Hellobee Boards Topic: OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?

Hellobee Boards Topic: OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 06 May 2026 18:37:52 +0000 Kemma on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-536829 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:25:31 +0000 Kemma 536829@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think La Leche recommend 6-10 feedings in a 24 hour period? You could probably get away with a couple of four hour stretches of you nurse more frequently at other times :-) sarac on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-536287 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:23:40 +0000 sarac 536287@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Also, think about the fact that during growth spurts she'll need more, and more frequent feedings, so you'll probably need a stash for that at least. kml636 on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-536278 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:20:33 +0000 kml636 536278@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Okay, sounds like this is not going to work... So I may do an 11 am feed and then leave a bottle for 2 pm. Thanks! Weagle on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-536255 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:11:49 +0000 Weagle 536255@https://boards.hellobee.com/ It's possible, but I don't think that it will work like you're expecting. FWIW, my LO was still eating every 2.5-3 hours at 12 weeks. 2PeasinaPod on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-536240 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:06:14 +0000 2PeasinaPod 536240@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think every baby is different. We were on a 4 hour schedule for a little while at 12 weeks, but as he started to get a little older, he was going towards a 3.5 hour schedule instead. He was just hungrier in between feedings. If your LO doesn't seem hungry, try to stretch it to 3.5 first and see how that goes. Then try to stretch to 4. Our pediatrician just said not to go longer than 4 hours. twinmama on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-536183 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:51:50 +0000 twinmama 536183@https://boards.hellobee.com/ maybe you are already factoring this in, but remember you have to include travel into those 4 hours stretches. so if you nurse at home, you have to include the drive to and drop off at daycare and you getting to work, working, and getting back to baby at daycare in 4 hours. so that doesn't equate to 4 hours of work. s it sounds like it would be tricky to work a full 8 hours with this plan, but maybe you don't need to? as you said, it's a good plan to leave some bottles for if she gets hungry in between. pushing your feedings to 4 hours and baby sttn might not equate to enough calories, but it might work too. and you may need to be willing to do some weekend bootcamps and overnight nursing to keep your supply up, especially to respond to growth spurts, my kids still eat every 2-3 hours at 6 months, fwiw. yellowbird on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-536098 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:14:04 +0000 yellowbird 536098@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My LO is still eating every 2 hours at 5 months old! It's ridiculous! buffalove on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-536095 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:12:49 +0000 buffalove 536095@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My son ate every 4 hours at that age and was totally fine. He didnt go back to a 3 hr schedule until he started solids at 4 months. Just watch your baby's cues, you know her best :) oh, and re: sleeping through the night, I sometimes had to give a dreamfeed right before I went to bed, but he still slept through the night. Good luck! T.H.O.U. on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-536084 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:03:35 +0000 T.H.O.U. 536084@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think that is really pushing it. It does depend on your LO and your supply. Maybe you could go feed her early (like around 11 after 3 hours of work) and then pump in the afternoon for her? MsLipGloss on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-536019 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:29:49 +0000 MsLipGloss 536019@https://boards.hellobee.com/ It really depends on your LO, but 4 hours is probably pushing it. My almost 5 month old still nurses every 3 hours even though she last weighed in at 13 pounds 4 oz. And FWIW, you may find that all the back and forth for feedings (and the timing of same) is more time consuming than you originally estimated. Mrsbells on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-536005 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:25:39 +0000 Mrsbells 536005@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I don't know for certain but I think 4 hours is a too big of a gap between meals for a 12 week old. Usually 2-3 hours is ideal unelss your baby eats large amounts at each meal time winniebee on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-536004 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:25:12 +0000 winniebee 536004@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I always fed on demand and around that age it was 3-4 hours. Goldilocks1107 on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-535998 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:22:29 +0000 Goldilocks1107 535998@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We fed LO on demand, which amounted to every 3-4 hours. You might want to build a bit of a stash in case she gets hungry at daycare before you can leave work. From my limited experience, babies don't like schedules that they don't dictate :-) pelikila on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-535960 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:04:31 +0000 pelikila 535960@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Every baby is different so all I can say is that my son wouldn't have been okay with that stretch between feedings. Maybe try waiting until your LO is showing hunger signs before offering the breast so you can see what her needs are before you return to work and determine if a 4-hour stretch is do-able. kml636 on "OK to eat every 4 hours at 12 weeks old?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/ok-to-eat-every-4-hours-at-12-weeks-old#post-535956 Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:02:01 +0000 kml636 535956@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Two more weeks until I go back to work (part time) and I'm fortunate enough that I can come nurse my LO on my lunch break. I"m wondering if I could get her on a 4 hour eating schedule so I wouldn't have to pump and I could just leave a few bottles at day care in case she gets hungry. So, I would feed her, run to work, return 4 hours later to feed her, and then feed her 4 hours later at the end of the day. Up until now she's been eating every three hours during the day, but she's a big girl (over 12 lbs) and doesn't seem super hungry every three hours. On the other hand, I'm afraid this will hurt my supply and mess up her sleeping schedule (she has just started sleeping through the night). Thoughts?