4 mo old: Feeding on demand / schedule / growth ???

angie&juan2007

I try to feed my baby on demand but that seems to be messing up his nap schedule. He ends  with 20-30 min naps sometimes which make him very cranky. Can you please share your feeding / napping schedule with me?

 

Also, my baby boy is gaining about a 1 lb a month... Is that about normal at this point? The pedi is not worried because he's meeting his milestones but I noticed he's no longer on his growth curve. He  used to eat for 10 min and now I'm lucky if I get him to eat for 5 min every 2 hrs or so. TIA!

pepomntpat

It is normal for feeding sessions to get shorter as your LO gets better at extracting milk. As always keep an eye on the diaper output. You may want to offer more often and/or in a dark quiet room at this age. 4 months is a time when so much is going on in your LO's world that he can get very distracted.

Your LO's growth will start to slow down at this point. Here is a chart showing the averages for a BF baby:

https://kellymom.com/bf/normal/weight-gain/

I don't understand your first question. How is feeding on demand disturbing his nap schedule? Can you elaborate? 

Ginny0211

Some snacking here and there is ok, but not all feedings. Is he falling asleep after 5 minutes? Or distracted?

 I fed/feed on demand, but would try to get DD to nurse for about 15 minutes. This was hard at first because she would fall asleep right away, but by 3 months she was a more efficient eater and I didn't have to worry about keeping her awake. She did do some cluster feeding here and there, but with most feedings she was eating enough to satisfy herself for 2-3 hrs. 

To keep her awake I would tickle her feet, rub her ears etc. 

 

Maybe he is just really into exploring his surroundings and is having problems focusing on feeding...? Around 5 months I could not nurse my DD wherever anymore. I have to nurse her where there are not a lot of distractions because she will not focus on feeding.

 

And 1 pound between visits sounds normal to me. My DD was gaining about 1-2 pounds between each visit. She has slowed down on weight gain now that she is on the move.  

 

 

blu-eyedwife

I don't think the feeding on demand is in any way shape or form affecting his naps.  The 20-30 minute naps is probably due to the 4 month wakeful period.  That's when our naps went to crap.  It took about 4-6 weeks for them to start lengthening again.