figure out what to do as I'm going there for a few weeks while my husband has to go to Colorado for training for a month. 

I wish I had gotten the BW book when I was pregnant.  I'm just now trying to get my LO on an EASY schedule and its not easy with a 4 1/2 month old but we're working on it...I just now got the book as a gift and trying to read through it when I can.

[jennjoy]

Hi HaysleyC!  Yep, mine's military, too, and we'll be moved again before the end of the year!  It'll be interesting with the lo! 
Good luck with BW.  I've had a wonderful experience with it.  And this board was a life-saver!  All I did was read the book and spent months just guessing at it.  All babies are so different - I feel so much more confident knowing I can look up my individual issues on here and find someone who's been there!
As for the trip, on this last one, mine was able to adjust after about four days.  The key was to stick with the program.  My in-laws thought I was crazy to not just give her a paci or let her stay up - but I kept doing what I knew was right, and once she'd adjusted, she was fine.  And when we got home, we were able to slip right back into her routine.  It's tough, but hang in there!  Remember, the crying is just her telling you that she doesn't like it here and wants to go home. 
That's an adorable picture, by the way!