Do I not have enough milk?

[todzwife]

DS has been nursing literally every hour during the morning (about 7-10 am) then goes to every 3 hours till about 7 when he acts like he has never eaten! I am not feeding him excessively (about 11 times a day) but he acts like he is starving at night! I nursed him at 6 for 30 minutes on each side. He got frustrated and started crying at the breast. I tried to burp him and change his diaper and he just got madder and madder! DH then gave him the 2 oz I had pumped earlier and DS was still acting hungry. DH ended up giving him 1 oz of formula. I didn't know what else to do! After the formula he calmed down and fell asleep. I hate giving him formula because it makes his poo stinky! LOL! Also, I am selfish and I like being the source of his food. What should I do? I would nurse him all night but he gets mad and doesn't want to wait for a second let down. I am going to try to pump more. Did I mention he completely wiped out my stash this past week too!?! I have a little piggy. Please advise!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

Are you using a pacifier with him at all? Maybe he needs to suck, not eat. If you give him a bottle when he wants to suck, he has no choice but to eat because sucking on the bottle nipple makes the milk come out and he has to swallow. So it is easy to think that he is hungry, but maybe he just needs to suck.

Honestly, his feeding pattern sounds completely normal. I would just nurse him when he acts hungry and forget about pumping, formula, and using a bottle at all.

You can try the pacifier, or let him suck your finger or daddy's finger, to see if he is hungry or just needs to suck. If he sucks on it without getting mad, then he isn't hungry he just needs to practice sucking. (use your little finger with the nail side down on his tongue, and yes he will suck on it for an hour sometimes)

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[LittleStar03]

It sounds like it could be the 6 week growth spurt. Is he sleeping a lot when he's not nursing?

Just keep feeding him when he's hungry, you've got plenty of milk for him. :) It's also common for babies to want to eat more in the evening/night. The more he nurses, the more your supply will increase for him, which is why he wants to eat more. Good luck! :)

[Rachels]

It sounds like a growth spurt to me, too. I found it pretty much impossible to pump during those times. Karen's ideas are great. If you try that and he is clearly hungry, just nurse nurse nurse. Your supply will come up to meet his new level of demand soon, and both of you will start feeling better. But it sounds normal-- and it does pass. Hang in there!

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[houseof3boys]

Just echoing the normalcy of it all. It does seem like all they want to do is eat eat eat when they are going through a growth spurt and you wonder when they will go to sleep!

Karen gave great suggestions! It is very difficult to pump successfully during these growth spurt times so try to feed him yourself instead of pumping since Dallin will stimulate you more than the pump will.

Keep up the great work. :)

[Momof3Labs]

Sounds like the 6 week growth spurt to me, too. This one is harder than the 3 week one because 6 weeks is also the peak of normal newborn fussiness! What a combination!

The best thing you can do it just nurse and let him build up your supply. Giving him bottles doesn't allow him to build up your supply - and pumping isn't the best thing to do either because, as has already been mentioned, nursing is MUCH more efficient at stimulating the breast and milk production than pumping. This will pass in a couple of days; you'll find it easier to just resume pumping when it is over.

Hang in there!! After this one, no more growth spurts until 3 months!

[jojo2324]

Shandelle, please check your email! :)

[KGoes]

Sounds like he is cluster feeding at night. DD did this at about this age. The good news is that cluster feeding is the first step to sleeping longer at night! The bad news is that it may take a couple of days for your supply to rise to his new demand. For a couple of weeks, DD would eat every hour or so from about 7 to midnight. Then, she would sleep 5-6 hours.
As usual, it sounds like you are doing great!!
Kelley
DD born 7/03

[heva]

We went through this last week - followed by EXTREMELY long naps (the kind that make you want to wake 'em up to make sure they're still alive) of 5-7 hrs during the day that surprised the heck out of me. Now we're settling back down and I find the challenge is to figure out when he's really hungry or just plain tired out and wanting to suck. After nursing for 45 minutes and 6 oz EBM less than an hour later (DH wanted a chance to feed DS last night), I decided he was tired - and he fell asleep in his crib minutes later, pacifier in mouth. Ahhhhhhh.... I figure at 90th percentile for weight he isn't at risk for underfeeding!