Hi - look for advice on how many feeds a 5-6 month old (breasfed, not on solisd yet) needs...

I've been feeding 4-hourly, 5 times a day ... then she sleeps 11-6.30ish and we start again. This includes at least one feed where I wake her to eat and she goes straight back to sleep afterwards (like a dream feed)...

But I've heard babies this age can sleep 12 hours straight ... so how do you fit all the feeds in during the day, if baby is sleeping 12 hours? My bub wouldn't be hungry if I shortened the gaps between feeds...

I'm thinking to try 4 feeds (as she sometimes gets a bit fussy for at least one of the current feeds) - and expressing separately to keep milk supply up.

Anyone have any other ideas or examples?

I have a 5 month old...

He too is fully BFed (no solids) and feeds every 4 hours - including at night - which means he has a 10.30pm then a 3am feed. Will often then go until 7.30am for his first feed of the day.

Well my son is also 5 1/2 months old but he is bottlefed. He has been having 5 feeds throughout the day, his last feed being about 9pm (dreamfeed). Some nights he will sleep through till 5am, other nights he will wake between 3 and 4. Although last night I fed him at 6pm and then I went to bed (as I am sick with the flu). Anyway I spent all night vomitting and I didn't hear from him till 6am this morning. I am not sure if it was because he has a cold or maybe he doesn't need this last feed. He never wakes for it, I always wake him. I thought I would try again tonight and feed him at 6pm and see how he goes. Fingers crossed.

Liam is 5 1/2 months too...

I am doing much the same thing, 5 breastfeeds each
day, around 4 hourly and then he will sleep from
11pm till anywhere between 5 and 6am. I wake him for a
dream feed around 10.30pm. We have just started solids
in the past few days (teaspoon of rice cereal after
midmorning and early evening feeds) and trying to
remember back to DS1, I think the number of milk feeds
went back to four once solids were more established.
I'm reading one of Gina Ford's books ATM (Contented
Little Baby woman) and she suggests not dropping the
dream feed until solids are well underway (I kept
going with it for ages with DS1 because I was so
worried he wouldn't sleep through without it, and I
liked ending the day with a cuddle too!).

Unless she's really fussing and refusing the breast
(Liam is fussy at most of his feeds because he's a bit
of a vomiter) I'd probably keep doing what you're
doing now, the number of feeds will probably start to
change once you start solids in a few weeks anyway

Don't know if that helps at all?



Karen
Mum to
Aidan 13/5/02
and Liam 31/12/04

This message was edited by Ariel on Sunday, 19 June 2005 @ 4:28 PM

My baby is 5 months next week and fully breastfed too. He has 5 feeds a day, but has them 3 hours apart. He sleeps for about 11 hours at night. So from 8.30pm till 7 or 7.30am. So a days feeds look like this.

7-7.30am
10am
1pm
4pm
7pm (long feed) and in bed 8-8.30
We don't do a dream feed and he sleeps through without waking up
Hope this helps!

Bec

Lucy 1/3/01
Samuel 25/1/05

Thanks - that's all really helpful. I think I will stick to the 5x4 hourly feeds for now. We do a 'dreamfeed' of sorts at 6.30am (ie she falls back asleep directly after it for another 3 hrs) so technically she also sleeps for 12 hours straight ... I just wish it were 7pm - 7am rather than 10.30pm - 10.30am. Not sure how to 'rearrange' it so she's tired earlier in the evening...