5 feeds a day for 12wk old?

[CherishS2]

My DD1 is 12 weeks old and up until a couple of weeks ago was breastfeeding every hour and half (2 feeds then a sleep for about 3hrs then another 2 feeds and then another 3hr sleep and then another 2 feeds then sleep through the night for about 10 hours = 6 feeds in total). However the MCH nurse & mothers group facilitator strongly advocate the 'Feed, Play, Sleep' pattern, which we have just got into doing the last 2 weeks. So she is now have 4 shorter naps (1.5hrs) during the day instead of the 2 longer ones, but it also means that she is now only having 5 feeds a day about every 3 hours.

I just want to know if 5 feeds a day is enough for a 12 week old? She's very content and previously she would fall asleep during every second feed anyway (as i was leaving her up too long) so i guess she must just be getting 5 better feeds now? I'm just concerned because i heard that you need to have 6-8 feeds a day to maintain supply. She is still sleeping 10 hours through the night and i assume that if she wasn't getting enough that she would wake for a feed? Her last weigh-in was a month ago and she was average weight but isn't due for another month.

Just looking for reassurance :)

[Kage02]

My DD is 12 weeks old this week and has been on 5 feeds a day since she was about 4 weeks old. She just doesn't want any more than that... I tried doing what the CYH nurses told me which was to feed every 3 hours, but she just won't take it... I figure she's healthy, happy, growing like a weed, eyes are shiny and bright, she's interested and active in everything she does when awake, she sleeps like a trooper 8 solid hours a night so everything is ok... We're back on a 4 hour feeding schedule and it suits us fine.

I think whatever is suiting you and your DD don't mess with it. If she's healthy and happy just relax and go with the flow :)

[TallisLanesMummy]

i'm past that stage now and have a great supply as Lane is 13 months old, but my CHN told me that if i was worried about my supply going down there were a couple of things i could do:

1. Express during the night and freeze it for when needed
2. taking raspberry leaf tablets helps your supply as well

i did have a few problems with feeding at first but they were sorted out...

hope this helps

[chicken and eggs mum]

My dd - also almost 12 weeks has only been on 5 feeds for ageeeess... and these are not big feeds either.....

she feeds at 8.30am, 12 noon, 3.30ish, 7ish then about 4am.......

I am full time expressing and feeding her ebm... but I cannot get any more feeds in to her no matter what I try... she has gotten herself in to this routine and it works for her.. she is happy and healthy.. what more could I want!!

Good luck and trust your instinct!!!!

[EmyB]

Yeah I'm worried about this too. "Baby Love" says they need at least 6 feeds/24 hours or your supply will likely suffer. Lately it feels as though DS wants only 5 feeds a day and I'm cramming in another one just for the sake of it.....

I don't know what to do either! No help sorry just thought I'd jump on the bandwagon. :confused:

[Kage02]

"Baby Love" says they need at least 6 feeds/24 hours or your supply will likely suffer.

I read somewhere that your milk supply will adjust to the demand that your baby puts on it. So if you feed 6 times a day there will be milk there for 6 feeds... if you only do 5 then there will be enough milk for 5, possibly with some left-overs (that's my experience) that could be expressed off.

Others I know are feeding 5 times a day and their children are slightly older than mine and they say by 6 months the milk settles down completely and your body has it all worked out.

Personally I find that I need to express off some milk (to relieve the pressure) prior to the 6am feed otherwise DD gets swamped and the feed isn't enjoyable for either of us, but apart from this I don't express during the day and she's getting stacks of food :)

Also if you think your supply is a bit low, express/feed more often and the supply will increase... tried this one too for the hot weather so DD could have drinks whenever she needed and it also worked. We've now gone back to our standard routine though now that the cooler days are back again.

