What is she doing?!

misswhit85 · April 2010

For the past 2 weeks LO has been eating every two hours. She was sleeping until 4 or 5 am, but now she wakes at midnight (she goes to bed at around 8) and eats every two hours until morning. She doesn't really even finish eating, she just has little snacks. I'm breastfeeding so I'm not sure how much she eats but I do know that when she finishes I can still manually express a decent amount of milk so it's not a supply issue.

I called the dr and asked if I should introduce cereal and they said "no, if she's breastfeeding that is all she needs until 6 months of age". But I'm really starting to think that she is not getting enough from just the milk. It seems to fill her up but only for short periods of time. She's got her 4 month check up in about 2 weeks and the dr will tell me if I should start her on cereal then.

What do you guys think? I will abide by her drs orders but I'm just curious, do you think she's wanting something more?

stephanielynn33 · April 2010

Doctors can only give you guidelines (advice from my mom). After she told me that, I realized, she's right. It's YOUR baby, and if you think your LO needs more then go ahead and try it out. See how it goes! There are other babies who start eating at solids at 4 months - that just depends on your doctors opinion. I, however, feel like a mother's opinion should be the final say in debatable matters such as this. GL.

jshf · April 2010

Babies go through growth spurts so often will do what you are describing. I would try nursing her more often during the day and encourage longer feeds to get the richer hind milk.

If she is growing and needs more, solids at the beginning stage is more for them to practice eating than nutrition. So she may nurse less cause she feels full, but may not be getting the nutrition she would from BM.

She may also be comfort sucking, so you might try soothing her first at night with a paci or rocking or patting. If she is still wanting to nurse, then she probably is really hungry. Again, I would encourage a longer feed. If she falls asleep, I would switch sides to get her to start nursing again. Hopefully she will wake less often. GL!