BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Breast Feeding => Topic started by: vansmom on May 07, 2016, 22:38:09 pm
-
Hi there - I have an almost 8 week old and I'm having a hard time with feedings... The only time I can tell that he's "done" is for the middle of the night feedings, when he'll slow down, relax, and unlatch himself before falling back to sleep. On the eat-activity-sleep routine in the day, I'm feeding him on waking. He always starts like a barracuda, and I can hear him swallowing away, but after a few minutes starts unlatching a lot, squirming like crazy, and fussing. He'll relatch over and over, and it continues like this until I'm almost sure he's had enough (usually around 10 minutes on the first side, and sometimes for a few minutes on the other side). He is gaining weight like crazy, tons of wet/dirty diapers, etc.... so overall i'm sure he's getting enough. We do struggle a bit maintaining a 3-3.5 hour schedule (sometimes it's more like 2.5) - maybe he's getting "full" quickly because he's used to eating too close together? He does have reflux which seems to be under better control, but i'm wondering if there is a leftover aversion to being "full", causing him to fuss when he starts to fill up, but simultaneously want to suck for comfort? Or perhaps this is a reflux symptom still present...Just looking for best guesses as to what's causing this behavior and how to handle.
Also just looking for input from anyone - what does your baby do at the end of a feeding during the day? How can you tell they are full? My other son had reflux too so I'm having a hard time even picturing what an "awake" baby does to signal they are done eating. Do you feed in a dark quiet room so that they stay a bit drowsy and less distracted for the feed or do you turn on lights so that you can wake them up and ensure they get a full feed? Thanks in advance!!
-
I fed in the living room during the day and in baby's room with the lights off at night. My DD was a very efficient feeder and only took about 5 minutes/side. After that, she just bobbed on and off. 2.5 h is a good stretch for a breastfed baby and the fact that he goes 2.5-3.5h between feeds and has lots of wet/dirty diapers would tell me that he's getting enough. I wouldn't stress if he doesn't always last 3-3.5h. Many breastfed babies don't.