Feeding FAQ: 0-8 weeks

My baby is three weeks old, weighs nearly 11 pounds and was feeding at 3am and 7am but has now back-tracked to wanting to be fed at 2am and 6am. Although I manage to express 7oz at 9.30pm he will only take 3-4oz when my husband feeds him at 10pm. Is he starting to wake earlier because he is not getting enough at the last feed, should he perhaps be having closer to what I am actually expressing at that time?

Team Response

I would like to follow the routines with my 4.5 week old daughter as I have done so with my first child, now aged 4, with great success. However, from day one it has been a real struggle. The main problem is that my daughter doesn't feed for very long. She will stay on the breast for a maximum of 15 minutes, before falling asleep or crying. She never ever empties the breast so I worry that she is not getting any hind milk. As a consequence she then wants to feed 2 hours later, or even earlier, which makes me concerned she might develop colic. I have tried to wake her up mid-feed by changing her nappy etc but feel that each feed takes so long and seems to blend with the next.

She never settles for her morning nap unless I feed her or wear her in a sling - in fact she seems to hate her cot. She will settle in her pushchair or a sling but the moment I put her in her cot she screams and becomes more and more hysterical. She has liked to be cuddled to sleep since birth. She tends to feed at 7 am but then falls asleep by 8.15am - then wakes if I put her in her cot and won't go back to sleep.

She does sleep well at lunchtime and in the afternoon but will not settle in the evening, sometimes staying awake till 10pm. She is very unsettled in the evening, crying and fussing. We thought she might have silent reflux as when she screams she arches her back and clutches at me or her chest and will wake suddenly screaming as if in pain. The doctor gave her Gaviscon which she spits out and then becomes hysterical so I have given up on that. Every day I try to follow the routine as I want it to work but every day by lunchtime the routine has gone pear-shaped. How do I get her to feed longer, go longer between feeds and settle in her cot? Another thing, she hates being swaddled and will scream if I restrict her arms, so I half-swaddle her.

My daughter feeds at the following times:
7.30am 15 minutes [takes 30mins to take this feed]
8.45am 5 minutes, sucked her self to sleep
9.15am woke and then sucked herself to sleep
10.30are 15minutes
11.30am 15minutes
2.30pm 15 minutes
4.00pm 5 minutes
6.00pm 15 minutes
7.00pm all evening wanted to suck, fell asleep at 10pm
10.30pm fed on and off until midnight
3.30am 10minutes

She weighed 9lbs 7ozs at birth and now weighs 10lbs 10ozs.

My daughter naps at 8.45-9.15am, 9.20-10.30am, 11.40-2.30pm and 4.15-5.15pm
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22.

We are giving my 4 week daughter the 10 pm feed as recommended in the Contented Little Baby book, as expressed milk in bottle. However this upsets her a lot (currently on 120-140 ml) and we end up with a whole sleepless night and her being in great discomfort. This happens also if we do half feed in bottle and half on breast.
She takes Infacol beforehand but that does not help either.

The only way she has a comfortable night is if she totally breastfeeds at night. I am worried as we are to start weaning her to formula starting in 2 weeks time, and if a bottle is upsetting her this much, what problems we will face? Do you recommend maybe that we give her the bottle during one of the day feeds?
Regarding the weaning to full formula feeds, the book does not tell whether the 3 am feed (if she is still waking up for it) should be formula or breast?

My daughter breast feeds throughout the day at 6.45am, 10am, 2.15pm, 5pm, 6.15pm, 10.30pm and 3.20am. She will take one breast for 20minutes at a feed, then 10minutes on the second side, although she does not always want this. The 5/6.15pm feed is given as a split feed, with one side at 5pm for 25-30mins. The same side is offered after her bath followed by the second if she stays awake.

If the 10.30pm is given as half and half she will be given 100mls in the bottle followed by 15-20minutes on the breast.

My daughter weighs 3.72kg [8.3.5lbs].

She naps at 8.45-10am, 11.30-2pm and 3.30-4.15pm.
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My 4 week son is feeding well at the 10pm feed, 3oz from the bottle then 15 minutes from the breast and a further 5 minutes from the second breast. He is only sleeping till about 1.30 am and taking a full feed from both breasts then waking at 4 ish when I give him one breast and then the other at 7am. How can I get him to sleep longer from the 10 pm feed and therefore only have him wake once?

My son is fully breast fed. He weighs 8lbs 6ozs.

