My 7 week old is doing great. He was 8 lbs 6 oz when he was born and he’s currently 10 lbs 9 oz (26th percentile). He’s drinking 3-3.5 oz every 3-4 hours (bottle feeding exclusively breast milk). So he’s essentially feeding 6-7 times a day and probably getting between 18-24 oz a day. He doesn’t currently give any hunger cues that he wants more at each sitting.
Do you think he’s getting enough milk a day? They say 2.5 oz for every pound, so realistically, he should be getting 26 oz a day. But he’s growing consistently and the pediatrician isn’t worried.
He def would easily sleep 5-7 hours straight if I didn’t wake him up. When can I let him do this? If I do, should I increase his oz at his feedings?
@tonemonkey You only need to wake them for feeds untill they’re back up to birth weight, if you think he’ll sleep longer at night then let him sleep, he’ll let you know when he’s hungry
@earthmover Thank you! Ugh I’ve heard this over and over and I know you’re right. I just get so stressed that he won’t get enough milk because this kid can sleeeep.
@tonemonkey Try giving him an extra oz in each bottle if you’re worried he won’t be getting enough, if he’s finishing them up it to an extra 2oz.
You could also try a dream feed just before you go to bed for the night but they don’t work for everyone
honestly if you’ve got a good sleeper thank your lucky stars and let him (and you!) sleep
@tonemonkey Sleep is almost just as important as feedings! babies grow, both physically and developmentally, in their sleep. Let that boy rest and i promise he’ll let you know when he’s hungry!
@tonemonkey Mine is 5 weeks and I was so scared to stop setting alarms because I felt like he’ll sleep thru the night. We had incidents when I slept thought an alarm and he slept for like 5 hours at 3 weeks (he was back to his birth weight and a little more at 10 days). Everyone kept saying let him sleep. So last week I did. He has been waking up every night at 3 hours ON THE DOT. Rarely he’ll sleep 4 hours but I wake up anyways and just stare at him til he wakes up. My body is just so used to waking up now. I promise you it should be fine to let him sleep, he will wake up.
@tonemonkey My pediatrician gave us the okay to let him sleep through the night after month one because he was gaining weight. So yes, it should be fine to skip the night feed and get sleep. Just keep in mind that you'll want to move that mid night feed to bedtime or breakfast (or spread it out throughout the day) so that he still maintains the same amount of ounces. Also, the 2.5oz/ lb is just a guide. Your baby does not need to drink exactly 26oz every day by week 7, some days it'll be more, some less. Plus every baby is different. Some eat on the higher end of the range and some eats on the lower end.
@tonemonkey Yup, no problem! The general guideline for sleep is also age in weeks plus one, up to 11 weeks. So at 7 weeks, it's okay to let baby sleep for up to 8 hours if they are consuming enough milk and still gaining weight. At 8 weeks, 9 hrs is okay, at 9 weeks, 10hrs is okay, etc.
For us personally we haven't gotten LO to sleep more than 10 hours but that's good enough for us lol
@mirele So at about 2 weeks it’s okay to let them sleep for 3 hours then? Did you find this was the case with your LO? I am dreaming of the days when my currently 2.5 week old will sleep for a longer stretch and will also stop making random frog noises in her sleep lol
@tonemonkey Let him sleep he is gaining normally and healthy. And get yourself some rest!! He might go through a sleep regression soon and you'll wish you had both gotten more sleep lol
he is gaining normally and healthy. And get yourself some rest!! He might go through a sleep regression soon and you'll wish you had both gotten more sleep lol
my LO only sleeps 2hrs max… hopefully soon we wil have longer sleep