Signs I will be looking for to start to transition:
- Sleeping through the night (i.e. over 10 hours, 12 is best)
- He is comfortable doing 5 feedings during the day
- Needing to wake him for his feeds. I will use this as the main indicator, as good sleeping means he is feeding well and is not hungry, obviously.
- When he starts showing less interest in feeding when feeding every 3.5 hours.
I would suspect that if he starts being able to go longer at some times of the day, but not others, that he is close to being ready. At the moment, Jamison seems to alternate whether he sleeps well for his first nap of the day. I am going to look to see if this is a putting down to bed timing issue or not.
For now, I am going to remind myself to not feel pressure to move to a 4 hourly as my success as a parent is not depending on it.
Something wonderful that I read:
There is no rush. It is lovely to be on four feedings a day, but it is more lovely to be able to enjoy your baby and not stretching and working to get him to go longer between feedings. It is more lovely to not be frustrated because he woke up after sleeping 1.5-2 hours, but it is too early to eat at 4 hours, you know? 4 hours will happen. Remember, don't measure your success by whether or not your baby is on a 4 hour schedule. Relax and enjoy the life of your baby.
Can't wait though!
Are you breastfeeding? Many moms have found that their milk supply cannot be maintained by only nursing every four hours. While some moms are okay with that, other moms are willing to delay a four hour routine to continue giving their infants the benefits of breastmilk.
ReplyDeleteHi there! Yes, I am breastfeeding. So far my supply looks good but there is no rush to extend his feeds. My supply is good at 3.5 hours, so will just continue with that, perhaps until solids, not sure yet. I think it is just something that you have to watch carefully and adjust if it looks like it is slowing.
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