How to get LO to drink more per session?

mcgee · December 2009

DS is a BIG baby. He was 11.5 pounds at birth, and at 5 weeks old, he's already over 13 pounds. Not surprisingly, he requires a lot of milk. I'm blessed to have a good supply, so making enough isn't really the issue.

The problem I'm having is that DS won't drink enough per nursing session. He will nurse for about 10-15 minutes, max, pull of the breast and declare himself done. But then, anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours later, he wants to nurse again. If I give him a bottle of expressed milk or formula, I'm doing good to get two ounces in him. If he's really hungry when he has a bottle, he might take four ounces. And then of course he's hungry again a short time later.

If he pulls off the breast, I'll burp him and offer it to him again, always the same side so he's getting plenty of hindmilk. I'll only offer the other breast in a nursing session if the first nipple is sore and needs a break. In the past, when I've done the nurse, burp, nurse again, burp, etc. as long as I can keep him interested, he nurses until he barfs up ALL of the milk all over me. And then because he puked it all up, he wants to nurse again within an hour. Crying

So... how can I get him to nurse enough at one session to be satisfied for a couple of hours, without him drinking so much that he makes himself sick? Any suggestions?

MamiJam · December 2009

If he's spitting up after you've put him back on, he's most likely full. DS nurses for 10-15 min and is full. Even when he was that age, the longest he'd nurse was 20 min. LO's appetites vary throughout the day so that may account for him wanting more milk. It could also be that he prefers the faster flow that comes with your initial let down so once the flow slows down, he's less interested in working for it. I'd only offer 1 more time after he pulls off and just go with the flow. Nursing on demand will help keep your supply up and it's normal for BF babies to eat every 2 hours for several months. Just curious, why are you giving LO additional bottles if your supply is good?

Daisy582 · December 2009

Maybe it is the comfort sucking that he is craving and is getting too much in his belly in the process. I know these can be controversial on here but maybe he would do well with a pacifier to help with his desire to suck? It is totally up to you but comfort sucking is the first thing that came to mind...GL!

CollieJade · December 2009

As far as I know, it's pretty normal for breastfed babies to want to eat every hour, especially in the first 8 weeks or so, right? Maybe that's all it is? Have you tried going to Special Addition to weigh him before and after a feeding to see if he's gotten at least 3 or 4 oz in that 15 min? If he's getting that in short nursing sessions, he's getting enough - but he still may want to nurse again in an hour or so.

The only thing I can think of is he's got an issue with your milk flow - either it's too fast for him and he's pulling off before he's really truly done, or the flow isn't fast enough and he's not getting enough per nursing session. If the latter, then maybe try breast compressions while he nurses to see if you can get the flow to go faster.

mcgee · December 2009

MamiJam:
Just curious, why are you giving LO additional bottles if your supply is good?

Because sometimes after marathon nursing sessions, I'm all "touched out" and just need a break from having him chomping on my nipples. I almost always have milk in the fridge and/or freezer, and that's usually what we use. DH is afraid to thaw milk from the freezer though (mostly I think because he thawed some when DD was a baby and then didn't use it, and I yelled at him. Stick out tongue ), so if he gets up during the night with DS and is giving me a break so I can sleep, he might make a formula bottle if he runs out of expressed milk.

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