Feeding on demand

Borst-Plotz

We have been feeding G on demand-even if that means she eats every hour...however Pedi says to make her wait atleast 2 hours between feeding. I've starting EPing because that's the only way we can get her to go 2+hours in between feedings. When I BF she wants to be feed every hour/hour and a half (I think b/c my supply sucks). What do you guys think about this/what do you do?

butterbeansmama

At 2 weeks, I fed on demand (which was usually every 2 hours for ds). Now at 6 weeks, I feed him every 3 hours (since if he eats before then, he only eats till he feels satisfied, not till he is full). When he waits 3 hours, he eats till he is full.

Borst-Plotz

I was suprised too...that's why I asked u guys :-) She eats for 15 minutes usually...I can hear her sucking/swallowing so I figured she nursed because she was hungry. However-whenever she cries she acts like she's starving...so maybe she is just comfort nursing? How do you tell?

Who knew nursing would be the hardest part of being a mom...not something I anticipated :-(

starryeyeddreamer

DC2London:

Please don't take this as me criticizing your doctor, but I am really surprised he/she said that.  Everything I have read on the subject says that you should never restrict nursing.  Are you sure she always wants to nurse because she is hungry?  Could it be nursing down/comfort nursing?  How long does she eat when she eats that frequently?

This. Our Pedi recommends feeding LO as often as he wants & he is average for weight & height. There are times when LO would nurse all day if I let him though (without actually drinking) so if I notice he is there for comfort I usually put the paci (if you are using one) in instead & that comforts him too. I have supply issues also so I do try to have him nurse as much & as often as possible to try to help that.

starryeyeddreamer

Borst-Plotz:

I was suprised too...that's why I asked u guys :-) She eats for 15 minutes usually...I can hear her sucking/swallowing so I figured she nursed because she was hungry. However-whenever she cries she acts like she's starving...so maybe she is just comfort nursing? How do you tell?

Who knew nursing would be the hardest part of being a mom...not something I anticipated :-(

It is a lot harder than I expected too! Especially with supply issues & having to supplement - it was hard enough just nursing. With my LO  he starts sucking pretty rapidly (like he does his paci) & isn't swallowing - he is comfort nursing. But if you hear her swallowing - it sounds like she is actually eating & may be hungry.

jarbatz

Borst-Plotz:

I was suprised too...that's why I asked u guys :-) She eats for 15 minutes usually...I can hear her sucking/swallowing so I figured she nursed because she was hungry. However-whenever she cries she acts like she's starving...so maybe she is just comfort nursing? How do you tell?

Who knew nursing would be the hardest part of being a mom...not something I anticipated :-(

No one tells you how hard nursing really is!!  Kudos to you for sticking with it.  I heard both sides of the on-demand/scheduled BF and never figured it out...but I never had problems with my supply really.  Anyway...my LC told me to feed on demand (even if that meant every 15 mins!) and my Pedi told me to feed every 3 hours.  Her reasoning was that even in the NICU (at least at her hospital), the babies only get fed every 3 hours and even the tiniest of babies only get fed every 2 hours.  She said that feeding on demand was like allowing LO to snack all day so they never really got a full meal.

In the end I ended up feeding on demand b/c when DD was crying and nothing else was wrong, I could soothe her just by nursing her. 

starryeyeddreamer

DC2London:

Borst-Plotz:

I was suprised too...that's why I asked u guys :-) She eats for 15 minutes usually...I can hear her sucking/swallowing so I figured she nursed because she was hungry. However-whenever she cries she acts like she's starving...so maybe she is just comfort nursing? How do you tell?

Who knew nursing would be the hardest part of being a mom...not something I anticipated :-(

At that age, Jack was eating for about 30 minutes per feeding, every two hours so it doesn't really sound like your daughter is overeating to me.  Comfort nursing is usually short lived and they will often take a pacifier instead.  Have you tried giving her a pacifier?  If she takes it, she wants to suck.  If she spits it out or, like my LO does, makes a face at it, she's hungry.

I agree with you, I did not anticipate nursing to be so complicated/challenging...especially since women have traditionally done it without the help of LC's!

This - LO is down to about 20 minutes total but still takes 30 minutes sometimes. Are you feeding both breasts too? My Pedi recommended this too - to at least offer the second & LO will take it if still hungry. LO is full much longer when he eats from both. 

lite-bright

I think you're working against yourself. If you're having supply problems, you should be putting her to the breast as often as she wants. Your baby is trying to help you build supply so that she gets enough, and setting an arbitrary time limit may be interfering with that. Your pedi may be trying to ensure that you get enough of a break, or taking the perspective that your LO "should" be able to go that long. But I tend to take the view that unless there are other issues (sore nipples, etc.) that feeding on demand means feeding on demand, regardless of how long it's been since the last feeding.And I also don't understand -- do you think you're getting more milk by EPing than BFing? That's pretty unlikely, since babies are usually more efficient at extracting milk than pumps are. If you're pumping to give her milk between nursing, why not just nurse? That seems like a lot of extra work. The other thing I'd suggest is to make sure she's really hungry, and not just giving hunger signs. With my DD1, she was constantly rooting -- but it turned out that she might actually be dirty, need to be warmer, or want to be held. Since we'd change her before every feeding and she would be wrapped up in a blanket and held while nursing, "asking" to nurse was the way that she got all of those things, even if she really only wanted one of them. She figured that out pretty quickly, so she would give us hunger signs -- and it took us awhile to figure out that one of those other things was enough to make her happy. Also, sometimes I think it helped to have DH take care of the holding, etc. -- if I held her, she smelled milk and she got very single-minded about wanting some.   HTH!

adcffaa

I'd say screw what the Pedi says on this one. Your child is hungry and if your supply sucks, your DD nursing will help up your supply go up. As long as you're willing to have her at the breast that often and your nipples can handle it there should be no problem.

Jennicap

every few days in the begining DS would cluster feed and eat every hour or so. DH asked the doctor and she said you can't overfeed him at this point, if he's hungry let him eat. I would maybe get a second opinion, at 2 weeks they are growing so much!

cajungirl0717

My pedi said 2 hours, unless she demands before. My pedi is very adament (sp?) about feeding on demand no matter how often. She even said to let her comfort nurse when she wanted. She is pro breast