Constant nursing- how long does it last?

ChelseyB5186 · June 2012

LO is definitely high needs, and he nurses at least every 2 hours during the day (he goes longer stretches at night). He's almost 10 weeks. He also needs the boob for comfort, and can't be soothed with anything else (trust me, we've tried everrrrything). He'll get extremely upset, and the only thing that calms him down is to nurse, so I know it's his go-to for comfort. I SAH, so I don't mind too much, but I'm just wondering how long it lasts? We're planning a vacation to go see family in a few months, and I'll feel a little weird if I'm constantly nursing him instead of him being around family. Do they eventually grow out of this? He eats while comfort nursing too, so I'm also a little concerned about tummy troubles (he's already in the 97th percentile for weight, not that I'm worried about that right now though...)

TaylersMommy · June 2012

My LO nursed constantly until about 5 months of age. When we began introducing foods at 7 months, she drastically reduced her nursing frequency and the length of her feedings. She was more interested in the new foods! Have you tried nursing in a carrier? This may make things easier when around family as you can still be fully involved in activities.

blu-eyedwife · June 2012

I don't have a comfort nurser - but I think it was around 4 months/4.5 months when his feedings started spacing out a little more than every 2 hours. Now at 8 months he still eats every 3 hours - and he's been eating 3 solid meals a day for over 2 months.

ChelseyB5186 · June 2012

TaylersMommy:
My LO nursed constantly until about 5 months of age. When we began introducing foods at 7 months, she drastically reduced her nursing frequency and the length of her feelings. She was more interested in the new foods! Have you tried nursing in a carrier? This may make things easier when around family as you can still be fully involved in activities.

I have a K'Tan, but I haven't figured out how to nurse in it. As far as being involved in family activities- it's not me they want to see, it's the baby I most likely will not be nursing in front of my family, so I'll constantly be in a different room nursing him while they're all waiting to see the baby.

Temp123197812503460 · June 2012

At 10 months I still nurse quite often, but i could probably cut way back if I had to.Is there a reason you need to go in the other room around family? The fact that I nurse in front of my family (dad, etc) makes it much easier. I wondered if it would be weird but it's really no big deal at all.

ChelseyB5186 · June 2012

somewhereincali:
At 10 months I still nurse quite often, but i could probably cut way back if I had to.Is there a reason you need to go in the other room around family? The fact that I nurse in front of my family (dad, etc) makes it much easier. I wondered if it would be weird but it's really no big deal at all.

I know it would make a few family members uncomfortable, and I find it's easier to just do it privately. I'm also still pretty new at NIP so that could have something to do with it too. I've only ever done it in the car and at a New Mom class (where everyone was doing it).

TiffanyBerry · June 2012

Varies by kid. DD nursed every 1.5-2hrs for months (like 8, give or take 2). Except at night - then she would go 3hrs between nursing. You can still be around family while you nurse him, of course! And BF babies virtually ever actually over feed themselves, so if he is eating, he's doing it on purpose. (They change their suckingpatternfor comfort nursing so theydont get milk.)

3003girl · June 2012

My lo would nurse every two hours when I was around until she was about 15 months old. Seriously. She was fine if I was gone though, but I didn't leave for more than four hours until she was able to drink water and eat something - around seven months.

I found it was great to nurse her in the moby around people. She hated a cover, but the moby provided some "protection"

Good luck!

pixieprincss · June 2012

Ah, the constant newborn nursing. It is intense! Here's another way to look at it...since there is no way to change when your baby will want to nurse less (every 2 hours is a very normal timeframe), your best bet might be --like PPs said-- to figure out how to incorporate nursing into the other things you have going on. NIP can cause anxiety at first, but that can/will change. Just start doing it and it will get easier and easier. Try a LLL meeting--that is a safe place to get support and continue to try it out. Also, if you can learn to nurse in a carrier, that is the BEST! It is usually very discreet once you get the hang of it, so much that others likely will not even recognize that baby is eating. Ditto PPs that breastfed babies cannot overeat, so I wouldn't worry about that.

SunnyMuffin · June 2012

My lo never really spaced out his feedings, he still nurses about every 2 hours, but the good part is that he only takes about 2-3 minutes to empty a breast. It becomes soo much easier when they are more efficient at nursing.

I could be feeding more solids and nursing less but my lo really likes to nurse and won't cut back even if I do feed more solids.. it just depends on their pesonality. Some don't miss it at all.

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Constant nursing- how long does it last?

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