He feeds at 7am 15mins,breast 1, 10mins breast2, 10am 15mins breast 1, 11.30am 15mins breast 2, 2pm 15mins breast 1, 10mins breast 2, 5pm 15mins breast 1, 6.15pm 15mins breast 2, 10pm 3ozs expressed feed, 15mins breast 1, 5mins breast 2, 1.30am 15mins breast 1, 15mins breast 2, 4am 15mins breast 1.

He naps at 8.30-10am, 11.15-2pm and 3-4pm. He settles at 6.30pm.
Team Response

I am having problem on the 4 to 6 weeks schedule, and even more moving onto the 6 to 8 weeks routine. My 7 week daughter sleeps a lot. She does not seem to be eating as much as the book recommends, and she quickly looses interest in the breast. She will suck furiously for 5 min, and then refuse to take more. I have just followed your advise to increase my milk supply, but it does not seem to have change much and she often cries for a top up of food at 9.30 am (in the middle of her nap), and at 12.30 pm.
I am having trouble keeping her awake the recommended time. She is so sleepy during the 2 to 4 pm! Please advise, I would love to get onto the routine accordingly, but seams to be failing.

My daughter is fully breast fed. She feeds at 7am 10-15mins, 10.00am 10-15mins, 12.30pm 5mins, 2.15pm 10mins, 5pm 10-15mins, 6.15pm 5-10mins, 7.30pm 5mins, 10.15pm 15mins, 2.30am 10-15mins. She weighs 3.900kg [8.10lbs] and was 2.715kg [6lbs] at birth.

She naps at 8.45-10am, 11.30-2.00pm, 2.45-3.15pm and 3.45-5.00pm. She settles at 7pm.
Team Response

My son is very good at sleeping at night from after his 10.30 pm feed through to 7.00 am and he wakes up once in the night for a feed at around 4 - 5 am, however he has become very bad at sleeping in the day and going down at 7.00 pm. He is now getting increasingly overtired and difficult to settle and putting him down in the day and at 7.00 pm is becoming a real battle and I am desperate for him to catch up on sleep without throwing out his night time sleeping. Please would you advise on the best way to do this and how the day time naps can be encouraged. I have noticed that he goes down very well after his formula feed in the evening, would it be worth introducing a second formula feed at 10.30 am to see if this will help with his midday nap?
He is breast fed in the day. His feeds take 25-35 minutes at 7am, 10.30am, 2.30pm, 5pm and 6.15pm. At 10.30pm he takes 5ozs formula. He feeds at 4-5am and settles back again. My son weighs 8.11lbs.
He naps at 9-10am, 11.30-2.30pm and 4-5pm. At times he sleeps 9-10.30am then fights going down at 11.30/12midday. He will then fall asleep exhausted at 3-5pm when I always wake him.
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18.

We followed the week one routine for two weeks, for our low birth weight twins born at 38 weeks and have been following the two to four week routine for 7 days. They have regained their birth weights, are over 7 pounds and gain 9 oz per week, with both consuming a lot more than 75 ml per pound weight.
Most awake times and day feeds go well, except the early morning feed. They usually wake between 2 and 3am and will not sleep longer. I usually wake with the first one, then pacify her with a dummy and hold her till the second one wakes. This takes between 10 minutes and an hour. I feed between 60 ml and 110 ml. They then wake again usually just after 6am. It makes no difference, a small feed or a big feed at 2/3am, they still wake before 7am. At 7am they will usually take another big feed. They take more than the daily requirement during day feeds, with big feeds at 10:30 pm and 7 pm. At 10:30pm I try to have them awake at least an hour. How can I get them to sleep past 3 am? I would prefer not to feed at different times as I am already not coping well with the lack of sleep.

At present they are having a mixture of breast, expressed and formula feeds. One of the girl’s won’t take the breast, the other will but from the amount I express in the day [around 300 mls] I feel she is not taking much.
The twin’s feeding is as follows.

Twin 1
7am breast, 40mls expressed, 20mls formula
10am breast, 40mls expressed, 50mls formula
2pm breast, 40mls expressed, 40mls formula
5pm breast, 100mls formula. Split feed but taken mostly at this time, the girls do feed well after the bath.
10.30pm 110mls formula
3am 90mls formula
Daily total approx 560mls
Weight 7lbs 12ozs. Birth weight: 5.13ozs

Twin 2
7am 60mls expressed, 50mls formula
10am 60mls expressed, 60mls formula
2pm 60mls expressed, 30mls formula
5pm 120mls formula, mostly taken at 5pm
10.30pm 110mls formula
3am 10mls formula
Daily total 610mls
Weight 7lbs 7ozs. Birth weight: 5.8ozs.

