Feeding a 4 week old

[mats01_99]

Hi all. Our 4 week old seemed particularly unsettled at the weekend and it seemed to be hunger. Up to now she's been quite happy to feed (from the breast) every 4 hours; however she seemed to want feeding about every 2 and a half half hours. I have heard of growth spurts. Could this be the reason? Also, she was 10 pound one when born so quite a large baby. If she was feeding from the bottle, how much and how often would she need feeding? Thanks all!

[tigerthecat]

Congratulations on your new arrival. My lads 4 but I remember those first weeks and how I struggled. It took longer than 4 weeks for me and him to get in the routine of breast feeding. I had a super midwife who said to do bottle and breast because he was loosing weight. I did and he thrived and he also soon rejected the bottle by which time he, me and my body understood how it worked for him. I do remember that during the early week (below 10) I frequently fely like my own branch of the co-op dairy one day I spent 12 hours on the sofa as he drank and slept. My advice is do what the baby wants and it will soon settle into something more predicatable. I think breast fed babies do feed more frequently but babies are weaned at around 4 months which will help. Grab sleep whenever you can, don't think that there aren't others who can care for your child and ASK others to help. Good Luck these few months are hard work but enjoy your baby every minute of every day it will all be gone too soon. :-)

[noxlumos]

Hiya, congratulations! We have a a little daughter whose 7 weeks now and she feeeds on demand which can sometimes be very frequently. Just feed her as and when she wants it. As she your littly was a high birthweight baby ( our one son was just under 10lbs and he ended up being "topped up" with a bottle of milk for hungry babies twice a day which helped my wife stay sane) she may well be wanting to feed very often and depending on how you feel about breast and bottle together you might think about trying that if she persists in being hungry a lot.Good luck:)

[kipchik]

Agree with nox,my daughter was on the breast but it was getting harder and harder to keep her satisfied,i started towards the bottle then eventually she was on bottle full time,i was sane and she was happily fed, you,ve given her the important step now enjoy her,and good luck!