Feeding at night

Just wanted to ask what everyone is doing for night feeding... Braeden is only 12 days old and we are wondering how often to feed him at night. So far we are doing the 2/ 1/2-3 hours during the day and then I have been setting my alarm at night for 2 1/2 - 3 hours. However, I also read for normal term babies you should only feed on demand at night or stretch it out to 4-5 hours....

Any thoughts on this or what worked for you?

I totally agree with feeding on demand...day or night.

We were told to do the wake up by alarm at first ..only b/c she was alittle underweight. But once she was fine, which was after 7 days, we were told to just let her wake up on her own which was about every 3 to 4 hours.

The alarm thing is only for babies who need the weight gain. If yours doesn't he will wake up when it is time to feed.

I only feed on demand but she's getting to be pretty regular already @ only a week old.. We're moving up to 3oz. in one sitting  

Quoting AmandaandZach:“ We were told to do the wake up by alarm at first ..only b/c she was alittle underweight. But once she ... [snip!] ... once she was fine, which was after 7 days, we were told to just let her wake up on her own which was about every 3 to 4 hours.”

Yeah, they were telling us the 3 hour thing in the beginning because he was preemie. But it's been 12 days...he eats pretty regularly, has poopy/wet diapers so I would think he's ok. We're even weaning him off his 2x daily feeding of formula. I guess I will set my alarm for 5 hours at night, just in case he doesn't wake himself up...? He's a sleeper...like his mommy.  

Quoting OhBaby!1974:“ Yeah, they were telling us the 3 hour thing in the beginning because he was preemie. But it's been 12 ... [snip!] ... guess I will set my alarm for 5 hours at night, just in case he doesn't wake himself up...? He's a sleeper...like his mommy.  ”

HE WILL WAKE. Call his pedi to check for certain wether or not he can do on demand at night. There is no need to lose more sleep than you have to.

Quoting Nevada Mom 8725:“ HE WILL WAKE. Call his pedi to check for certain wether or not he can do on demand at night. There is no need to lose more sleep than you have to.”

ha ha...yeah...I hear you on the no sleep!   I'm trying really hard to sleep when he sleeps. I woke up last night and was grabbing at one of my dogs..thinking it was Braeden. I was grabbing the dog's nose and remember thinking...Braeden's nose feels really weird!! lol ;)

Our next pedi appt. is Weds. morning so I can wait until then to verify. Just wanted to get all of your thoughts on what worked for you. Thanks for sharing, everyone!!

When my preemie girl was discharged from the NICU they told me not to let her go more than 5 hours between feedings at night since it was important that she keep gaining weight.

Also, she was discharged at 5 lbs and the doc told me that babies don't have enough "reserves" to sleep through the night until they reach about 10 lbs. It's so funny because THE DAY Paige got to 10 lbs she started sleeping through the night!

If your son was premature but is already home at12 days, he does not need to eat every 3 hours at night. Depending on his wieght though, he should not be going all night without a feeding. A premature child needs a constant food and energy source, just like they'd be getting if they were in the womb....because they should still be in the womb! Make sense? Once your baby reaches his due date, he should be able to go as long as he wants at night without a feeding, assuming he is doing well with weight gain and there are no other issues. I'd say 5 hours max at night. You can try demand feeding during the day, but preemies under 36 weeks usually have a hard time understand the "cry to eat" concept. If your baby is over 36 weeks, it will probably go ok.

Quoting Jessica [Slvrmoon]:“ If your son was premature but is already home at12 days, he does not need to eat every 3 hours at night. ... [snip!] ... 36 weeks usually have a hard time understand the "cry to eat" concept. If your baby is over 36 weeks, it will probably go ok.”

Yes, that totally makes sense. Thanks