The girls nap at 9-10am, 12-2pm, 4-5pm and are settled at 7pm.
Team Response

I am finding that the twins are not satisfied with breast feeding as I assume my supply is low in the later part of the day. I initially tried expressing all feeds fully just prior to the feed time and then giving it by bottle as the time spent on staggered feeding was exhausting. I found that the amount expressed left them wanting more and I have therefore returned to breast feeding. I am having to supplement the 5/6pm feed with 100ml of formula and I am doing the same at 10.00pm, and then expressing that feed. I have been expressing after every feed except for the 5/6pm but find that I can only express a very limited amount. I wonder how I will ever build up a decent supply so I can replace the formula feeds with expressed milk. Should I be expressing at different times and how long should I express for? When I express the entire 10.00pm feed it takes about 10mins and usually yields about 100 - 125mls, is this what I should expect to get?

The boys are breast fed at 7am, 10am, 2pm, 5pm and 2.30am. They have 1oomls formula at 6pm and 125mls at 10pm. They weigh 3.5kl and 3.4kl.

They nap at 8-10am, 11.30-2pm and 3.30-4.45pm. They are settled at 7pm.
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My 6.5-week-old daughter has slept through to 4-5am a quite a number of times over the last week or so, but now seems to be waking at 2:30-3am again. She sleeps fairly well during the day, following the 6-8 week routine. We do still have problems settling her at 7pm. It's fairly touch and go whether she sleeps through until 10pm. Sometimes she settles well at 7pm only to wake up not hungry or crying in any way as long as she has company. This usually happens after the first 45mins. She will sometimes drop off to sleep (after a short 5min feed) at around 8.45-9pm. We then struggle to wake her for the late feed. We always do the late feed the same, keeping her awake for an hour (excluding the time it takes to wake her up). At her lunchtime naps she is quite capable of settling herself back to sleep, and does so even at night when she comes into a light sleep - so I'm a bit baffled as to why she can't do it in the evenings.
The usual pattern after such an evening is that she wakes anywhere between 3-4am and I feed her (25-30mins one side). She is then awake again around 6.30-7am & takes about 3oz of expressed milk from my husband. Usually I have to top her up before putting her down for the morning nap.
I am concerned that on the evenings that she does sleep from 7-10pm, she seems to be waking earlier in the middle of the night. Last night, for example she woke at 2.30am. I tried to settle her with cooled boiled water (she took about an ounce) but it didn't look like she would settle so I gave her 15mins on the breast. She settled again by 3.15am, this morning she was awake at 6.15am. She took 3oz and I settled her back in her cot till 7.30am.
I am very keen to resolve the 7-10pm sleep issue in particular, preferably without back tracking on the night sleeping.
At present she weighs 10.14lbs [birth weight: 9lbs]. She lost weight initially; I also had problems with my milk supply but followed the plan for increasing the supply when my daughter was three weeks.
She feeds at 6.45/7am 3oz expressed, 8am 10 minutes, 8.45am 5+ minutes before going down for her nap, 10am 20-25 minutes one side, 11am 15 minutes second side. I offered her a top up at 11.40am as she was beginning to wake at 1.30pm from her lunchtime nap. 2/2.15pm 20-25mins one side, 3.15pm 10mins second side, 5pm 20-25 minutes [she was still unable to wait until after her bath], 6pm 5 minutes first side and as long as she wants on second [could be 35 minutes]. I take her off when she is getting too sleepy. 10.15pm 25 minutes one side, 10-15 minutes second side. The rest of this hour is spent trying to keep her awake as she gets very sleepy after the first side. In the night she will take a sleepy 15-20 minutes at what ever time she wakes.
Team Response

