Hungry again after activity time

[sjworthington]

Hi everyone,

I've posted a similar thread on the EASY board but haven't had any suggestions so thought I'd post here also. 

Our 8 week old has never had any problems feeding, but recently we have found that she is starting to peck/root towards the end of her activity time or during her wind down cuddle. 

I don't want to get her into the habit of feeding to sleep, but she is obviously hungry and having a few minutes of extra food calms her down and allows us to get her off to sleep. 

I've tried adding an additional 5min during her initial feed, but she doesn't seem to want it then. 

Any ideas on how best to approach this? 

Many thanks
Sarah

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

A lot of babies give hungry cues, but they really AREN'T hungry at this time.  They just like the sucking and the warm liquid as part of a wind down.  If you don't feed her, does she have a shorter nap?  How are nights going?  Some people do EAEAS, with another short A time right before nap.  It's really up to you, but there's a good chance that you could work on eliminating that extra snack.

[LeeLeeMelis]

Wesley is 8 months and one of his sleep cues is that he starts sucking on my face, cheek, shoulder or anything else he can get his mouth on right before nap time.  It's not a big deal if you feed her sometimes prior to a nap but I'd suggest trying to up her food at each feeding and see where that gets you.

[sjworthington]

Thanks for the speedy replies, it's really appreciated! 

I think you are right about the sucking being part of how she winds down before a nap.  She is sleeping between 5-7 hrs a night now so we know that she can go the distance and there doesn't seem to be any difference in nap length if she has an EASY or an EAESY.  I've bought a couple of different paci shapes/sizes so will try offering those next time she starts pecking like crazy!

Thanks again
Sarah