How long does your breastfed 3 month old last in between feedings?

Staci - posted on 12/19/2011

My son was like that and I just started stretching his feedings out by having my husband occupy him when he is home or by using a nuk. We are now at every 3.5-4 hours during the day. And every 5-6 hours at night. I am much more rested and happy mom=happy baby. My son is 2.5 months. Plus my son was born premature by 6 weeks. Every baby is different, this is my third and has been totally different than my first two who nursed every 4 hours during the day and both slept through the night by 2 months. Good luck!

Shannon - posted on 12/16/2011

Mine is 3 months as of yesterday. She eats every 2 hours like clockwork during the day. And gives me a 4 hour break once at night.
And believe me, she eats long enough to get the hind milk. I think Some babies just digest more quickly.

Rhonda - posted on 12/13/2011

My son is almost 3 months and during the day, he goes around 4 hours. At night, he goes around 6 hours. It does get better!!!!

Roxana - posted on 12/12/2011

1-2 hours during the day and 3-4-5 during the night.she got her 1st tooth at 3 and a half months so that was a problem for us too when it comes to sleeping...now, at 15months, she can go for 4-5 hours without but only if Im not around and still wakes at night...I think you're pretty lucky :) soon enough your daughter will probably start teething as well and everything changes...you'll have nights where you have to comfort her every hour and nights where she sleeps for 6-7 hours streight(that usually happens after a tooth breaks through and a few nights of no sleep for you)

Laura - posted on 12/11/2011

4-5 hours sounds like heaven to me!!! My twin girls nursed every 45 minutes for the first 3 months (around the clock) and after that I was lucky with 2-3 hours. Power through the first 8 months and you will be fine. Nap when you can, pump and let daddy take a feeding if possible. They grow up and then you forget all about nearly going postal from lack of sleep!!! Good luck.

Lise - posted on 12/11/2011

Sunshine11 - can you post the info about the three layers of milk? I'd love to see a reference for it. I've never seen that.

Sunshine11 - posted on 12/11/2011

I am in the same boat. At night my daughter will go up to 5 1/2 hrs. But lately I noticed if she is in a growth spurt she wants to nurse more often. I found allowing the baby to stay on the boob and suck. Lets them get more hind milk. Sometimes if a baby is only getting the foremilk they will be hungry earlier. There are three layers of your milk. The hindmilk is last and that is the sustiaing milk, and good fats... that is what will help.

Laura - posted on 12/06/2011

Sounds very normal. My six month old usually is up several times during the night. I feed her if I feel that she is up because of hunger but sometimes she just had a little trouble getting back to sleep and I can pat her back for a minute and she can get back to sleep. If I am really lucky she will go a six hour stretch at night. Hang in there.

Anna - posted on 12/05/2011

It depends on the child. Every baby is different. It's best to feed on demand and let the baby show you her hunger cues.

Lise - posted on 12/04/2011

Kell, what about a dreamfeed? My dd will nurse if I put my breast next to her mouth when she's sleeping - she'll sleep right through nursing!

Teresa - posted on 12/04/2011

Normal.

My twin girls were on a feeding schedule and at 3 months would go 3 hours between feeds during the day and only wake once in a 12 hour night. My son, on the other hand, was fed on demand and would go 45 minute to maybe 2.5 hours during the day at that age. He never went longer than 4 hours between feeds (except maybe RARELY at night) til he was a year and a half!

Carol - posted on 12/04/2011

Thanks so much for the responses! Monica my daughter has the same exact sleep pattern...right to the hour! My friend suggested waking her at 10:30pm to give her another feeding to make the night stretch a little longer but I am hesitant because she sometimes has a hard time settling back to sleep

Liz - posted on 12/04/2011

At 3 months, my son nursed every 1-2 hours during the day. At night, maybe a 4 hour stretch, followed by 2 hour stretches.



As good as it gets? I don't know; maybe you will be lucky -- but I found it just gets WORSE when they start getting teeth and learning milestones.



Enjoy it now, mama!

Liza - posted on 12/03/2011

My son would last 1 1/2 to 2 hours at a time (day) and If I was lucky 3 hours at night time--he was also a solid baby and at one point was gaining 1 lbs a week. My daughter nursed every 3hrs.

Megan - posted on 12/03/2011

i have a 2 month old shes a big girl nurses about every 3-4 hours during the day only on one side at a time but at night she nurses on both sides and sleeps 6-8 hours every night for about a month now!

Amy - posted on 12/02/2011

My 4 month old was the same. Eventually his feedings would spread out the older he got

Monica - posted on 12/02/2011

My daughter is doing exactly the same thing. She will be 3 months old on the 8th. Tonight she last nursed at 8pm and will likely get up sometime between 12:30 and 1:30am and then will nurse around 4:30am and then again between 6:30am and 7am....I'm trying to figure out what's going on at 4:30 b/c she gets up around this time most mornings and will have some gas, fuss for a few mins, nurse for a few mins and fall back asleep...not a real feeding but still waking me up before she goes back to sleep. My son was a really good sleeper, at 3 months was sleeping from 7pm to 3am.....and then he transitioned to 7pm to 7am around 4-5 months. It depends a lot on the baby...they need to weigh around 12 lbs to sleep more than 4-5hrs without getting hungry. By 6 months, they do not physically require feedings during the night but will cry for you because they would rather be comforted at the breast than by themselves. It can be trying, but these days will go by fast (my son is 3yo and it seems to have passed in a blink of an eye). Both of my babies were breast-fed only.

Ana - posted on 12/02/2011

She is totally typical and will naturally stretch herself out. Five hours is "sleeping thru the night" for an infant.

Lise - posted on 12/01/2011

At 3 months? On a GOOD night, maybe 3 hours. 2 was about average. 4-5 hours? I'd faint from happiness!

Amy - posted on 12/01/2011

Like celeste said very normal. My daughter at that age cluster fed from 7 till bedtime at night so I felt like I was never getting a break till she went to sleep.

Celeste - posted on 12/01/2011

Totally normal and pretty typical.

Consider yourself lucky that you get 4 to 5 hours at night! My twin boys were waking up much more often than that!