Need Advice on Formula Feeding Schedules

please dont listen to the docs on this topic. my daughter was crankier than ever if i tried to wake her up. they know when they are hungry and when they need to eat. let her sleep and she will wake up when its feeding time. this way you both get the much needed sleep that you BOTH need:) hope this helps.

I have 2 kids and with 1st one I did the feeding every 3 hrs and the 2nd one we did feed on demand. Both gained weight/height normally and are perfectly healthy kids. I like feed on demand because I got more sleep and not so much stress of staying on schedule. She will let you know when she is hungry! Good luck!

As a mother to 3 boys. I can tell you I went with whatever they wanted & needed. I didn't wake them up every 3 hrs to feed them, they will wake up when they are hungry. good luck.

IF baby is not underweight or failing to thrive, THEN - geez - yes - your pediatrician is a nut case - and clearly has never had a baby and had to work a few months after baby was born and wondered when, if ever, they might sleep again!

However: IF baby IS underweight - and/or failing to gain normally...then, like it or not - babies don't have good appetites and need to be "encouraged" to eat...

Well - that's this granny's opinion, anyway...

:-) Enjoy!

Hi V.,

With my oldest we never had to worry about waking her up we were lucky if she went three hours before "demanding" to be fed. The youngest went for up to four hours and was actually sleeping almost through the night from the day she came home from the hospital - but she weighed 10lbs when she was born.

I think if your daughter is healthy and gaining weight the way she should you can let her go until she wakes up, especially at night. If she is having problems gaining weight then you may need to wake her up to make sure she is getting what she needs.

Best wishes with your new bundle of joy!

M.

Let her sleep. When she is hungry, she will wake up and let you know.

Hi, V.. Well, I have to say that I think that waking up a child in order to feed him or her is worse than POINTLESS. Babies are designed to wake up all by themselves when they are hungry, so why, WHY, would an intelligent doctor tell you to wake up a baby when she is not hungry in order to try to get her to eat something she doesn't need at that moment? Crazy. Insane, especially when YOU need to sleep every moment you can get.

My baby and I were on the demand feeding way. He woke up every 2 hours to eat for the first couple of weeks, then he needed it a little less often, and then whenever he went through a growth spurt, he would need to nurse more often. His needs for food and water fluctuated just as mine did; I realized I could not expect him to eat and drink the same way every day, any more than I could expect myself to have exactly the same nutritional needs every single day.

I don't understand what the doctor expects you to do -- try to force the newborn to eat when she's not hungry in the middle of the night, and then DEPRIVE her of food if she's hungry off-schedule? She will tell you when she's hungry, trust me. Babies do not starve themselves.

I've made plenty of other mistakes in my life, but no one, and I mean NO ONE, can ever accuse me of not feeding my child when he was hungry. Not one single day of his life did that happen; I could not live with myself if I ever allowed that to happen.

I firmly believe that especially for a newborn, it's not only cruel to withhold food for the purpose of scheduling, but unhealthy, both physically and emotionally. Infants and children equate the nurturing they get with the sense of being loved and cared for, and if they experience hunger on a regular basis, they feel deprived of love and worth.

Yes, you are absolutely correct that if you wake your baby up in the middle of the night to try to get that poor, sleepy little darling to eat when she isn't hungry, you WILL train her to WAKE UP during the night to expect food! Please don't do that to yourself. I strongly recommend that at least for the first month or so, DON'T try to put your baby on a schedule because her own body's needs cannot really conform to a schedule.

Soon enough, all children have to learn that there are regular times for meals, but PLEASE, Moms, let that be when they are OLD ENOUGH to deal with a little bit of hunger and can exercise enough self-control to wait for the meal time.

A newborn shouldn't have to endure that kind of unreasonable expectation. She's not ready to conform to time schedules any more than she is ready to be potty-trained. So be kind to yourself and your little one: work with her body's needs, not against them.

Peace,
Syl

I breastfed so my daughter wanted to eat every 2 hours. I DID let her sleep at night though. I know in the hospital they made me feed her at night but that was only to help my milk come in. I have 3 children and I never woke them up to eat at night.

I am one to have always stuck to a schedule no matter what it did for my personal life. lol! I woke my 1st child every 3 hours because she was sick at birth & underweight so she would have slept but she needed to eat to grow. My second I let him sleep until he wanted to eat. I think yor 4 hours is great or if he/she is healthy, feel them out a little to see how often they are wanting to eat & then figure out what is best for him/her. If you can get them to sleep a little longer & then eat, more sleep for you & him/her & both of you will be happy. Good luck!