My 4-week-old son normally wakes around 6am and it is impossible to get him to go back to sleep or even settle in his cot. He feeds at 6am for approx 10 minutes on the breast, then is happy to sit in his chair or play on his play mat for an hour. By 7am he is ready to feed again (approx 15 minutes). He will then generally doze for approx 30 minutes between 7.30 and 8.15am. After this nap he wants more feeding, once again a small amount (5 or 10 minutes). This pattern continues throughout the morning: little naps and continuous feeding until I can get him to settle for his afternoon nap at approx 11.30am. Once asleep he will sleep soundly until 2pm. At 2pm he feeds well (approx 20 minutes) and then is generally awake for the two hour social time, however it is hard work to keep him awake for the entire time. At 4pm we go out walking and he will sleep until 5pm. We then follow the routine of feeding and bathing and 90% of the time he will be asleep by 7pm. He then sleeps soundly until I wake him at 10.30pm. He is normally so sleepy and impossible to wake up fully so he only feeds for 10 to 15 minutes. He will then settle back to sleep very quickly and will wake up at 1.30am for another short feed, settle back to sleep and wake at approx 4.30am, short feed and then will sleep till 6am. I have tried to get him to stay on the breast for longer at the appropriate times however he is just not interested. Please can you suggest how I can get him to follow the routine correctly.
He weighed 7.14lbs at birth and is now 10.5lbs. He feeds at the following times: 6am 10mins, 7am 15mins, 8.30am 5-10 minutes, 9.30am 5-10 minutes, 10.30am 5-10 minutes, 11.15am 5-10 minutes, 2pm 20 minutes, 5pm 20 minutes, 6pm 15mins, 10.30pm 10mins, 1.30am 5-10 minutes, 4.30am 5-10 minutes.
He naps at 7-7.30am, 8-8.30am, 9.30-10am, 11.30-2pm, 4-5pm. He settles at 7pm-10.30pm, 11-1.30am, 2-4.30am and 4.30-6am.
Team Response

I have been trying to get my baby son of 3.5 weeks into the 2/4 week routine. The problems I am having are as follows:
1) We can follow the routine during the day and then problems start at night.
2) He has a brother and sister both age 2 and a half. It is very difficult to try and fit both routines in.
1) Feeding and routines: My son is exclusively breast fed. He is gaining plenty of weight, so I don't think there are any problems with supply. For the past two days I have finished his first feed by 7.30am, I have kept him awake until 8.45am and then tried to settle him. He has then stayed awake until 10.30am and has cried for feeding, on the first day and on the second day he did fall asleep at 9.00am and slept for 1 hour. I fed as per the routine and settled him at 11.30am. He then woke at 1.00pm and wanted more milk. He was unsettled then for the rest of the 2 hour period. He fed again at 2.00pm and then stayed awake until 4.00pm We went for a walk and he slept for 1 hour. He fed at 5.20pm and then at 6.30pm and he was asleep at 7.20pm. I thought things were going okay until he woke at 9.00pm and he would not settle until he had a feed. I gave him only one breast. He settled back to sleep again. I planned to push the 10.30pm feed to 11.30pm but he woke at 10.30pm, wanting get more. He finally settled at 11.45pm. He then woke every 2 hours and wanted milk. I have followed all of the advice as given in your book. I am offering both breasts, and he has at least 20 minutes on the first, and more often enough 15-20 minutes on the second, at every feed.
2) My son has a brother and sister who are both 2 and a half. From 6 weeks old I had modified the CLB routine slightly in order to accommodate twins and breast feeding, but both followed it well, and the routine has been maintained through out. How do I fit in the CLB routine with the twins. Please can you give me some advice as I am already exhausted, my husband is going back to work tomorrow and I do not know how I am going to cope with the twins and trying to get my son in the routine.
The daily progress chart I have given is for a typical day. My son feeds 6.30am 20 minutes one side, 7.15am 4 ozs expressed milk, 10.30am 25 minutes one side then fell asleep, 12.30pm full feed, 2.30pm full feed, 5.20pm 25 minutes one side, 6.30pm 20 minutes second side, 9pm 20 minutes one side, 10.30pm 15 minutes one side, 25 minutes second side, 1.30am 20 minutes, 3.30am 15 minutes.
He naps 9-10am, 10.30-11am, 11.45-12am, 1.30-2.30pm, 4-5pm, 7-9pm, 9.30-10.30pm, 11.45-1.30am, 2-3.30am, 4-6.30am.
His birth weight was 8.13lb and he now weighs 10lbs.
Team Response

I am concerned my son is gaining too much weight but as he is mostly breastfed I have no idea how much he is consuming.
Since regaining his birth weight by 2 weeks he's been gaining an average of a pound a week, which seems excessive to me. How do I control his intake when he's breastfeeding?
All his feeds are in line with the routines ,although I am not able to push the timings of the 10am and 5pm feeds back. He does sleep a little more than he should in the afternoons but he sleeps well at night and wakes between 3.30 and 4.30am depending on how long we have managed to keep him awake at 10pm.
He weighed 8.10lbs at birth and is now 13.5lbs. He is breastfed at 7am, 2pm, 5/6pm and 4am. At 10am he takes 6ozs formula and has 5ozs expressed milk at 10pm.
He sleeps from 9-10am, 11.45-2pm and 3.45-5pm.
Team Response

