# of feedings a day for 3 mo. old??

[sherriann]

My son has just turned 3 months old and has slept through the night for the past two nights from around 8pm-5am. This is great for my sleep, but I am beginning to wonder about the number of times a day a 3 month old needs to be fed a day. His sleeping through the night is cutting down his number of feedings per day. He is missing one feeding now since he is slleeping through the night. I know all babies are different but there has to be some sort of norm out there.

All the info I can find in my baby care books focuses on feeding a newborn 8-12 times a day. My son now eats (breastmilk only from the breast so I don't know ounces) 6-7 time a day for about 10 minutes each feeding then he refuses anymore. Also this is the age when the books say breastfed baby's poopy diapers begin to diminish, so that count doesn't seem to be reliable either (btw, about 3-4 poopy diapers a day:) ).

So far I have gone by the "He will let me know what he needs since feeding is well established and will wake up if he is hungry". Does this seem right?? I don't want my milk supply to suffer if he needs more because he won't take a bottle from anyone. And of course I want him to get the nourishment he needs!!

[ShutterbugMommie]

My son, (now 8 months old), at 6-7 times a day for only 10 minutes each feeding at 3 months of age. It was all he needed. He stayed in the 95th percentile for weight and height eating that amount. I didn’t really notice a change in the amount of poopy diapers until I introduced baby cereal (boy I was not prepared for the change the poopy diapers go through when he started eating solid foods; talk about messy). So I would say keep doing what you are doing. I still go by the rule that my baby will tell me how much he needs to eat and baby food is part of our daily routine. Sometimes he eats everything I have out to give him and sometimes he will only eat half.

I think it sounds like you are on the right track and keep it up!!! Your Milk supply shouldn't suffer if he keeps eating regularly. You son sounds exactly like mine (except for the sleeping from 8pm - 5pm; he still doesn’t sleep for longer than 5 hours at night!!!)

My sons doctor also told me if I got nervous about his weight gain I could call and bring him in to weigh him and compare it to the last time he was in. (I never actually took her up on this offer). That might be something to look into see if you sons doctors office will weigh him for you incase you might want to check.

[haleymom07]

my daughter also breastfed and when i asked my wic lactation nurse she said that during the first couple of months babies learn how to get more in a shorter amount of time. therefore eating less times a day. about the sleeping through feedings thats normal trust me if the baby was hungry he would wake up. i wouldnt worry about it.

[3Wonderfulkids]

I'm going through the same thing right now! My daughter is just turning three months old and eatting less. Its got me a bit worried but only because my first two children I had to stop BF because they werent gaining weight at 3 and 6 months. So I make myself wake up (even though I'd love the sleep) and pump once durning the night, most of the time I can actualy put Trinity to my breast and feed her without her even waking up.
I know it all gets confusing, sometimes they start to poop less, eat faster or whatever it maybe.
I found this web site and it helped me alot. http://www.thebirthden.com/Newman.html
Sometimes BF babys get "lazy" and stop eatting as the milk flow slows down, which starts a domino effect, the baby eats less, the breast makes less (the problem I had with the first two). Don't let anything I'm saying worried you, as long as YOUR baby is healthy, gaining weight, and his sucking is satisfied (sucking on hands is a sign babys still hungry) you probably have nothing to worry about. Just watch your baby and listen to what he tells you, if hes starvin you will surly know it!

[jeslynn2640]

from what my doctor told me you're thinking right. my daughter was breastfeed too and from the time we brought her home from the hospital she slept through the night. i know lucky me. but i would try to wake her up to feed and she had no interest but she did feed about every 2 to 3 hrs during the day. when i ask my doctor about it he said it was perfectly fine. that as long as she was continuing to gain weight and continued to be happy and healthy to enjoy my sleep that she would let me know what she was ready to eat. and thats what i did. if your worried about your milk supply you can always put to make sure you keep producing enough and it was a good may for me to know how much my child was eating at each feeding.