Pushing feeding time to four hours instead of three

Paulsaggiebride · November 2011

Ladies, our pedi asked that since the girls are now over birth weight (over 6lbs) that I should try and make four hours in between night feedings.
My girls wake up every 3 hours like clock work for the most part and have been getting really angry if I make them wait.
How did y'all make this happen with your twins?

Thanks!

UsedToBeGoldie · November 2011

it never happened with mine. The few times i tried it- they slept horribly that night. NOT worth it for me.... they were on a 3-hour schedule until they were 12mo.

i certainly wouldn't push for that unless they are STTN and taking good naps... and even then, don't be shocked if it doesn't work.

TheBachelorette · November 2011

Babywise says every 3 hours at that weight/age. We feed every 3 hours and will occasionally stretch to 15 minutes to 1/2 hour but at that age 4 hours is too long, IMO.

natb22 · November 2011

Your girls are only like 2 weeks old right? I agree with PP's I think it is too soon to stretch to 4 hours. My girls are still on 3 hours during the day. You dont have to wake at night anymore with pedi's ok, but I'd keep on 3 hours during the day for a while still.

violaplayer · November 2011

Uhm, honestly? I think your pedi is whack. My guys couldn't stretch past 3 hours until about 8.5 months without it seriously impacting them at some point in the day. (Usually over night)

Especially if your babies are destined by genetics to be bigger kids, their bodies will know they have catching up to do and will want to eat. I would let them take the lead in their eating.

cookiemonster03 · November 2011

Our babies are on the small size (10 and 11 or so lbs are 15w) but they still eat at least once overnight. It would have been a screamfest to try to avoid that at a few weeks old. I think your pedi is nuts. (That said, we did stop waking the other baby around 8w).

MrsLnt · November 2011

The hospital pedi said every 3 hours, a crazy one we saw when we got home said every 2 hours. I've never heard of a doctor advocating a 4 hour schedule for babies that tiny.

We didn't get on a 4 hour schedule until they were 5 months old. Before that it was every 3.5 hours and that was a stretch sometimes.

I have a friend that got her twins on a 4h schedule around 2 months old but she said it involved a lot of giving them the pacifier until they'd hit the 4h mark.

regenab · November 2011

We didn't move to 4 hours between feedings during the day until they were 8 weeks old adjusted, so 12 weeks real age. At that point they were both double their birth weight and able to handle going that long between feedings. This was also the first step in training them to sttn 12 hours without waking to eat anymore. I used A Baby Sleep Solution and she does not recommend starting this until they are at least 8 weeks old, weight at least 8 lbs. and taking at least 24oz. of formula/bm in a 24 hours period. I am really surprised your pedi suggested this at such a young age.

amy1007 · November 2011

As they gain weight they should start to sleep longer stretches. Just follow their lead and feed them as they want/need.

We are feeding about every 3.5 - 4 hours on average here now and they are almost 4 weeks. My older daughter slept through the night once at 4w. You just never know. All babies are different dust Wink

rjl07 · November 2011

I think we kept them on every 3 hours until their 2 month appt when they hit the 7 lb mark. After that the pedi said to keep it 3 hours during the day and let them sleep at night until they wake up. For the first few weeks, A was still my little alarm and waking up every 3 hours on the dot. She gradually started sleeping longer though.

keg · November 2011

At night, once I got the okay from the ped to not feed every 3 hours, I followed their lead. If they woke up and were hungry, I fed them regardless of how many hours it was since their last feeding.

During the stay, we never extended to 4 hours. They stayed on a general 3 hour schedule until they were totally on solids.

sescms2004 · November 2011

I highly recommend the book Twelve Hours Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old, by Suzy Giordano. It has great tips for making the change to a 4 hr schedule. We made the change at around 11 wks old, and also eliminated the nighttime bottle around then. The babies just need to be at a certain weight and consuming 24oz in a day still. Basically, when they are ready for the change, you push out the feedings by 15 min, every 2-3 days. It takes about 2 weeks to get on the 4 hr schedule.

jcath · November 2011

My girls weighed just under 10 lbs each at their one month appt and they still want to eat every 3 hours - sometimes every two and a half but they do stretch it some at night. I think feeding them every 3 hours during the day and letting them sleep until they wake at night sounds reasonable at yours age/weight.

eyelovemascara · November 2011

I think OP was asking about switching to feeding every 4 hours at night feedings--not during the day. I would definitely keep the 3 hour schedule during the day, but let them sleep as long as they'll go at night after their last feeding of the day--usually around 10 or 11pm. Just keep up the 3 hr schedule during the day and you should see that night stretch get longer and longer without doing anything differently. If they are waking up every 3 hours for 24 hours, I'm thinking they aren't getting a good full feeding, especially before bed.

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