My son is 5 weeks old and weighs 10lbs 5ozs. He had gradually begun to wake nearer to 3am for his feed, and then again between 6-7am. However, in the last few days he has been waking more frequently at night, despite having a split feed at 10pm, and staying awake for an hour. Could this be due to a growth spurt and how do I begin to encourage him to sleep for longer again?Last night I gave him a 4oz feed at 2am since he seems to need this feed. I have tried to offer him less milk, or a more diluted feed, but he will not settle. He woke again at 4am and would only settle back to sleep when given 1oz at 5am.

I have increased some of the daytime feeds, but this does not seem to have had any effect on his nights.
Team Response

17.

I have a very sucky, hungry 7 week old big baby who does not want to sleep longer in the night. My son is struggling to get past 3.30am in the night- it has been like this on and off for the past 4 weeks. He has 6 oz of SMA white at about 10.45pm, having been woken at 10pm. He then wakes at 3.30/3.45am and sometimes will settle with a dummy for half an hour or so but then wakes again screaming for a feed. He is taking slightly more than the amount of formula for his weight during the day, and does not seem to want more during the day. I see that you advise that not more than 6oz should be given at the 10pm feed - but should I increase this to make him go longer? When he does feed in the night he is currently taking about 3oz. I have just started to decrease it from 4 oz and he then wakes again at 7am for a feed. He is much more settled during the day and will generally take all his naps. Should I keep increasing his day feeds and the 10pm feed? As he is so big I do not want to overfeed him.

My son feeds at 7am 6ozs, 10.30am 6ozs, 11.45am 1oz top up, 2.30pm 5ozs, 5.15pm 3ozs, 6.30pm 4/5ozs, 10.45pm 6ozs, 3.30am 3ozs.

He weighs 13lbs.

He naps at 8.50-9.30am, 11.45-2.15pm and 4.15-4.45pm. He is settled by 6.50pm.
Team Response

I am having problems working out how to split the amount of formula my 5 week son is due over his feeds during the day as his weight increases. Can you provide a table for weights 11lb and onwards like the one in your CLBB on page 63.

He weighs 11lbs at present.

He feeds at 7am 5ozs, 10.30am 5ozs, 2.30pm 4ozs, 5.00pm 3ozs, 6.15pm 3ozs, 10.30pm 5ozs, 2.30am 3ozs.

He naps at 8.15-10am, 11.30-2.15pm and 3.30-5pm.
Team Response

As you can see my son was a big baby. He is a very hungry baby and has been since birth, which is why I have changed to complete formula feeding. I am unable to stretch out any of the feeding times and he cries for a bottle the minute that he wakes during the day and has to be full of food to sit happily or lie on his gym, so I feel that I constantly have to have a bottle at the ready. I have tried a dummy but he spits it out every time. The main problem that we have is that he seems unable to go longer than 2am at night. My husband does the 10pm feed and, as you have suggested elsewhere, we have been keeping him up for longer than one hour - waking him at 9.45 and putting him back down at 11.15pm. This is a really difficult time to keep him awake even lying on the floor in just his vest. The first time we did this he didn't wake until 4.30, but this has got earlier again every night so that after only five days we are now back to 1.30 - 2am waking and then again at 5.30am. I have tried leaving him as he doesn't really cry but is awake and fidgeting, but he is very hungry when I go in and usually drinks between 140 and 180ml. He then has about 100ml at 5.30am, he won't settle with any less. I followed the same routines and had very similar problems during the day with his brother who was a similar birth weight, but was better at night and slept 10.30pm to 7am at 10 weeks.

He weighs 12lbs. My son feeds at 7.30am 120mls, 10am 180mls, 2pm 150mls, 5pm 60mls, 6.30pm 180mls, 10.30pm 180mls, 2am 160mls, and 5 am 100mls.

He naps at 9-9.45am, 12-2.30pm, 3.30-3.45pm and 4.30-4.45pm. He is settled by 7pm.
Team Response

I am generally happy and successfully applying and following the routine. I do, however, have a big problem with the bathing time at 6pm. I simply don't manage to bath both girls in the given time frame. This might well be due to me being a new mum and handling twins being very stressful. At first, the twins really enjoyed their bath but the more I am trying to manage the tasks, on my own, within the time frames given in the book, the more stressed I get as I find it impossible to do so. It seems as though the twins are picking up on my stress and enjoy their bath less and less.

