Demand feeding question?
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
Forum Description: Want help? Need support? Want tips? Men and women share advice and tips in this supportive community
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=27057
Printed Date: 06 September 2025 at 8:42pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Demand feeding question?
Posted By: dinkyminky
Subject: Demand feeding question?
Date Posted: 18 June 2009 at 8:30pm
|
Im waking my nearly 4 week old for her feeds, which I've done only because my midwife suggested this way. I bottle feed her, and wake her every 4 hours. Just wanting to hear anyones storys on what they do, and what the advantages would be in shifting her to demand feeding. I get the feeling she would happily sleep longer if I didn't wake her. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Replies:
Posted By: Mum2L
Date Posted: 18 June 2009 at 9:10pm
|
It's not totally necessary to wake her every 4 hours to feed at this age, it normally applies to the first couple of weeks. My son started sleeping through the night when he was 3 weeks old, and I demand feed him. Just make sure that your daughter has enough to drink at night, and she will wake if she is hungry. But if you are concerned at all, talk to your midwife about it. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: myfullhouse
Date Posted: 18 June 2009 at 9:34pm
|
I only remember waking Jack at night for the first week or so and then my mw said I could demand feed at night. I only woke him during the day for a few days after that and then again demand fed. I think my mw said I could switch to demand feeding as Jack was putting on plenty weight.
Maybe talk to your mw about it but I would think that if your daughter is putting on weight it should be fine to move to demand feeding ------------- Lindsey 
|
Posted By: Chickoin
Date Posted: 18 June 2009 at 11:54pm
|
I agree, if she's gaining weight then there should be no need to wake her, she will wake when she gets hungry enough.
Every mw has different advice. I was told by a hospital mw to wake Jody every 4 hours, however my mw said the hospital mw is being 'old fashioned' lol and to let Jody sleep once my milk came in. So it was only the first few days/nights where I woke her. -------------   
|
Posted By: JessDub
Date Posted: 19 June 2009 at 8:44am
|
My feeling is... never wake a sleeping baby!
As long as she is putting on weight, you're ok. ------------- 
|
Posted By: Flutterby
Date Posted: 19 June 2009 at 10:01am
|
I have been demand feeding from the first day. I normally only let Cody sleep for a max of 3 hrs during the day simply because I want him to sleep at night. He still wakes up twice a night normally but most of the time he has a quick feed and then goes straight back to sleep. I think that as long as your baby is putting on weight then it shouldn't be a problem. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: Shezamumof3
Date Posted: 19 June 2009 at 10:41am
I always demand fed caden from day 1, I never woke him up, I agree with the never wake a sleeping baby, if they are hungry they will wake up, so id let her sleep and feed her when she wakes up  Like the others said, as long as she is putting on weight, your all good.
Caden staretd sleeping through the night from 2 months old, and this was without waking him up for feeds. ------------- |
Posted By: mummyofprinces
Date Posted: 19 June 2009 at 12:02pm
|
I totally agree with never waking a sleeping baby.
I was also told not to let him go longer than 4 hours between feeds during the day which was fine as he rarely did during the first four weeks. It all went pear shaped after 5 weeks as he started wanting to sleep longer and Plunket were not happy with his weight so they wanted me to feed him every 3 hours. To cut a very long story short, I did what I was told and ended up with an exhausted child who wouldnt sleep and not only was his weight gain low, he even lost weight! After a 3 weeks I ditched Plunkets advice, went back to demand feeding and what do you know, he started sleeping properly againg with 6-10 hours stints through the night and gained 210gm in a week. If there is one thing I have learnt in the past 10 weeks is trust your own instincts! -------------   
|
Posted By: ElfsMum
Date Posted: 19 June 2009 at 12:15pm
|
i agree melnel..i know it's hard to go against mw if first baby...but i never woke Ethan either...he always woke when he was hungry ..as the others said as long as weight gain is fine it's all good. (E was bottle fed from 8 weeks) ------------- Mum to two amazing boys! |
Posted By: Manda08
Date Posted: 19 June 2009 at 1:51pm
|
I agree never wake a sleeping baby!!! I was told to wake Angus, i did during the day as he hadnt put on much weight, but stopped as soon as he started to gain. He has been sleeping through the night since he was 8 weeks old. ------------- 
|
Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 19 June 2009 at 2:20pm
I used to wake during the day if it was getting near 4 hours from last feed but NEVER at night. THe rationale was they needed x amount of milk during a 24 hour period and if they didnt get it during the day they would make up for it at night......it kinda worked...I think
|
Posted By: peachy
Date Posted: 19 June 2009 at 6:00pm
I agree with nzpiper to ensure enough feeds are given during the day to get them through the night! I would wake Lauren somewhere between 3 and 4 hours if she didn't wake herself up! She was sleeping through by 8 weeks old (9pm till 5am). I must admit if I thought she didn't have enough feeds during the day I would also introduce a dreamfeed that night to get her through, so I could sleep! ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
|
nzpiper wrote: