- Aug 05, 2019 Although they may leave a couple of hours between feeds most of the day, there will usually be a few hours of constant or close together feeds (often from 6 to 10 PM). Cluster feeding is most common in the late afternoon and in the evening, although may differ between babies ( 1, 2 ).
- The most common time for growth spurts is around 10 days, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. The best way to boost your milk production is by nursing more often for a few days (“Cluster Feeding”) until the supply catches up. She may be going through one of these growth spurts now.
Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Feeding Frenzy Pet Shop, Pet Supplies, Supa Corner Unit 6 Cnr Old Pretoria Rd & Silva Street, Nelspruit.
In this Article
In this Article
In this Article
It’s simple: You should nurse or offer a bottle whenever your little one is hungry in the first few months as a newborn. And your baby is going to let you know, loud and clear! But crying isn’t the only clue.
Following your child's lead, instead of trying to stick to a strict time-based schedule, is often called “demand feeding” or “feeding on-demand.” Since your infant can't actually say 'I'm hungry,” you’ll want to learn to look for cues that it's time to eat. These may include:
- Leaning toward your breast or a bottle
- Sucking on his hands or fingers
- Opening his mouth, sticking out his tongue, or puckering his lips
- Fussiness
Crying is also a sign of hunger. But if you wait until your baby is very upset to feed him, it can be hard to calm him down.
How Often Will My Baby Act Hungry?
Every child is different. It also depends on whether your baby is drinking breast milk or formula, since they digest breast milk more quickly.
If you're breastfeeding, your newborn will probably want to nurse every 1.5 to 3 hours. As he gets older, he'll slowly start to nurse less often and fall into a more predictable pattern.
Newborns should nurse 8-12 times a day for the first month; when your child gets to be 4 to 8 weeks old, he'll probably start nursing 7-9 times a day.
If he's drinking formula, your baby will probably want a bottle every 2 to 3 hours at first. As your child grows, he should be able to go 3 to 4 hours without eating.
You may notice that your baby sometimes wants to eat more often or a larger amount than normal. This usually happens when a child is growing rapidly. Your child may go through growth spurts at 7-14 days old, between 3-6 weeks old, around 4 months old, and around 6 months old.
Not sure if your baby is getting enough to eat? You can probably relax. If your child has 4-6 wet diapers a day, regular bowel movements, and is gaining weight, then chances are he's doing just fine. If you have any concerns, give your pediatrician a call.
Your first month with your newborn baby probably seemed like the longest month of your life, but the good news is things definitely get easier from here on out. And at this point, many pediatricians will tell you that your baby can begin to transition away from on demand feeding and get into a feeding and sleeping schedule, which means more time for mom!
When your baby is 1 to 4 months old — about4 weeks to 16 weeks — she will be eating approximately 3-4 ounces of formula per feeding, increasing that amount by about one ounce per month.
Another way to calculate how much to feed your baby is to multiply her weight by 2.5 and divide that by the number of feedings per day (For example: 8 lb. baby x 2.5/6 feedings = 3.3 ounces of formula per feeding).
Try to start your first feeding around 7 or 8 a.m., and feed her until she has lost interest in the bottle, burped and seems full. Around 1.5 to 2 hours after the feed began, put her down for a nap. And no later than 4 hours after the first feed, wake her for the next feed.
Feeding and Sleeping Schedule:
7 a.m. – 1st Feeding
9 a.m. – Nap (1.5-2 hours)
11 a.m. – 2nd Feeding
1 p.m. – Nap (1.5-2 hours)
3 p.m. – 3rd Feeding
5 p.m. – Nap (1.5-2 hours)
7 p.m. – 4th Feeding
8 p.m. – Bedtime
6 Week Old Feeding Frenzy 1
11 p.m. – 5th Feeding (directly back to sleep)
3 a.m. – 6th Feeding (directly back to sleep)
6 Week Old Feeding Frenzy Video
Over time, your baby will drop the 3 a.m. feeding, and eventually, the 11 p.m. one as well. But even when she’s still waking up at night, this schedule allows her to be awake and get a lot of the food she needs during the day, so she sleeps longer stretches overnight. This has really worked for me.
And don’t miss my video and schedule for your formula-fed 4 to 6-month-old.
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