Is it ok to let my 3 week old go 4 hours between night feedings?

Question

He's EBF, and is starting to do his cluster feedings in the evening instead of the middle of the night. Is it safe for my milk supply to just let baby sleep a little longer at night? I was told at the hospital to feed him every 2-3 hours but is 4 too long of a stretch? I should add I feed on demand which during the day is usually every 2 hours and at night was every 2-3 hours, but last night he went 4 hours between feeding, not sure if I should put a stop to it before it becomes a habit. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Answer

Depends how old. If they’re less than 2 weeks and haven’t regained their birthweight I would say wake and feed. After they regain birthweight there’s no reason to wake for a feed. Also as long as milk is coming out - your body replaces it. It doesn’t matter that it was an hour later than normal.

Answer

As long as he’s gaining appropriate weight, there’s no need to wake to feed. My son once went 5 hours at 2 weeks old. I tried waking him to nurse but he was just more tired than hungry at that moment. It scared me so bad like I was doing something wrong or he was sick, but it’s normal. He woke up and nursed for a while and was perfectly content and healthy.
Continue to nurse on demand, as long as he’s not going 4-6 hour stretches all day long, he should be fine. Overnight they’ll tend to sleep a little longer than during the day or evenings.

Answer

For my babies I was told every 2-3 hours during the day and a max of 4 at night and then after she was six weeks I just let her sleep at night and wake me up

Is it ok to let my 3 week old go 4 hours between night feedings?

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