Feeding FAQ: 0-8 Weeks – Formula Feeding

How can I get my 7week old son to stretch out his feeds in the night?

As you can see my son was a big baby. He is a very hungry baby and has been since birth, which is why I have changed to complete formula feeding. I am unable to stretch out any of the feeding times and he cries for a bottle the minute that he wakes during the day and has to be full of food to sit happily or lie on his gym, so I feel that I constantly have to have a bottle at the ready. I have tried a dummy but he spits it out every time. The main problem that we have is that he seems unable to go longer than 2am at night. My husband does the 10pm feed and, as you have suggested elsewhere, we have been keeping him up for longer than one hour – waking him at 9.45 and putting him back down at 11.15pm. This is a really difficult time to keep him awake even lying on the floor in just his vest. The first time we did this he didn’t wake until 4.30, but this has got earlier again every night so that after only five days we are now back to 1.30 – 2am waking and then again at 5.30am. I have tried leaving him as he doesn’t really cry but is awake and fidgeting, but he is very hungry when I go in and usually drinks between 140 and 180ml. He then has about 100ml at 5.30am, he won’t settle with any less. I followed the same routines and had very similar problems during the day with his brother who was a similar birth weight, but was better at night and slept 10.30pm to 7am at 10 weeks.

He weighs 12lbs. My son feeds at 7.30am 120mls, 10am 180mls, 2pm 150mls, 5pm 60mls, 6.30pm 180mls, 10.30pm 180mls, 2am 160mls, and 5 am 100mls.

He naps at 9-9.45am, 12-2.30pm, 3.30-3.45pm and 4.30-4.45pm. He is settled by 7pm.

Your son will move on in the routines when he is ready to do so. It is not unusual for a young baby to wake and immediately need to be fed. If you find that he takes his feeds very fast you could try stopping him mid-feed and seeing if he will suck on a dummy for 10-15minutes. This will mean he has a longer sucking time overall, which may help him feel more satisfied after his feed. It may take him a while to get used to holding a dummy in his mouth but, if given regularly mid feed, he may accept it more readily than if you offer him a dummy whilst he is waiting for his feed.

It can be hard to keep a baby awake at 10pm but it is worth trying to do so. Offer him two thirds of his feed at 10pm, in a well-lit room where there is some background noise, and give him the rest of the feed in his own quiet, dimly-lit room at 11.15pm.

You can gradually get your son to sleep for a longer stretch in the night by not offering him a feed when he wakes but by going in to him and helping him to resettle. When your son wakes at 1am, try to settle him back to sleep with a cuddle. This may mean sitting with him for 10-15minutes. Even if he only settles for another hour before needing a feed it will stop him getting used to waking and feeding every three hours. Look at page 148 of The Contented Little Baby Book for a full description of the “core night” and how it works.

As your son is not so hungry at 7am you could begin to cut back very slowly on his early morning feed by 10-20mls every few nights and see if he is able to settle back to sleep until nearer 7am. This would mean he is more likely to take a full feed at 7am.

It is easy to want your second child to be the same as your first. Although both your sons have healthy appetites, your second son may not follow exactly in his brother’s footsteps and sleep through the night at exactly the same age. Continue trying to keep him awake at 10pm and this will stretch the length of time he sleeps during the night. He should then drop his feed during the night without too much trouble.