Move to 4 hour EASY without solid foods??

[CarolinaGirl]

DS is 4 months, EBF, on 3 hour EASY. He sleeps 9 PM-6 AM every night, BF and back to sleep about 2 more hours!!  BLESSING!!!   

He BFs every 3 hours. I have been trying to hold him off to get him to a 4 hour routine but he seems hungry for the past couple of weeks. Often I can hear his stomach growling!  It only takes him 10 minutes to drain both breasts and then he looks at me and gets fussy, sucking and spitting out the breast (like - is that it - no more???).   I usually put him back on the first breast and then the second again to increase his sucking time in hopes of making more milk. I am trying to delay starting solids a while if possible.

(a) How do I get to 4 hour EASY without solid foods? He seems too hungry to go more than 3 hours without BF. He has doubled his birth weight and now weighs 13#8. Or just forget 4 hour EASY for now - I DON'T WANT TO SACRIFICE MY LONG NIGHTS SLEEP!!!   :shock:

(b) I start back to work in 2 weeks and have been trying to pump/save milk for his Nanny. When I pump, I get nothing but a few drops!! How will I ever get enough milk to last him all day with the Nanny? Maybe it would be better to try to start food now then to wait until then??

I would greatly appreciate any advice!
Heather
Mommy to Logan (10 yrs) and Luke (4 mos)

[Noelle]

Hi Heather,
I don't breastfeed so I don't have any advice there....but it does sound like he isn't ready to make the move to the 4 hr yet.  If you would like to try it, I would do it in 15 minute increments vs going straight from 3-4.

HTH 

[Judy]

It sounds like he's doing fabulously on a 3hr routine - why do you want to switch to 4hr??

Personally I'd stick with what you've got.

No advice on the pumping end... I don't bother with pumping as I'm always with the girls but I too didn't find I yielded a whole lot with the pump.  Maybe once you are back at work and you pump during the day when you'd normally be feeding you'll get more.

[Arwyn's mom]

Hi Heather,

My daughter is on a 4 hour feeding schedule and is EBF. I know that when she sucks and spits out my breast that she has a burp in there. I don't know if that is the case with your little one.

Sometimes when Arwyn seems very hungry, I will move up to 3.5 hours and feed her. Most of the time, I can keep her distracted until 4 hours.

If you want to try moving to 4 hours, try to start on the weekend when someone can help you. My husband keeps Arwyn occupied and happy in order to stretch her feeding time to 4 hours but I can't be in the room or Arwyn becomes all whine-y once she sees me.

More milk please!

Depending on when your little one eats last, pump about 3 hours later and see what you get. If that is your regular schedule, your body should have no problem making some more for the "extra" feeding. It may take a few days to establish that.

Also, you could try to pump in between feedings for a short time. I noticed that your DS nurses very quickly... you could try to pump for half the time he normally nurses in between feedings. This will also increase your milk supply.

Last, if you feel your son is not getting enough milk and you want to produce more milk, you can see your doctor about taking Motilium (Domperidone) to increase your milk supply. I was on Domperidone for the first 8 weeks of Arwyn's life so that she could breastfeed as my body could not produce milk on its own due to blood loss during my C-section. You don't have to be on this for long, once my milk supply was established, I weaned off and now my body just produces what Arwyn needs.

Good luck Heather.