As long as my son was gaining weight I waited until he was hungry, even at night. He set his own schedule that way. I must say that he was a premiee and under weight and they told me to feed him so much every 2 hours. But if he was asleep I didn't want to wake him.

I have 3 and with each one have always been told from dr and hospital staff to feed on demand at first. That being said, they also tell you not to let them go over 2-3 hours because they NEED to eat. Even if they don't wake up, their little bodies need the food, so wake them up. So, even though it might not be the most fun to get up every few hours they really need it. As for sleep, most babies will start sleeping though the night somewhere around 3 months (some sooner, some later). Waking them up as a newborn won't affect it. Further, all the research I found said same thing. Good luck.

V.,

You have it right. I'd let your baby sleep as long as possible through the night. The Dr. told us similarly to feed our first baby every 3 hours, but it was because she was slightly jaundiced (this was 9 years ago) I think it would be important to get feedback from your pediatrician again and let him/her know what you're thinking. I'm pretty sure they will say that night times are for sleeping unless a medical issue warrants waking baby for feeding, not to wake baby in the night to feed, but rather wait for them to wake up.

But be forewarned - they're all SO different - trust me, you'll plan to do things differently with this one, and it's quite possible the plans could fall apart:-) Just relax and go with the flow...and with 2 that little, make sure you laugh alot!

Hi V.,

Every baby is different. After four of my own and now five grandchildren, let me say; feed them when they want it and you will have a much happier and more secure baby. Some babies want to eat every two hours, some every three or four. Some babies start sleeping through the night at two weeks, and some not until they are a year old. Your baby will let you know what he/she needs. My last child ate every two hours round the clock for two weeks, then slowed down and woke up twice a night for a couple of weeks, then down to once a night until she was six months old. Congrats on the new family member!!!!!

In my opinion, if the baby is sleeping at night--let them sleep. If she is hungry, she will wake up. The only time I would wake up my son would be to get him on a regular napping schedule during the day-but at night--let them sleep! 3 hours though is a great time frame to "shoot" for though for a feeding routine, where in that 3 hour period, you would feed, have some wake time, then let her sleep (during the day) and of course feed, and put back down at night.
Now, the reason Dr's tell you this is because if they start sleeping more than 5 hours at a time when they are first born, they may not be getting enough to eat and it may be a sign of something else that could be wrong. But the fact of the matter is that she will be waking up every 2-4 hours whether you want her to or not (at least those first few weeks)--so you won't need to wake her. :)
BTW if you are breastfeeding, you may have to feed more often at first while you produce your milk and the baby gets used to latching, but if you are going the formula route immediately-3 hours works great. :)
A really great book on getting your baby on a good sleeping/eating routine is the Baby Whisperer (How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with your baby). I liked it because it takes into consideration the temperament of your baby, and though she may not fall exactly into one of her 6 categories, you will find she leans towards one or two and gives advice based on those personalities.
We followed the baby whisperer's routine (which is similar to Babywise and Good Night sleep tight), and our son had double his birth weight by 3 months and was sleeping through the night (12 hours) by 14 weeks...
Anyways--congrats! I'm sure you are very anxious!

V.,

As a first time mom…we listened to what the Doctors told us to do. Well after we woke him up the first night because he had slept for 3 hours and 15 minutes and I was freaking out because he slept too long. We fed him and “tried” to put him back down…he screamed and screamed for hours…at that very minute my husband and I vowed to never wake him up again! From then on he would wake at about 3-4 hours to eat. He doubled his birth weight by 2 months old so I knew he was fine. At 7 weeks he was sleeping 5-6 hours a night. Maybe we got lucky but I also think our son was trying to tell us something too…Today he’s 13 months old and he sleeps from 8-8:30pm until 9-10am the next morning. Hope this helps. Best of luck to you!

I would let the newborn sleep until she/he wakes up. I agree waking them up gets them use to night feedings. I have 2 children. With my first one I got him on a schedule eventually but when they are small it takes a while. During the day keep the baby on the schedule but at night let the baby sleep and DO NOT wake them up. After my babies reached 13 pounds I did not feed them at night any more and they were sleeping ALL night by 3 months. Ofcourse your feedings will be more during the day (every 2 - 3 hours) to make up for the night ones. But I rather feed during the day than feed half asleep in the middle of the night LOL!