I got so frustrated that I skipped the bath today only to realise that it was impossible to keep the girls awake after their 5pm feed and they were not hungry for the 6:30pm feed.

I was now wondering if it is possible to only bath one twin a day and take it in turns or can I adjust the times - and if so, how? Is there any advice on how to achieve the task better (e.g. can I use the same bath water for both twins to save time or e.g. is there a particular easy to use bath / bathing method I could use?)

My twins feed at 7am 100mls, 10.15am 130mls, 2pm 95mls, 5.15pm 100mls, 6.30pm 60mls, 10.15pm 100mls, 2.30pm 100mls.

They nap at 8.30-10am, 11.30-2pm and 4-5pm. They settle at 6.45pm.
Team Response

I am trying desperately to get my daughter into your routines. She is pretty good and we usually manage for her to have roughly the right amount of sleep during the day.

Feeds are a bit hit and miss, the times are fine but how much she will take at each feed varies. At nighttime, we give her a split feed around 5-7pm and then settle her at 7pm in her cot. She will sometimes wake up on her own around 10-10.30pm but sometimes she will sleep on until 11 or even later. Should we be waking her up at 1030 if she does not wake on her own? Surely if she feeds at 10.30pm rather than 11pm then she will wake earlier in the night?

She usually sleeps from 11pm-2am and then wakes for a feed, then wakes again around 5am for another feed. She demands a lot of food in the night (last night at 2am she had 5oz - any less than this and I cannot settle her). She doesn't feed very well at 11pm although we have tried keeping her up for longer and changing her etc to try and keep her awake. She is quite difficult to settle after the 5am feed and then does not feed well at 7am.
She feeds at 7am 3oz, 10am 4oz, 2pm 4oz, 5pm 2oz, 6.15pm 3oz, 11pm 3oz, 2am 4oz, 5.45am 2.5oz. She weighs 7lbs 10ozs.
She naps at 9-10am, 11.30-2pm, and 4-5pm.
Team Response

My baby never seems to be hungry. She never seems to take more than 3-4oz per feed, even if I leave 20 minutes in between and take up to an hour to feed her. At 6 weeks she started sleeping through from 11pm to between 6-7am. She did this for about 5 nights then reverted to waking at 5am. She will not settle with water or a cuddle so I have to feed her. I then wake her between 7-7.30 but, whether she has had a full feed or just a couple of oz, she is not hungry and only takes 1oz which means she is well behind on her total amount of milk for the day. She weighs just over 10lbs (7lbs at birth) and is putting on about 6oz a week. Can I assume she does not need her feed at 5am and try controlled crying to get her through until between 6 and 7 or is she too young? She is only taking approx 18oz of milk per day.
She takes 1-2oz at 7/7.30am, 4oz at 10.45am, 3-4ozs at 2.15pm, 3ozs at 2.15pm, 3ozs at 5pm, 1-2 ozs at 6.15pm, 2-3oz at 11pm, 1-2ozs or 3-4ozs at 5am.
She naps at 9-10am, 12-2.0pm and 4-4.30pm. She settles at 7pm.
Team Response

My six-week-old baby showed signs of mild reflux from birth. I tried Gaviscon Infant but noticed it had a laxative effect: he did not gain any weight at all during the 10 days he was on it, so now I thicken his formula with 1 scoop of rice to 5 scoops of formula, with good results (he had been projectile vomiting up to 2 feeds per day, now it is only occasional possetting.) My question is as follows:
I am on a 7.30am to 7.30pm routine, following the CLB closely. My baby is doing very well, but I encountered a problem a few days ago. Being an early sleeper, I would set my alarm to wake up and then wake my son at 11.30pm for a feed, and then he would wake at 3am on his own for the next feed. He would then sleep well until 7.30am. However, last week my alarm did not go off at 11.30, and he did not wake again until 3am. I decided to let this go for a few days, as my night nanny thought it was great that he was only waking up once at 3am for a feed, and he now sleeps solidly until 3-4 am every night, and I have been able to cut this feed down at 3am from 5 oz to only 2 oz, and he continues to sleep well until 7.30am. Our plan is to continue to wean him down, and then use water, etc, until he is sleeping through. In addition he seems to have managed well on this schedule through a growth spurt.
Should I allow this schedule to continue, considering he is taking up to 26 oz. of feed in total over 24 hours, and I now do not have to wake twice a night to feed him? My concern is that if I start waking him again at 11.30pm for a feed, he will begin to wake earlier than 7.30am, and then I shall be getting up twice in the night?
My night nanny seems to think that this present schedule is good, considering that we are weaning him down slowly and successfully at this 3am feed, and he is gaining weight well. What do you think?
At present he weighs 9lbs 4ozs and feeds at 7.30am 6oz, 11am 6oz, 2.45pm 5oz, 5.45pm 3oz, 7.15pm 4oz, 3am 2oz. Each of the feeds has 1 scoop of rice added except the smaller ones which have 1/2-3/4 scoop added. He sleeps for 4 and half hours spread over 3 naps in the day and is settled by 7.30pm.
Team Response