Just my thoughts and what I've read/experienced but by no means am I an expert in this... after all I'm only 12 weeks into being a Mummy myself :D

[brogeybear]

Hey darl!
Plenty of reassurance here from me! Sounds like your spot on! Bubs is doing well, and sounds VERY happy. I wouldnt mess with it or change a thing.
As other posts have said if you arent confident of your milk supply, you could always do a late night pumping (or whenever you feel like it LOL) but if you are confident in your supply, bubs is happy, sleeping "like a baby" and gaining weight reasonably then CONGRATULATIONS are in order. Seems like you are doing wonderfully! :thumbsup:

[Jaspat24]

My DD1 is 12 weeks old and up until a couple of weeks ago was breastfeeding every hour and half (2 feeds then a sleep for about 3hrs then another 2 feeds and then another 3hr sleep and then another 2 feeds then sleep through the night for about 10 hours = 6 feeds in total). However the MCH nurse & mothers group facilitator strongly advocate the 'Feed, Play, Sleep' pattern, which we have just got into doing the last 2 weeks. So she is now have 4 shorter naps (1.5hrs) during the day instead of the 2 longer ones, but it also means that she is now only having 5 feeds a day about every 3 hours.

I just want to know if 5 feeds a day is enough for a 12 week old? She's very content and previously she would fall asleep during every second feed anyway (as i was leaving her up too long) so i guess she must just be getting 5 better feeds now? I'm just concerned because i heard that you need to have 6-8 feeds a day to maintain supply. She is still sleeping 10 hours through the night and i assume that if she wasn't getting enough that she would wake for a feed? Her last weigh-in was a month ago and she was average weight but isn't due for another month.

Just looking for reassurance :)

hi my bub is a lot older than yours but i remember when my DS was that young. i was doing the feed, play, sleep that the CHN's advocate and it didn't work (major dramas and supply issues) so i changed to feeding DS before and after sleeps (on advice from an ABA counsellor) and DS started to put on more weight and have longer day sleeps. if you were happy doing what you were doing then just change back. I think offering them a little BF before their naps is a nice way to help calm them down after all the stimulation of being awake, plus their tummies are full and they sleep longer. Also it will keep your supply up.
I kinda don't understand how CHN say to 'feed on demand" and then say to "feed, play, sleep". I think the feed, play sleep is routining their feeds and then it's not feed on demand IYKWIM

[BabyPaparazzi]

Feeding under 6 times wont affect your supply, neither will the routine you use. It will adjust to how much and often bubs wants it. She will continue to slowly drop feeds as she gets older, and may even pick up one or two more as she goes through growth spurts, and then drop them again. If she really wants more she will wake and ask for it. As your supply settles into the demand it will also feel like you have less, your boobs wont feel as full or leak anymore, but rest assured they are still providing.

The feed, play, sleep routine is kinda advocated as a general guideline to which bubs should eventually fall into as they get older. Kinda what we do, we sleep, wake up and eat, play etc. The process of waking up, realising they are hungry and having a feed, then playing, then starting to realise they are tired and its time to go back to sleep helps them to work out what they need to be doing. Its not saying that everytime bubs wakes up you have to feed them and not when they want to, as said that is not demand feeding.

One of the main reasons is the 'waking to feed' instead of 'feeding to sleep', its so they dont become dependant on needing a feed to go to sleep, as they drop feeds it can become a problem trying to get them to sleep etc.

At 12wks 5 feeds is pretty good, especially with 10 hours sleep a night. Her day time naps may well swap and change frequency to as time goes on. But in general she will probably be getting the same amount of sleep over the 24 hours period, and judging how much they get over a 24hr period is more of a guide.

But anyway congrats for getting along so well, sounds like you both are going well and really happy. You may find by 6mths she will be down to 2 or 3 feeds a day and 12 hours sleep a night.

[MamaKoala]

I'm on baby number three so I pretty much ignore most CHN advice because it doesn't work for me and I found that the 'advice' would change from day to day and be confusing and cause stress and worry.
I think if your baby is happy, healthy and alert when awake you don't need to worry about her only having 5 feeds. Babies become very efficient in getting maximum amount of milk in minimum time so even though she may only feed 5 times a day, she's probably getting plenty of milk when she does feed.
Also I am surprised that BabyLove would say that dropping under 6 feeds will make you lose supply as I thought it was supposed to be a well researched book. I'm disappointed and glad I didn't pay $40 for a copy.
As PP said, your supply is based on your baby's demand. She wants more, she feeds more, you produce more. She wants less, she feeds less, you produce less but it can always be replenished if she goes through growth spurts. You might notice that she picks up an extra feed, or an extra 15 minutes during her regular feed for a week and then you'll feel fuller for a couple of days once she goes back to her normal amount.
Sounds like things are working perfectly for you, and were working perfectly before. If it ain't broken, don't try and fix it. Well done on having such a content little girl.