I have 2 children 7 years old and 15 months. The 15 month old sleeps up to 10 hours at night. Thank you LORD!

If you need any other advice feel free to contact me.

Hi V.,

I'm still very thankful to my mother who helped me put my son on the feeding schedule. I fed him every 3 hours except the night - he would sleep at 1am and wake up at 5am for the first 3 months, than for another 3 months - 12am - 6am. If in the beginning he would fuss I would calm him down. It seems to me that its important for a child to give his stomach a rest during the night. I wouldn't wake up a baby to feed him...

good luck

My son is 9 mo old now & we never woke him at night for a feeding--the more sleep I could get at night, the better! He would wake on his own when he was hungry. During the day, though, if he slept for more than 4 hrs, I would wake him to feed. He was sleeping through the night at 3 months, and continues to do so now. GL!

Hi. I would only feed her when she wanted to be fed. She will wake up when she is hungry whether it be every two hours or four. Eventually she will set her own schedule. Congrats!

Well...if the baby is sleeping WHY are you going to wake her up! You are right, let her sleep, if she does not wake up trhough the night is because she is not hungry. My 4 months old daughter has been sleeping through the night since she was maybe 3 weeks old. She eats often during the day - 4oz about every 2 hours-. Her pediatrician told me that if that is the schedule that fits her needs...it is ok ...as long she is gaining the righ amount of weight; and I think that is the key.
You will need the rest too...I think that unless is a medical issue...she needs to sleep.
Good luck and Congratulations!

Hi V. M., I am a Grandmother of three, and am from the old school. When my children got hungry and woke up on there on, I fed them. When my son was born, he had problems with the formula. So at 2 weeks old I changed his formula again. This time I put him on whole milk with liquid vitamins and and very mushie baby cereal. He started sleeping all night too, and growing like a weed. I did my daughter the same way. They were both healthy and happy babies. Now my son is 6'1" and my daughter is 5'8". Back in the old days, they did't have baby food, so they mashed up their food to feed their baby's. I say, use your own judgement. M. H.

Hi, V.:

I'm sure feeding every three hours seems like an awful lot, and understand your fears of making nighttime feedings a bad habit; however, my understanding is that the younger the child, the more frequent the feedings need to be as they digest their food so much more quickly and are going through such exponential changes, they require this for proper development. It very similar to how a preschool child needs frequent snack times, yet when the child is around the first grade they can go longer spans without requiring snacks (i.e. breakfast before school, lunch at school...).

Some advice that I received and used (and worked) was that when I would feed my babies at nighttime, I would always keep a pleasant look on my face, but never speak to them (which is stimulating) and never make eye contact (which is also stimulating), and never turn on the lights. I would simply cuddle them and feed them and put them back down. In the morning and throughout the day, of course, I would talk to them, make eye contact, and play and cuddle with them like crazy....but once it was nighttime, it would simply be to pleasantly feed them and then put them back down, and this worked for us. I think that people don't realize that by turning on the lights, seeing all the sights around them, hearing their mothers voices, and making eye contact, it makes them want to get up and play. Of course, they are so adorable and smell so good and make their cute sounds, it is so hard NOT to talk to or play with them at nighttime, but you really can create a problem for both of you by doing this, and found that I really needed to stick with this, and it worked for us!

I hope this helps you! Good luck to you, and congratulations!

D. C.

P.S. I would never wake them up to feed either. I would wait for them to start stirring (before it turned into a cry...and then progress to a desperate cry...which can keep them up a long time!) before I would feed them.

hello, V.. I have 4 children, 3 girls ages 23, 20, 6 and 1 boy age 5. I have ALWAYS fed them on their schedule, no one else's and it worked out beautifully! I let them sleep until they wake up and get hungry. I have never believed in feeding schedules, of course until they're older and we sit down for our different meals. I hope this helps, there's nothing like feeling like your head is spinning with all the different hoopla on how to raise kids!! good luck!

I haven't read all the responses, but I'll say NEVER WAKE A SLEEPING BABY! Unless of course, there are health issues (preemie, underweight, jaundice.)
At one point, my son went to sleep at 4:30 one night and didn't wake up until 7 the next morning. (He was 4 months old at the time.)

T.
Mom to Katelyn, almost 3 and Matthew 10 months.

My boys were 5 weeks premature, so we had to wake them that often, but I've had plenty of friends who just let their babies sleep and they're all fine.

