5-10min feeds 2 month old + 2-3 night waking feeds???

[phs]

Hi, my little one is born on 9th MArch! I have a problem that he only feeds for 5-10mins and then does not want more, he seems happy after and lasts the three hours??? He is also putting on weight and is on 50th percentile but dropped a tiny amount literally a few oz short so the doc has got me worried. He was born 7lb 11oz and is now 12lb 4 oz so i know he is getting milk???!! but why such short feeds? and im worried the milk supply will diminish! Also he has a dream feed and then two more night feeds which makes me think he isnt taking enough in the day but i cant make him take more, so not sure what to do!

He is on thr 3 hr easy and is doing well on it, naps are going well etc just feeds are short and still has night wakings for food. Normally after a dream feed he wakes at around 2 and then betweek 4-5pm and then his day starts between 6.15 and 6.45am, which workds well since i have a three year old as well.

[jenloafer77]

I think it is pretty normal for a 2 month old to still be waking 1-2 times at night to feed.  I am very lucky that my 2 month old is sleeping 8-9 hour stretches at night.  I guess he likes his crib.  I worry all the time about milk intake and have no clue if he is getting enough throuout the day.  He seems to be growing and the doctor seems to say that all is well.....he looks great, is growing...seems pretty content after feeding.  During the day, though, he takes very short naps and wakes up starving.  So, I just feed him then.  yesterday, he didn't seem to be to satisfied after being feed, so I thawed out some milk I had in the freezer, used two ounces and mixed it with 1 ounce of formula...he sucked it right down.....so, I am working on increasing my supply after I had to work on decreasing my supply from an overproduction of milk.....I guess it worked all to well!!  If he seems happy and content and is growing, everything is fine.  I don't know about the growth percentile so I can't say anything about that.  Is he wetting and pooping frequently?

[annie74]

Hi

your little boy sounds like mine (born on 6th march!) excpet my son wil only last 2 -21/2 hours at night.  And again only feeds for about 5-10 mins.  Nice to hear I'm not alone!

Sorry i can;t be of much help.  My daughter used to wake at 1, 4 then 7am, then out of the blue at 4 months slept through so perhaps its just a matter of time?!?  She used to only feed for 10 mins too, so i guess if your little boy is gaining weight then the time he takes to feed should be ok.  perhaps he's just super-efficient.

[marimul77]

Hello, just wanted to say that up till last week our situation was exactly the same. DD2 only fed for 5 minutes at a time, lots and lots of times during the day and woke up usually around 3 and 5 before starting the day around 7. And then 3 nights ago she just did not wake at all til 6.30 am !!!!! The night after she woke at 5.30 am and this morning at 6 am. Needless to say i am really happy. She really just went from 2 night feeds to none. Hope i have not jinxed it now She still feeds lots in the day though, even 2 hourly sometimes, but she is feeding upto 15 minutes now, rather than 5. Maybe she is making up for the calories she is not having in the night? I am hoping now that she will start to stretch that as she is getting older and her activity time is getting longer?  I hope your LO will cut out the night feeds soon too!!!

[Mum of 3 + 2 stepkids]

Hi All,

phs - everything you are saying all seems fine, all lo's feed different some are quick and some are slow (like mine). If hes going 3hrs and weight gain is fine then don't worry and the nwing's for that age is also fine. Feeding at night is great for your suppy. If you wanted to try and get a longer streach at night, in the evening you could add a cluster feed. So If your feeding at say 3pm then 6pm, you could add a top up at 4.30-5ish to tank him up for the evening with the df on top.

jenloafer77 - do you single or double side feed? If you lo doesn't seem satisfied you could offer the other side and keep switching after a letdown until hes done. Lo's are good at getting the milk and if your topping up then your supply is not growing with demand, just a suggestion. A lot of lo's don't stick to the same EASY pattern all day, they could start at 3hr and as the day goes on end up at 2 by the last feed. It all good for supply and over time as your supply grows they stretch that bit further.

annie 74 - What is your day like, how often is lo feeding? You could try cluster feeding in the day to help the nights go longer between feeds.

marimul77 - Sounds like things are going well for you, well done. When you start to stretch feeds in the day do it slowly, you could start to move it to 2.15 for a few days and then if she seems fine still and no nwing's move on another 15mins and so on. If you move straight to 3hr, it will work for a few days but then you will start to have problems. Thats what i did and then always found myself trying to catch up with gs and they went on for up to a week and sometimes more, very hard work.

Kate x

[jenloafer77]

The last couple of days I have actually been keeping him on both sides for at least 15-20 minutes and sometimes he seems satisfied and sometimes he doesn't.  It is really frustrating.  This morning, after a 10 hour stretch straight through (which leads me to believe he is getting enough throughout the day, otherwise he would wake up, right?) he drained one side, which usually has him satisfied, but then wanted the other side, but only ate for a couple of minutes.  Then I pumped for 15 minutes on bothe sides and got about 2 ounces.  So, I think that I am going to just feed on both sides for about 20 minutes each and pump 10 minutes afterwards?  Will that help?  And if I am not feeding him at night because he is sleeping straight through, but then he starts waking up to feed again, how is that going to affect my supply?  He has been doing this for over a week now!!  All these worries and concerns....it is so easy to be tempted just to go with formula, but I am trying very hard not to give up....I fight with myself every day just giving him a couple ounces of formula to "top him off", but I also don't want him to starve!!  I am confused.....

[Mum of 3 + 2 stepkids]

You would think that if they sleep straight through then they would be getting enough, but my lo slept through without DF fro 7.30pm till 5-6am yet very slow weight gain. So i ended up giving the df to add to those much needed calories, not that your lo's weight is an issue but it just shows they can sleep through.

