At wit's end, need BF help for 2-month-old

[JennyLynn]

My son Reese is almost 10 weeks old and from the beginning I have nursed on demand. I keep track of his nursing schedule and he has averaged 10 times a day from about 4 weeks on. He is my first and I guess I was just expecting him to naturally fall into some sort of routine or go longer between feedings. However he is still nursing every hour to two hours during the day and going maybe 3-4 hours between nursings at night. He seems to be a light sleeper and spends all day, every day, taking short little catnaps, wakes up fussing, I nurse, change him, we play or cuddle for a while, I try to put him to sleep again, and the cycle starts all over. Also, during the day I put him in a bouncy seat to sleep (I only use his crib at night). Could this be part of the problem?

Is there anything I can do to get this little guy onto a more reasonable pattern? I guess I have just gotten into the habit of nursing every time he fusses which is probably what caused this, so how do I get out of it? I wonder if he is not getting enough at the breast and if I should supplement with formula, though I would rather not. I don't want to force him onto a rigid schedule but I also want/need for him to learn to go longer between feedings. And lastly, since he is only two months, should I just suck it up and let him lead the way for a while longer? Can you tell I am really confused right now? I need help.

Jenny

[slknight]

Hmmmm, hopefully some of the BF experts will check in. I'm trying to remember, but I think this still sounds totally normal for this age. As long as he is gaining weight and having enough wet diapers, there is absolutely NO need to supplement with formula. In fact, it takes a few months for your milk supply to be established, so you don't want to supplement and risk having your supply diminish.

HTH.

[C99]

Jenny,

I know it's hard, but it's also totally normal -- both the eating 10x day and not being able to take a long nap. The good news is that it will normalize and he will be able to take longer naps and go longer between nursing sessions. The bad news is that it won't happen for awhile. We've all heard stories of the baby who was a sleeper or who was really efficient at BFing, so it's frustrating when YOUR baby isn't one of those! I remember thinking that breastfeeding, etc. had finally gotten easier when Nate was around 3-4-m/o, although I will say that it was more a case of me getting comfortable with him eating every 2-3 hours than him going longer between feedings. (However that largely depends on the baby...one of the babies in our playgroup went to eating every 4-6 hours really early, like at 3 months or so.)

Hang in there. It WILL get better! :)

[megsmom]

This is where we were at this stage. I felt like all I did was nurse and then at night we were stuck together like glue until about 10 pm. The reason was is that the little guy was revving up my milk supply and growing a ton. He gained almost 4 pounds one month and just needed a lot to eat to grow. He's a whopping 18+ poundsnow.

He settled into a pretty good pattern around 3 months, just all of a sudden. Brian now nurses about every 3 3 1/2 hrs. during the day and gets up 1-2 times a night (goes to bed at 8 or so and wake up around 6-7). I did nothing to rigidly establish this pattern, it just happened. He naps well now, but did not always in the beginning. I still have to swaddle him, walk him about, but as long as he doesn't get overtired he goes down easily and sleeps in his crib exclusively now. I've pretty much done this since birth since he never was a carseat napper and has a somewhat noisy at times, rambuncious older sister. :)

Keep nursing on demand and don't suppliment unless it's medically necessary. Otherwise your supply may start to go down if you do it too much. A couple of time I let my husband give him 1-2 ounces of EBM at night after he had nursed forever to give me a break. I never saw it affect my supply since we didn't do it too often. I always wondered if Brian was just using me as a pacifier, but it turns out he was just hungry. Now he nurses about 10-15 minutes, yanks himself off and turns his head away. He will not nurse unless he is hungry anymore. Just hang in there. It will magically get better soon.

Jen
mom to Meghan 7/13/01
and Brian 11/11/03

[jbowman]

I just wanted to offer my support. This sounds exactly like my situation a month or so ago. Hang in there, it will get easier! Continue to let him lead the way--he knows what he needs. If you're not sure if he's getting enough, go to your ped and have him weighed. If he's having enough wet/dirty diapers, etc., he's fine--just growing!!!

BTW--I think napping in the bouncy seat is perfectly normal!

Good luck!

[Rachels]

Totally normal! This will pass, and you're doing the right thing by following his lead. He's still a very tiny baby, and he knows when he needs to nurse. Trust him and hang in there. I promise it gets easier.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[LoveMyBug]

This is totally normal, and just keep it up!! it will get better! My DS is 8 months old and STILL nurses 12-15 times a day, BUT he now takes longer and more routine naps. Just keep it up and go with your instincts!

[lrucci]

Jenny,

I think this is totally normal for babies this age. It took us a long time to get into a "routine". DD went 3 hours between feedings, other days she could barely go 2 hours. Somedays, I felt like all I did was BF. Once he is a little older, he'll drink a bit more at each feeding, so hopefully that will hold him over for a little longer. Right now, let him lead the way, it will get easier.

Lisa
Mom to Kyleigh Elizabeth 7/19/03

[KGoes]

DD went through the same thing. He's too young to be on a schedule, but he will find his own pattern. One thing that helped me was giving EBM in a bottle. We had to start this as DD was going into daycare, but it ended up helping us begin to establish a routine at bedtime. DH would feed her in the evening, which meant that I had a block of time in which I was not feeding! Usually, I would nurse her one more time and then DD would sleep for 5-6 hours. Eventually, DD dropped the feeding after the bottle (although occasionally, she still wants another nursing session) and would sleep longer. BTW, cluster feeding at night is completely normal and is a necessary first step to your baby sleeping for long periods at night. I know every baby is different, but I think that if you watch your DS' cues closely, you will see him start to establish a schedule and then you can help reinforce that. I always fed on demand and DD grew into her own schedule.
Hang in there!
Kelley
DD born 7/03

[mommd]

I am in the exact same place as you are now. DD is always attached to the boob. I feel like I never have any time to do anything! I also considered giving her some formula just so I can have a few hours without feeding her, but she's just so content nursing I couldn't bring myself to do it. She also does the little cat naps during the day. I never have time to pump since she is eating constantly! You're not alone, and I think this behavior is perfectly normal.