My little girl cannot seem to take a big enough feed at 10:30pm.
Summary of milk intake during day : 7am 3ozs, 10.15am. 3.5ozs, 2.00pm 4.5ozs, 5/6.15pm 5.5ozs, 10.30pm 3ozs, anything from 2.45-3.45 2.5ozs. She only ever takes 2.5ozs at the 2.45-3.45a.m. feed and makes it through to 7am, easily and often needs to be woken.
She follows the naps schedule for a 4-6 week old well, going down at 9.00 - 1hour, 11.30 2.5 hours, 4 - 1 hour and sleeps well in the evening.
My concern is the small intake at 10.30pm, during the night and at 7.00. Her milk intake seems to be at the wrong times. I think she could probably go through the night but I am not sure how to increase the 10.30pm feed.
I have read all your case studies and FAQ's but cannot find the answer.
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My 3-week-old daughter is waking at 2.30am and between 5am and 6am for feeds. This is regardless of what time we feed her at the late night feed, or how much she has taken. Her body clock seems stuck at these times and I'd really like to get her further onto to a 3/3.30am, 6.30am feed time. We have followed the advice in the book to wake her at 10pm and keep her awake until 11:15pm but this has only moved her on from a 2am waking, to a 2.30am waking. I have also increased the morning feeds as suggested. She is also very difficult to settle after her 2.30am feed and can be awake until 4am. I am having to resort to dummies just to get her to sleep at this time and I really don't want her to get bad sleep association, but it's either dummies or waking the entire house up! This wakefulness means she is very tired in the morning and I have difficulty keeping her awake until 9am for a morning sleep. She sleeps well in the day (I have to try and keep her awake) and settles well at 7pm as she is so tired. Is there anything I can do to move her night feeds on, and to make sure she is sleepy at night?
At present she feeds at: 7am 5oz, 10am 5oz, 2 or 1.30pm 4oz, 5pm 3-4 oz, 6.30pm 4oz, 10pm 5oz, 2.30am 4oz, 5.30/6am 3oz. She weighs 8lb 10ozs.
Her daytime naps are 8.30-10am, 11.30-1.30pm, 3.45-5pm. She settles at 7pm.
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Could you tell me if I am doing the right thing with Summer? She has been sleeping through from 11.30pm till 5am for five nights. One night whilst I was preparing her feed she fell back to sleep and I had to wake her up at 7am. So the next night I let her cry for 10-20 minutes when she woke at 5am. However last night it took her 20-30 minutes to settle and I am worried that I should be feeding her. She is putting on 7ozs a week and has all her daily milk intake between 7am and 10pm. I need to know if I am doing things correctly.
Summer weighs 9lbs 8oz and feeds at 7am 5oz, 10.45 5oz, 2.30pm 5oz, 6.15pm 5oz, 10.30pm 5oz.
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My baby who is now 6 weeks is waking earlier in the night. It is nearer 2.30/3am rather than 3.30/4am. He then also wakes at 6.15/6.30am. Should I be trying to get him back to sleep with a feed, cooled water or a dummy? I try to hold out feeding him until 7am but then he is too tired to stay awake until 9am. He always fights this nap, even if I take him to his room at 8.30am. He eventually settles but often wakes and moans throughout the nap. I wake him at 10am but cannot get him to wait for a feed. He is ready by 10.15/10.20am. He becomes hysterical if I try to get him to wait to 10.30am onwards. He is settled and asleep by 11.45 for his midday nap and I wake him at 2pm. The afternoon goes to the plan, having a 45 min nap between 4.15 and 5pm, but he is usually asleep by 6.45pm.
Is he getting too much daytime sleep and therefore waking earlier and needing to go to bed earlier? Why does he fight sleep at 9am?
When he is given formula by my husband at 10.30pm and 2.30am, is a size 1 teat too small? (Avent bottles). We felt it might take him longer to drink, so he would stay awake longer and therefore sleep longer in the night.
