When I was taking Cay from every two-hour feeds to four-hour, I did everything I could to distract him.
So, his first bottle was 6am, meaning he was next eating at 8am. When 8am came and he started crying, I picked him up and took him somewhere else, another room or whatever and started talking to him about the colour of the walls, for example, singing songs and doing anything I could to shut him up for a while. As soon as distraction failed, and he was crying no matter what I did, I'd feed him.
Then start all over again two hours later.
It took two days to get him into a four-hour feed routine, at about eight weeks old, and he's never gone back. He has a bottle religiously now - one in the night around 2am, one at 10am, one at 2pm, and one at 6pm, although his night one has gone a bit wobbly 'cause he's on the verge of dropping it. Also, at nearly six months old he's also on three meals now, at 8am, 12 noon, and 4pm, but he was following the milk routine for a good two months before solids.
I got in the habit of bedtime routine at the same time. After his 6pm bottle, he has a bath, a massage, and is PJ'd and in bed for 7pm.
I hope there's something there you think might help.
Ultimately, it's your baby, your life, your rules.
Do what works for you, and ignore so-and-so's baby sleeping through at a week old. Baby's all develop differently.
My friend and I had the same due day (her DD came 9 days early). Her DD slept through 6pm-5am from 7 weeks old. At nearly 6 months, Cay is just edging into dropping his night feed. On the other hand, he rolled a good two weeks earlier than her.
Swings and roundabouts.
If you want to try the distraction, the main thing to remember is that you're not going to go from two to four hours in one day. Distraction isn't cruel, if LO is happy again when you change activity, great
As soon as unstoppable crying appears, feed. Even if you can push it by five minutes extra a feed, you're gonna get there eventually.
You say LO has gone four hours before, so you know they can do it when they want to. Xx