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Behaviour/development

Eat & sleep pattern at 3 weeks

6 replies

fenellafox · 13/07/2006 14:32

Hi everyone i'm new on these boards. I'm a second time mum but can't remember much about first 3 weeks first time. ds is eating every 4 hours from 7am - 11pm then 3 hourly. so waking at 2am and 5am. Any ideas how to stretch to 4 in the night? What are other babies of similar ages doing?

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gailyb · 13/07/2006 15:12

Conrats Fenella!

I can't remember back that far (dd is 3 1/2) but I followed Gina Ford and seem to remember that if baby is waking in the night try to pack more feeds in during the day. In the evening I think there was a feed at about 4.30/5pm and then another at 7pm and then again at 10pm.

I can understand not wanting to wake at 5am. By the time you've fed and changed no 2, no. 1 must be getting up. At least this phase doesn't last too long

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jambot · 13/07/2006 20:00

DD was doing 7am, 11am, 3pm, 7pm, 2amish from birth. She was a big baby though. 4.5kgs at birth. (Sorry don't do pounds and ounces). Is he breast or bottle? If breast sounds pretty good, and ok for bottle. If he's on the bottle, I'm sure he'll start to push that early feed a bit later quite soon.

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alismummy · 13/07/2006 20:04

i am also a second time mum with a 3 week old dd. i asked a similar question to my hv. she said, its still early days so dont worry if she is taking little and often. she will take more as she gets bigger and that should lessen the night feeds. also she said the more they get during the day the less they should need in the night. are you breast or bottle feeding? dd is breastfed and it just seems to go straight through her.

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fenellafox · 13/07/2006 21:04

Bottle feeding. He won't take more than 4oz though and at 11pm often only 3 which is prob why waking at 2 not 3 maybe. think the 5am wake is partly due to how much sleep he has had as he is in bed by 7pm. He is sleeping for 10 hours at night which i guess is ok

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jambot · 13/07/2006 21:35

Have you tried feeding half the bottle, have a break, burp him, walk around for a minute or two and then try the rest? Can't say re the 5:am waking. DD slept 6:30/7pm to 6/6:30 the next morning (with one feed at night). She once woke at 5am and I felt like I'd been hit by a brick! So tired and panicky as I didn't know what to do with her till she was supposed to have her next bottle at 7am. Was always lucky with her though. She drinks like a bilge pump! Never a drop left and still loves her two cups of milk a day at 16 months. Tricky when you can't fill them up during the day. What formula are you on? Make sure it's the standard one and not one for hungry babies as this will fill him up more quickly than normal.
Also, you say you're feeding him at 11pm. Are you dream feeding or is he waking himself?