I love these boards - specifically, I love knowing that I can come here and post a question and know that I will have more experienced moms give me advice and reassurance - so thanks again in advance for your insight!

My DS is 7 weeks old and is exclusively BF. He is fed on demand and is not on a schedule at all. It seems like he "usually" eats every 3 - 4 hours, but that can vary. He also will sleep for about 6 hours at night. With that said - he seems to be VERY hungry for the last 2 weeks. I know that babies go through growth spurts at 3 and 6 weeks (give or take) and this may be what he is going through.

The last 2 days (and he did this several days last week) he wants to eat every 2 or 2.5 hours (which means he ended the last meal 1 or 1.5 hours before). He nurses for a long time - usually at least 20 minutes each side.

I want to be a good mommy and feed him when he is hungry, but I also do not want to be a push over and give him the breast when he is only using it for comfort or snacking. He is really not a fussy baby at all - unless he is hungry. I look for the signs - eating his hands, trying to suck on my neck, etc. If he is unhappy no matter what I do and he is showing hunger signs I usually feed him and it does the trick, even if he just recently ate.

My other concern is that I just started taking the mini-pill and I do cardio for an hour a day (running and walking) and I am concerned that this may be affecting my milk supply. I am concerned that he may not be getting enough milk and that is why he is nursing so often. I have NO signs that my milk supply is diminishing - I just worry. I want to BF for as long as possible, and I do not want to mess up my milk supply! My milk seems to flow freely while he nurses and I wake up quite 'full' of milk.

Sorry this is so long. Thanks again for the advice / support / reassurance!

Anne