My 4 month old son will only nurse for 3-7 minutes every 2 to 2.5 hours.:(

[Deedeeo85]

   From day one tried to use baby wise technique then shifted to baby whisperer at a few weeks, could never seem to get my little or to take a full feeding. He seems content after his 3 minute feeding, sometimes he would want to eat at all, however if I pump or formula feed from a bottle he will take about 4 oz., he can't possibly be getting 4 oz from breast in just 3 minutes can he?? He is gaining weight but not as much to stay on his curve.   Also getting him to nap/sleep is very very hard for the first couple weeks of infancy he had colic and literally never napped. Now at 4 months I have to hold him to get him to sleep, it is Really hard with a 3 year old running around the house with when trying to settle my (spirited) little one down. Just feel like I am doing a terrible job. At night I give him a bottle of formula because other wise he nurses about 3 times before going to sleep, screaming and crying the whole time. Please help? Has anyone else had an innt who just will not eat enough, I am almost considering switching to formula just because I know he will eat more but really don't want to give up.

[Fiver]

Welcome to BW

The early days of BF are about feeding as and when LO needs it.  This is how your supply is built up.  For each bottle of formula you give, your body thinks that milk isn't require for your little boy.

About how often is he feeding during the day?

[Erin M]

Is discomfort/reflux a possibility?
Reflux 101 - General reflux information

[kitcameron07]

Hiya,

I've jut registered looking for info for a similar problem. My daughter is 12 weeks old and will feed for about 5 mins at a time but usually wants to feed every 2.5hrs during the day. She can sometimes be distracted by taking her out in car or buggy cos she falls asleep and she sleeps well at night, normally waking between 2.30 and 5am and then possibly at 6.30am if she had an early morning feed.

If being held she does like to be upright with the person holding her standing up, she no longer seems to like being held while sitting down but seems happy to sit in her own chair at either elevation, neither elevation is flat, it's either reclined or a bit more upright lol. She sleeps in the pram attachment for the buggy which is flat on the floor and she doesn't seem to mind that at all.

She does get regular hiccups and has had ever since I was pregnant, sometimes they do sound wet. She sometimes spits up milk after feeding, even after quite a while.

I'm thinking all this sounds quite like reflux, yes?

What sort of timings would you work with for a refluxy baby? She won't stick with the 3 hour routine she should be on. I've tried giving her one breast then waiting a while before giving her the other but she still wont take it, then she wakes up hungry. I know she's getting enough food cos her weight gain is bang on the 25th centile and always has been. Should I just continue with a 2.5 hour routine and feed her more often with shorter naps and hope that she outgrows it or should I be trying to get her on to a 3hr cycle ready to change to a 4hr cycle when she gets to 4 months? I did notice one of the tips on the website was to add cereal to the bottle but in the book Tracy says she categorically doesn't recommend this. Besides, Grace wont take milk from a bottle, not even EBM.

Any suggestions?

[Fiver]

It could be reflux, or it could be the relatively normal immaturity of the valve at the top of the stomach
If you're both ok with 2.5h feeds at the moment, you could stick there for a little while and then try extending gradually (say an extra 5 minutes every few days) to 3h.  A lot of BF babies don't get to 4 hourly feeds until they reach 6m, so please don't feel under pressure to have a 4h feeding routine.

Where did you see the suggestion about adding cereal? 

[Baileysmom31112]

Just some thoughts from when my LO was this age. I had a pretty fast letdown which would sometimes overwhelm him. He would guzzle the milk really fast and then get hiccups and spit up almost every time. I practiced how to keep baby in a more upright position and me in a more slouched back position to help gravity slow down my milk. We also ended up putting him on reflux meds for a few months, holding him upright for 10-20 min after nursing before putting him down in his bassinet and raising up the head-side of the bassinet.

In terms of how much milk can they be getting in four minutes - well, my LO would pass out after 4 minutes and I would do everything I could to wake him back up to feed longer. I finally went to a local milk club and the lactation counselor had me weigh baby, feed baby on one breast and then weigh baby again. We discovered that he was getting over 3 oz from one breast in under 4 minutes. Crazy but true. he was a very efficient feeder and I had quite a fast letdown. I encourage you to find somewhere local where you can do the weigh then feed exercise to find out how much your baby is really eating. You might be surprised. Remember that the key is to not take anything off of them after you weigh them and nurse them - that way the difference in ounces is literally the milk you just gave them.

And once I realized that he was getting so much, it was easier to stretch out the times between feedings (knowing he was getting enough). the other thing to determine though is that if it is reflux, they may do better with less milk per feeding and more frequent feedings.