I say, Mom knows what's best, so if you feel comfortable doing that, and the baby is fine, go for it.

In the hospital after my son was born, the dr. told me to feed him every 3 hours. I was breastfeeding, well trying to, and was already stressed about getting him to latch. I'll tell you I was a mess about it. At his 2 day checkup with his dr. (not the hospital's) I asked about this and was told to just let him sleep and feed him when he wakes. He will wake up when he is hungry. Now my little guy is 10 months old and just a few weeks ago weighed 20lbs. So I say feed her when she wants to eat and let her sleep because you will both need the rest. Good luck and congratulations!

I remember with my 1st (5y/o) the hospital said they were going to call child services on me because I refused to wake up my son.

My husband made a valid point when my son was born and the nurse was telling us we HAD to wake up my son. He said "Do you want anyone to wake you up to eat?? Don't you think you would wake up if you were hungry?" Which is so true. By 6 weeks old he was sleeping the night away. (4 to 6 hrs). He was gaining good weight and his Pedi agreed with us not waking him up.

Congrats and Good luck.

V.,

Since you eat when you are hungry, why not let her eat when she is hungry too? That's what I did with all four of mine! It worked out just fine.

Take Care,
T.

V., I have experience with formula feeding my third child. I had no choice but to supplement with formula because he had a weak suck with breastfeeding and he ultimately was not gaining weight. With that said, at 2 months of age, my son was taking formula about every 2-3 hours during the day day. Night time feedings were about every 3-4 hours. I NEVER woke him up. Babies will wake up when they are hungry and with my experience, newborns rarely sleep through the entire night. I don't agree with your pediatrician to wake a sleeping baby during the night. They do have to get used to sleeping during the night. However, during the day, if your baby is taking unusually long naps (longer than 4 hours), I would wake her to feed her. I believe that a baby should be fed (breastfeeding or formula) on demand. I exclusively breastfed my first two daughters but with my son, who was formula fed, I can tell you that in my experience, formula fed babies do not sleep better or much longer than breastfed babies. You do need to watch for night time cues. With my daughters, when they woke during the night to breastfeed, they would wake up and cry. With my son, he wasn't so obvious. He would stir a little bit, make some noises and then go back to sleep but wake up a few minutes later, move around a bit, make some noise and then go back to sleep. In my opinion, it's best to catch your baby the first or second time she stirs because an overly hungry baby, especially at 2 A.M. is sometimes harder to console. If your intend to have your baby sleep in your room (bassinett or her own crib) it will be easy for you to hear her right away but I'd recommend keeping a baby monitor in her room if you do not intend to have her sleep in your room just so that you can hear her little whimpers during the night. I don't believe in "schedules" for feeding. Babies let you know when they are hungry, as I'm sure you learned with your first born. You'll do fine. Good luck!

I wouldn't. Mine woke to eat every 2-3 hours anyway, so I never had that issue, but if they were sleeping, I never would have woken them to feed them. If she sleeps more than three hours, consider yourself lucky and let her sleep.

The importance of waking a newborn to eat, is it's hard for them to regulate their hunger and wake to ask for food for some babies. Their blood sugar levels can drop significantly and they can get very sick as a result. If you are blessed with a baby who wil sleep for a long time period, that is great, but I would make sure to get about 2 ounces in every 3 hours. Breastfed babies are a little easier because all you have to do is sit down and nurse as opposed to getting up, getting a bottle warmed properly, put the baby to bed, wash the bottle, etc. If you need any help or advice on maybe trying to nurse at least just for a few weeks and once or twice a day while your not working, I would LOVE to talk with you and see if I can offer support and training. Studies show in the incidence of so many childhood problems, the big one being SIDS, that even nursing for a few weeks or months, helps drastically improve your child's health and immune system. Best of wishes with your new baby.

I only fed mine when THEY wanted, not on anyone else's schedule. My first and third fed on a steady every 2 hours, although my third slept through the night. My middle one fed like 3-4 hours apart. So I guess THEY RULE. Just enjoy them, they do grow fast. Good luck and God bless.

This is just my opinion and it might be wrong for a brand new baby, but I think as long as the baby gets enough nurishment during the day, the nightimes feedings can be limited. For the life of me I can't remember the amount of ounces a new born is supposed to have, but if they get close to that during the day, then they are getting what their body needs. Might be smart to let the baby wake up on its own when the time comes. Congrats and good luck!