If I begin to offer cooled boiled water in the night, how do I do this? Can it be prepared in the evening and left out at room temperature?
When fed at 10.30pm, my husband finds it hard to keep the baby awake beyond 11pm. Should we wake him at 10pm and bring him downstairs to see if he will stay awake longer at this time and so sleep a longer stretch at night?
I am breast feeding my son at 7am, 10.15am, 2.20pm, 5pm and 6.15pm. He takes 5-6ozs formula at 10.30pm and 3-4ozs at 2.30am.
I express 2-3 ozs at 7am before giving him the second breast and then try to express 4-6ozs from both breasts at 8pm to be frozen. I am very tired and so then go to bed so there is no expressing at 10pm. Does this matter?
My son weighed 7lbs 15ozs at birth and at 6 weeks weighs 10lbs. He sleeps in a sleeping bag and his room is fully blacked out.
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Zac will never settle after his 7pm feed. He falls asleep when exhausted, usually after hours of crying. Then, no matter how much he takes at the 10/11pm feed, or how much food and sleep he has had during the day, he wakes twice in the night at 2am and 5am. I cannot get him to sleep longer in the morning. He is very hungry in the night and takes 4ozs at both feeds.
I am not sure when I feed him at 5am whether I should put him back to sleep and wake him again at 7am or let him stay awake? Should I offer him a 2oz top up at 7am so he will make it through to 10am? I am desperate to get Zac to sleep to 6am or later.
In the day Zac fights sleep and is often very overtired by the time he eventually goes down. Would this be affecting his night time sleep and feeding even though all his daytime feeds are on schedule?
Zac weighs 10lbs 5ozs and feeds at 05.30am 4ozs, 10am 5ozs, 2pm 4-5ozs, 6pm 5ozs (split around bath time),10pm 4-5ozs. I sometimes offer him this feed at 11pm if he has taken a long time to settle at 7pm. He sleeps 05.30-10am, 11.30am to 1pm and 3-5pm by day.
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Skye was born almost 4 weeks early weighing 6lbs 7ozs. I need help in structuring her feeds, and the resulting excessive consumption of milk for her weight. Is she able to go 4 hours at night time yet? At present she is waking every 3 hrs from 9pm.
I feed Skye 5.00 3ozs, 07.30 3ozs, 10.15 5ozs, 14.00 5ozs, 17.00 4ozs, 18.15 3ozs, 21.30 4.5ozs, 00.45 3ozs, 03.15 3ozs, 05.00 rocked back to sleep.
She is feeding on Cow and Gate 2 using a size 1 and 2 teat. She presently weighs 7lbs 15ozs.
Her sleeping by day is good; 09.00-10.00, 11.30-14.00,15.50-1700 but then settles at 19.00 only to wake again at 21.30.
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My 6-week-old baby, Michael, does not last from the 6:15pm feed to 10:30pm. He is formula fed and weighs 13lb 5oz. He will not settle at 7pm, even after feeding well during the day. He wakes up wanting a feed at 7:30 and 8:30 and often then drinks 125 mls. He screams a lot at these feeds, bringing up a lot of wind and being in a lot of pain. He then settles at 9, but often only if held, sometimes only if held lying on his tummy.
His morning nap is an hour or more and his lunchtime nap can be up to two and three quarter hours, with a wake for a feed at about 2pm. Sometimes he needs another half an hour in the afternoon. He feeds at 6am (90mls), 7.30am (70 mls), 10.30am (125mls) 2pm (160mls), 5pm (125mls) and 6.30 (60mls) but can then wake twice more, hungry, before his 10.30pm feed.
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My son follows the routines perfectly during the day and sleeps from the 10:30pm feed until 5:20am. But after taking 4oz at 5.20am, I try to top him up when he wakes again at 7am, but he refuses. This has a knock-on effect, both on the rest of day and his milk intake.
At present he feeds at 7.30am 0-3oz, 11am 5-6oz, 2.30pm 4oz, 5pm 3oz, 6pm 3oz, 10.30pm 3-5.5oz and 5.20am 4oz. He weighs between 11 and 12lbs. He naps from 9-9.45am, 10am-2.30pm and 3.40-4pm. He settles at 6pm.
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