short nurser

[AndrewBoy]

Hi,
My lo is 4 months old and is my third bf baby (so you would think I wouldn't have any questions).  Since birth he has been a short nurser 5- 15 min. max.  I wouldn't call him a snacker as he has always lasted at least 2 hrs between feeds and now goes about 3.5 hours.  I was wondering if there is anyone else out there who has experienced this?  My husband and I have determined that he is a textbook baby while awake and a touchy baby at nap and bed time.  He has always resisted EASY and I find it hard to determine when he is truly hungry unless I look at the clock.  I almost always new what my other lo's needed but he is so hard to read.  He rarely cries hard, just fusses and sometimes quite loudly.  He always sucks/chews on his hand so this is not a good indicator.  I have always just tried to extend times between feedings so it makes it really hard to determine growth spurts.  He is a big boy, 17 lbs, rolling all over and pulling himself up on his elbows to rotate in a circle.  So I'm not sure if this makes sense, but maybe someone out there has seen this behavior.  Maybe this is the difference with boys...my other lo's are girls.  I just am afraid that I am not reading him right and that sometimes I mistake his hunger as being over-tired, hard to say when he is so hard to read.

[Mrs. Gravy]

My son has always been a short nurser too, except when he was a newborn.

Now, at 10 months, he will go anywhere from 2-4 hours between nursing sessions, and only nurses for 10 min MAX.  As babies age, they can get super efficient at emptying the breast, so it's quite possible he's getting a full feed in only 5-15 min.

He never really exhibits the classic hunger cues either.  I feed on demand though, so whenever he gets fussy or upset I offer the breast, whether it's been 3 hours or 3 minutes since his last feeding.  If he's hungry, he'll eat, and if he's not, he'll refuse.

It sounds like he's doing fine, gaining well and meeting milestones.  As long as he is having plently of wet diapers each day (6+), you can rest assured that he's getting enough milk.  If it's coming out, it has to be going in!

[AndrewBoy]

Thanks for the reassurance, it's nice to know that someone out there does BW and nursing on demand.  I really appreciate your feedback!

[Mrs. Gravy]

I've really modified a lot of the BW techniques to suit our lifestyle.

My son has never been a big meal feeder.  I think he's more of a snacker and even at 10 months old, he likes to nurse every 2-3 hours during the day, sometimes more often.  He's very efficient and fast, so I don't mind.  If he was taking 30-40 min to nurse every time it would be a problem, but I find it's a nice break to just sit down every couple hours and spend 5-10 min nursing him.

I've been trying to use more of the sleep methods - like not nursing to sleep and trying to cut down on night feedings.  Even at this age, he still wakes up a million times during the night wanting to nurse, and I know he's just doing it for comfort but I can't seem to break him of this habit!

He's gotten a LOT better at falling asleep on his own though.  I still nurse him before bed, but not to the point where he's asleep.  He goes in his bed wide awake and will eventually fall asleep on his own.  He still needs me or daddy sitting next to his crib though!

[owelley]

Hello!!
 Mrs. GRavy how are you doing with cutting the night feeds??  My lo was the same before and she would nurse anytime anyplace!!   Since she's been a 4 hr EASY we've cut our night feeds drastically because she's taking much more in the daytime.  I would say that she's taking full feeds from both breasts at each meal.  She's a very efficient nurser at 8 mos and is done so quick that I try to offer both sides twice just to be sure she's had enough!!  She ALWAYS has heavy dia[pers when I change her so I know she gets all the milk she needs.

ANdrewboy could you please post your routine so we can have a look??

[AndrewBoy]

Here is our routine for the past few days.  He has been pretty sporadic and has resisted EASY since birth.  We have just tried to keep the same order to events so he knows what to expect and the times have never really stayed the same for long.  I have tried to keep his nursing at least 2.5 hrs apart and during the past few weeks 3 hrs apart, but will nurse if he seems hungry.

7:00 he usually wakes up around this time (although this morning it was 6:00) and eats
7:10 A
8:15 he starts to get sleepy so we quiet things down a bit, as much as I can with two others running around
       read books, sing a song then pull shades, turn on white noise
8:45 S
10:30 E
12:00 wind down
12:15 S
2:00 E
2:10 A
3:45 wind down
4:00 S
5:30 E
6:30 bedtime routine, including topping off before bed
7:00 in bed; has fallen asleep the last two nights after about 15-20 minutes

For a couple of weeks he would fuss a lot at night, on and off for an hour or longer.  He would wake frequently but not really want to nurse.  When we venture out he is good while we are away but will not settle to sleep for long and then will be totally off at home.  As long as we stay at home, which we normally do,  he seems to be pretty textbook.  This isn't always practical with two other children.

Thanks for the feedback.

[owelley]

Your lo may be ready for a 4 hr routine.  Here are a couple of links that will help with the transition ffrom 3 to 4 hr EASY.

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=41061.0

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=63968.0


HTH!!

~noelle

[AndrewBoy]

Thanks Noelle, I have been trying to work in that direction.  He just gets so tired but I will keep it up.  Do you ever try to go out with your lo for the day?  If so what has your experience been like? 

[owelley]

I find it varies depending on where I am going.  I love going to church but lo gets soo overstimulated there!!  When I'm shopping and she's in the sling or stroller she naps no problem and I have an easier time there than church.  In regards to nursing, I nurse on our regular times.  I know what you mean about getting tired!!!  Drina will only go so fa after the 2 hr mark which is why I am extending A times.  Hopefully you both won't have too much trouble.  HUGS !!!

[AndrewBoy]

Thanks, I appreciate your feedback.  I will keep extending A time and I know this phase will go by so quickly anyway.  Good luck on extending A time for your lo.

[owelley]

There!!  I showed you some appreciation!!  It's always nice to see that number go up!!

[AndrewBoy]

Since I'm new to the whole posting thing, I wasn't sure how that all worked, thanks!  I had another question for you.  My lo had started spreading out the dirty diapers to about every 3 days.  All of the sudden in the past couple of days he goes once or twice/day again.  I don't remember this with my other babies.  He has been a little fussy too but I thought it was because we were out all day Sat. and my husband had to go out of town for the week.  Now I am wondering.  Just wondered if you had experienced this.  Thanks

[RachelC]

Dirty diapers can vary and patterns constantly change, especially in bf babies!

[owelley]

For sure!!  Drina sometimes went 5 days with no poops!!   Totally normal!!

[AndrewBoy]

Thanks for the input, I remembered that they strat going infrequently, I just didn't remember them starting up again.  Good to know!