feels like constant nursing...

[lmh2402]

DD will be six months next week

she had been nursing 6-7 times in a 24 hour period. and i know many said that seemed like not a lot...but i am pretty sure she was getting what she needed...even too much maybe b/c of all the spitting. and she's certainly gaining and gaining and gaining. and when i pumped on rare occasion in place of one of her feedings, i was getting 5ish ounces per breast

anyway, in the last two weeks or so, i can no longer hold her at all while sitting without her wanting to nurse.

she wants to nurse constantly. sometimes as much as 12 times a day

and there is just no way her tummy can hold all she's taking in

and she isn't just comfort sucking. she is actively nursing. moaning if the let down isn't fast enough. sometimes when she only nursed like 40 minutes earlier, my let down takes a few minutes to come. and she will get really angry.

she is acting like she's constantly starving. yet she's got soaking diapers, pooping, and the girl has some serious, serious rolls going on

so, what could be happening? any ideas?

do i continue to nurse as she wants?

she has also started screaming. like viciously screaming if someone else is holding her and she even just catches sight of me.

she is ok as long as she doesn't see me. but the moment she sees me. or hears me. she screams bloody murder and then nurses like a lunatic.

help. it feels like we're back to the newborn days in some ways.

thx.

[edurnemk]

I hear ya. I'll be watching this thread because DD turned 6 months on Monday, she has an EI and the last 2 weeks she's been wanting to nurse every hour during the day, and she gets upset if letdown takes longer than usual. I assumed this was due to the illness. But she did seem to stretch a bit, so maybe it's a growth spurt?

She's also starting to have some separation anxiety (at least that's what we think it is) since she gets upset if I walk away, if she can't see me or if someone else holds her while I'm in the room. Like your DD, she's fine if I'm not there. I can't even have a whole meal anymore if she's awake because she doesn't want to stay in her swing or exersaucer while I eat anymore, she wants to sit on my lap. At least I can hold her without nursing her all.the.time. Does your DD take a pacifier? I sometimes swap the breast for the paci and she's fine, which tells me she's not really hungry even if she's nursing.

[lmh2402]

I hear ya. I'll be watching this thread because DD turned 6 months on Monday, she has an EI and the last 2 weeks she's been wanting to nurse every hour during the day, and she gets upset if letdown takes longer than usual. I assumed this was due to the illness. But she did seem to stretch a bit, so maybe it's a growth spurt?

She's also starting to have some separation anxiety (at least that's what we think it is) since she gets upset if I walk away, if she can't see me or if someone else holds her while I'm in the room. Like your DD, she's fine if I'm not there. I can't even have a whole meal anymore if she's awake because she doesn't want to stay in her swing or exersaucer while I eat anymore, she wants to sit on my lap. At least I can hold her without nursing her all.the.time. Does your DD take a pacifier? I sometimes swap the breast for the paci and she's fine, which tells me she's not really hungry even if she's nursing.

no, she used to take it...sort of...begrudgingly.

now she refuses it completely.

do growth spurts last weeks?

sorry you're dealing too! hope your DD is feeling better

[Simon]

A few thoughts:
1. Six months is classic growth spurt time. She needs to consume a lot to keep up with those beautiful baby rolls
2. Nursing more often (and really eating) is one way for baby to increase your supply. Usually, after they are able to boost it then they revert to their previous habits of nursing less often. If you are at all dehydrated or not getting enough calories yourself to support the increased demand, this could go on for a while because your supply will be slower to respond.
3. Nursing and eating to soothe reflux pain. Nursing feels good on sore throat so they keep at it.
4. Ready for solids. After the growth spurt, its probably a more common reason for increased nursing. Maybe she's ready for other foods. Harder/slower to digest isn't always a bad thing...

[lmh2402]

A few thoughts:
1. Six months is classic growth spurt time. She needs to consume a lot to keep up with those beautiful baby rolls
2. Nursing more often (and really eating) is one way for baby to increase your supply. Usually, after they are able to boost it then they revert to their previous habits of nursing less often. If you are at all dehydrated or not getting enough calories yourself to support the increased demand, this could go on for a while because your supply will be slower to respond.
3. Nursing and eating to soothe reflux pain. Nursing feels good on sore throat so they keep at it.
4. Ready for solids. After the growth spurt, its probably a more common reason for increased nursing. Maybe she's ready for other foods. Harder/slower to digest isn't always a bad thing...

i've been wondering this too

like edurnemk, i can no longer eat with her sitting in her seat. she screams to be held.

and then she wants to nurse, of course. but she also is obsessively watching us eat. we started letting her drink water from a cup - that we obviously hold - and she cannot get enough. she frantically grabs your hand when you are holding the cup. she is repeatedly pulling it to her mouth

i did offer her a bit of avocado last week. but she spit it out.

ugh. i don't remember "how" to start solids and haven't taken the time yet to refresh myself

we're going away at the end of jan, so i was planning to wait until after we got back to start

[Simon]

I know BLW is popular here but we started with purees of fruits/veggies for Ds3. I need easy and in his case, he reached a point of hungry but not with a good enough pincer grasp to feed himself very well. The puree phase only lasted a few weeks.

We also offer super steamed veggies (carrot, broccoli, cauli) for fun and practice, and then things to chew on (crusty bread) that feels good on gums.

To do the BLW thing, you can also offer a partially peeled banana (they're easier to hold that way) for a start. Its a pretty good first food and easy on you!

[Katigre]

I was thinking 6 month growth spurt too.

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[edurnemk]

We were planning on starting solids this week, but with DD on Abx she's absolutely afraid of anything coming near her mouth, it's been a traumatizing experience for her, she hates the medicine so much. So I don't think offering purees or cereal would go well right now. Actually the on call Ped that saw her first told me she's ready for solids but not to try now that she's sick 'cause we'll just freak her out.

So I'm thinking we may try BLW to ease her into it. With DS we only did purees about a month or 2, the he lost interest and we graduated him to soft foods a la BLW. Yesterday I offered her a bit of banana, she grabbed it but didn't put it in her mouth.

lmh, I think it's normal for them to spit the food out the first few times because they haven't learned how to chew and swallow, so don't give up on it.

As to how to start, I read the solid food chapter from Dr. Sears's book last night as a refresher and also read some BLW blogs. Our Ped said to offer some oatmeal or rice cereal first, then pureed veggies. I'm going to skip the cereal, though. If we go with BLW I think I'll offer her some banana and carrots first.

[psimpson3-5]

I honestly don't mean to freak you out. I hate even posting this, but I feel I should let you know just in case. Have you spoken to your ped about this? It is extremely rare - but excessive thirst/hunger and urination is symptom of diabetes in children. It might be good to speak to the dr just to be on the safe side.