There’s still no exact pattern, no certain routine, but there are trends 2 months in. I can’t even fully remember the beginning, except that I needed the light on and that I needed to stay awake during feeds. I do remember a number of evenings where E was attached all evening!
All I can say is check the earlier blogs because my rose tinted, sleep foggy glasses have blurred it all. I do want to note down how an average breastfeeding day goes now, partially for my own memory.
E does eat roughly every 3 hours during the day. It can and sometimes is extended when we go out or he falls asleep in the pushchair. It usually starts at 8am. Daytime feeds vary from 20 minutes to nearer an hour, but the longer ones are when he’s tired, been awake lots and clearly needs a nap so I let him.
His bedtime feed tends to be at 8pm. This feed is never quick, but is pretty much all active sucking. Maybe it’s because my supply is less in the evening or he knows it’s bedtime and he’s stocking up. We do this feed in bed and go to sleep straight away!
Often, E will wake up somewhere around 1am for his next feed, but it can be 12 or 2. Then the rest of the overnight feeds are at 3, 4 or 5 (at least 2hr gap). On a weekday I count 5am as morning, on a weekend I fight E to go back to sleep!
Recently all overnight feeds (inc 5am) have been 15-20 minutes except the past two nights where the 12 o’clock has lasted an hour – and then he’s awoken at 2 for a 20 minute feed and slept 3 hours. It makes no sense.
On weekdays, I’ll get up at the 5am, play with him, do chores, have my own breakfast and at the 8am feed we’ll both go to sleep. This can be a sleep until midday which throws off the 3 hour gap. We always get back onto it though!
The past 3 mornings, at 5am I’ve managed to get him back to sleep for an hour or two. It helps!
There’s still no sense in it all, but 8am and 8pm are almost guarenteed feeding times – for the time being.
3 is the magic number!
~ Persephone M
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