If his going a long stretch then he will just need that extra bit more in the mornings, so it couldn't hurt. If he does start waking for a fed then your supply will adjust within a couple of days again so i wouldn't worry.

I have always had problems with supply going up and down and my lo is now 25 weeks and 'EBF' yay to me. So im a good example that it work with a bit of hard work at times. So keep on going your doing really well.

Kate x

[jenloafer77]

We have another Doctor's appointment on Monday and I made an appointment with the lc just to see what she has to say as well.  I can't wait to see his weight gain.  For his second feed today, he drained both sides and seemed pretty satisfied afterwards.  Then I pumped for 10 minutes.  I will keep doing that for a couple of days to make sure I have enough for him.  Plus, I like to store milk for a rainy day.......  Thanks again for the help!!

[Mum of 3 + 2 stepkids]

Great 

Lets us know how you get on

Kate x

[annie74]

Hi Kate

Samuel tends to feed every 2-3 hours in the day - but has done the odd 4 hour if we're out and about as he just sleep in the pram and car -its hard fitting in a solid routine as dd is at playgroup and nursery at different times on different days so have to fit in around that too!  Also Samuel can wake from 6-7.30 so i have to take the lead from there too.  Have been so tired i can;t possible contemplate waking myslef up at 7am to get him up!!!!!

I'm quite happy for samuel to feed as often as he wants in the day as i figure it should fill him up.  He has started feeding for longer on some feeds, around 15-20 mins.  He normally wakes about 6am so we start then.  We have started him on a bottle at bed time - around 6pm and then hope to get to a dream feed at 10pm which hasn't happend often, so i have to feed him about 8.30-9pm, then dh does the dreamfeed so i can get some sleep.  He only takes about 3-4oz from a bottle.  He was waking at 12,2,4,6 ish!!  But not always feeding really.  After a 12.30 feed last night,  he woke at 2.30 so put his dummy in and he went til 4.45am so i thought that was great!!!!  Then fed again at 6.30, 9 and 11 and 1.  He was permature and had real problems feeding for a while, so i'm pleased we've got to almost 11 weeks. 

I'm a bit sick of people (family and friends) saying how ridiculous it is that he sometimes feeds every 2 hours - (thanks for the support guys - really helpful!!!) - but i don't mind 3-3 hours at all if i can just stretch it a bit more at night.  He is a happy baby so obviously content, naps well although sometimes a bit of struggle to get him down in the evening but nothing too bad.

Nice to know I'm not alone and that not everyone has textbook babies   I'm sick of hearing how so and so's baby slept though at however many weeks blah blah blah - how does that help me??

[Mum of 3 + 2 stepkids]

Hi Annie, i know what you mean by trying to fit it all in around the routine for the day with other lo's im the same. I found that i stuck to 3hr but at times it was 2.30-2.45hrs and another feed would be 3.15-3.30, but i alsways took it from the hr to keep the routine the same. Not sure if you understand that so its kinda like this:

6 - E
9.15 (school run) - E
12 - E
3.20 (school run) - E
5 - cluster feed
6.30 - E
10pm - DF

So im also getting in the extra cluster feed. You can also change times to suit.

Do you do EASY? could it be possible that at the 2hr mark he is tierd? If so it could be adding to those nwings, were after 2 hrs his used to being fed.

I can also relate to the family ands friends not giving support, my mum was constantly telling me 'he's hungary' & 'i don't think your milk is satisfiying him', like you say great help and it really mekes you feel better NOT!!!!! Lucky my dh has always stood by me and made me feel good about what im doing. We are now at 26weeks YAY!!!!!!!! and going strong. You really are doing well so don't let anyone tell you any different, for some (me) bfing can be hard at times but as they get older those times become a lot less often. Keep going and be possitive you will find a routine to fit into your life as i have.

Kate x

[jenloafer77]

I'm on the opposite end of relatives intervening....I have noone saying anything to me at anytime....that's how it has always been!  It is nice not having someone in ear telling you you're doing everything wrong...My family is very much involved, but they keep their mouths shut...I have an aunt who is pro-formula and an aunt and MIL who are pro-breastfeeding and they get into it, but leave me out of it.....As the routine goes, I haven't actually talked to anyone about it except my husband, and he doesn't seem to quite understand it yet.
My concern about the routine is going out...like today...we are meeting with the lc at 10:30 and then he has a doctor's appointment at 4 (he gets his first round of immunizations today  )   Our feeding routine is going to be totally thrown for a loop......I am really quite unsure what to do to make sure he gets all his feedings and calories in that he needs!

[Mum of 3 + 2 stepkids]

Great to here you have your family supporting you, it makes it a lot easier.

Like i said to Annie, when you have things to do you have to be a bit flexible. If it was me tomorrow i would feed just before i went out at 9.30-10 then 12-12.30 then 3 which will be fine for for both appointments.

Kate x

[jenloafer77]

His feeding schedule was thrown for a loop, but he actually got on the breast more yesterday, which is what my LC suggested (as well as some people on this forum) to up my supply.  When we met yesterday, he did take in 3 1/2 ounces, which she said is fine for age.  He didn't seem to satisfied afterwards, though and things today are crazy because he just had his first round of immunizations yesterday at the doctors.  I am trying to tackle low supply and sleep training on top of immunizations.  He seems to be doing okay, but should I continue trying to up my supply and sleep training, or just tackle one at a time??  My husband simply laid him down in his crib last night for bed, he was awake, and he fell alseep without anything but a fan in the background.

[Mum of 3 + 2 stepkids]

I would just feed as often as you can to keep up supply and if you use the EAEAS routine hopefully will get some sleep

Kate x