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Constantly feeding

AngelaJamesAngelaJames
in Breast & bottle feeding
My baby is 4 weeks and has been feeding well and putting on lots of weight - about a pound a week since day 7. For the past few days he has been having a good 20-25 minutes, stopping for 2 or 3 minutes then wanting a little bit more, stopping, wanting more and continuing like this for up to an hour. It means that sometimes I only get about 45 minutes between feeds! Distracting him doesn't work and he cries until he gets more milk My health visitor says he is snacking and sucking for comfort and has suggested giving him water from a bottle and trying a dummy. I didn't want to start using bottles unless absolutely necessary. Does anyone have any ideas?

Thank you xxx

Replies

  • Leos_MummyLeos_Mummy
    I know exactly how you feel, although my lb is 4 months now and still feeds like that. Could he be going through a groth spurt? Every book and doctor i know says breastfed babies don't need anything other than breats milk (breast milk is made up of like 80% water). Some babies drink slower than others and thats the difficulty of breastfeeding, you just never know how much is going in. Hang in there it will get better, just know you are doing a great job and giving your baby the best possible start.
    Good luck
  • Joey0810Joey0810
    he maybe having a growth spurt? my mw said to me if my lo cries and has milk often it can be because they are about to ahve a growth spurt., They demand more milk often to increase the supply of breast milk. sometimes my lo feeds from 30-1hr...however, i think this is probs because sometimes she goes up to 5hrs without a feed!lol!
    sorry...leos mummy didnt see your post!

    I would be reluctant to give into a dummy. you said the hv thought he maybe sucking for comfort. Have you noticed this or is he always swallowing when at the nipple?

    Sorry for not giving you any ideas...unless you encourage him to suck his thumb or fingers if he is wanting comfort. My lo is not as old as yours so im still not experienced with bf, just going by what ive been informed! all the best xxx


    sorry...leos mummy didnt see your post!

    [Modified by: Bumpety Bump on May 26, 2008 07:42 PM]
  • Leos_MummyLeos_Mummy
    No worries bumpety bump!
    Was just thinking you could try and boost your milk flow to see if this helps.
    Jungle juice:
    500ml Rooibos Tea
    500ml Apple juice
    1/4 bottle Black current berry elixir
    1 x Berocca (Fizzy energy tablet)

    It tastes yummy and really helped me.
  • LimeCupcakeLimeCupcake
    My LO feeds every hour when we arent out snd about. I have come to realise its not becaus hes hungry but cos hes bored and wants to suckle! I end up out most days wth my lo and if iother people look after him he goes twice as long! In the early days i offered a dummy and it helped (started when he was a week old) and now at 9 weeks he doesnt take a dummyt cos he self soothes with his thumb.
  • AngelaJamesAngelaJames
    Thanks for the advice and encouragement. I think it must be a growth spurt as it doesn't seem that he has stopped feeding today and it has been constant, none of the on/off of yesterday. I thought I had read that you didn't need to give water, glad I didn't now as it obviously wasn't what he needed! I do wonder if part of it might be boredom too though, as he wasn't doing it when we went out. He does sometimes suck his fist or thumb, I think i prefer to encourage that than give him a dummy

    How long does a growth spurt last?

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