Can she really get full after 5 minutes?

[Britterbug84]

My LO is 12.5 weeks and for the past couple days ahs only been eating for 5 minutes at a time. She is EBF and has always eaten quickly, but usually it takes her between 10 and 15 minutes to get full. The first few times I just figured there was something going on with my milk or it was hurting her because we are battling thrush. I would feed her more with the bottle and sometimes she would eat a tiny bit more (like .5-1 oz) more, but most of the time she would refuse the bottle. The times she did eat more from the bottle she ended up spitting up 2 or 3 times before she went down for her nap, then sometimes she would spit up a couple times in her sleep.

She makes it through her 3 hours until the next feed, but has been waking at every 45 minute mark and has to be patted back to sleep. The thing that makes me wonder if she is getting full is that during her DF and her 1 night feed she eats a TON! I use the bottle for the DF and she usually eats almost 6 oz in 15 minutes. When I nurse her during the night she eats for usually 20 minutes, but she is mostly still asleep when she starts and is out cold by the end of the feed.

I have checked the color of my milk a couple times right after she finishes eating (by hand expressing a tiny bit of milk) and it is the thick white color of my hind milk so I think she is getting to it. Is it possible for her to get the food she needs in 5 minutes?

Brittany and Kaylee

[rachelann]

Hi, it can be slightly nerve wracking when they only seem to eat for a few minutes at a time, can't it?  I can tell you that my LO, who was a fast feeder from birth (15 minutes total) quickly became an even faster feeder around your LO's age - 7 minutes total. 

The three month mark was also when the 45 minute nap monster came to stay for THREE MONTHS.  So in my experience, yes, they can get full in 5 minutes, and waking early from naps was more a sleep issue than a feeding issue for us. 

She also nursed much longer in the night feeds as well.  I think it was because during the day she sucks very hard and fast, like she's got a job to do, whereas at night she is all sleepy and relaxed and takes her time, and probably sucks past when she is no longer hungry because she is just sort of sleep sucking, you know? 

As long as she seems satisfied after a feed - happy and can go the normal time between feeds - I bet she is doing what is normal for her.  I used to watch the clock like a hawk, and do all sorts of things to keep her on longer, but finally I just accepted that she was going to eat what she ate, and I had to trust that she knew what was right for her.  And now she is a healthy 9-month-old, who still "speed feeds"!  It is nice, other moms I know are slightly jealous that she eats so fast 

As a side note, my LO had/has reflux (the silent type, with minimal spitting up), which is one of the reasons I think she eats so fast.  She's on the right meds now, but back then I think eating wasn't always a pleasant experience for her, so she got used to the "get in and get out" technique.

HTH,
Rachel

[Britterbug84]

The only thing that makes me wonder if she is really full (well besides the lighting speed at which she is finished) is that even after she stops nursing she keeps waving her head around with her mouth open as wide as it will go. If my hand, my cheek, my arm, the pillow, or anything else comes in contact with her mouth she starts sucking like mad. I thought she was going to give me a hickey on my neck because she started sucking on it so hard while I was burping her lol.

I was told that OT babies will root all the time just because they need the comfort of nursing/suckling, but I don't think that is an issue here. When she wakes at the 45 minutes it is usually a maximum of 10 minutes to get her back to dreamland.

Should I start weighing her to make sure she is still gaining weight or is that being a little too paranoid?

[AmberElise]

Hi! I have the same issue with my 9 week (4 wk corrected) boys. They also have times when they eat super fast (as little as 5 min) - I burp them and sometimes they will go back on for another 5 but other times they will start to suck but then fuss or yell when they get milk in their mouths (I can only think they just want to suck to pacify at that point). Other times they eat over a 15-20 min period...

They both have reflux - previously they were symptomatic with crying just b4 spitting up but now that they are on zantac the crying is gone. Now they are both "happy spitters" but they still spit up a good volume of milk for about 10 minutes after feeds - maybe me trying to convince them to take a little more milk after their 5 min feed is contributing to this but they don't seem bothered by it. I just end up having to do laundry 37 x more and they wear bibs all the time!

[Maeve]

My second 2, one with reflux, but one without, were both usually finished in 5 minutes. I never figured out how they gained any weight but they did. My father in law said they were like a good bull--put on the weight without much feeding!

[rachelann]

Yep about the constant sucking, too!  Poor little thing since she wanted to suck ALL the time (maybe made the reflux feel better?), but only wanted to nurse for such a short period of time, I gave her a pacifier.  I'm not a big fan of them, but if they make her feel good and it's something she needs, so be it.  I let her play with it all day long so she would learn how to put it in her mouth quickly.  At 7 months she was able to get it back into her mouth on her own.  Now at 9 months she only gets it in the crib and the carseat.  Does your LO have a pacifier?  I'm not saying you should start if you've already gone 3 months without, I was just curious, since that might help for those first 5 or 10 minutes after feeding when she still wants to suck.

AmberElise - I laughed when you said they seemed to get mad when they get milk in their mouth.  My LO would do the same thing at that age!  She would get back on like she was starving, suck for a couple of seconds, but when the milk came she would howl, like - hey I just wanted to suck!  She doesn't do that any more  - now when she's done she nips me with her sharp little puppy teeth and I say okay okay I get it, you're done!  But that brought back memories.   

[Britterbug84]

Yeah she has a pacifier, and will usually suck on it after she is finished nursing. Sometimes she won't take it though but she will take my pinki instead. I guess she just wants something with skin lol.

She does have reflux, which seems to go along with quick feedings! I guess i just have to trust that she knows when she is full. Thanks for the advice!

[rachelann]

No problem!  It also can't hurt to weigh her now and then, if only to reassure yourself that she is growing.  Good luck, and enjoy your LO!

[AmberElise]

I weighed mine too for a few weeks - public health centre is really close to our house thankfully. But another way you can tell they are getting enough is if they have at least 6-8 wet diapers/day (although how does one tell these days with the fancy pampers that soak everything up so well!)...

I am so in sync with those worries though! Today Tyler (DS1) had one feed where I swear he didn't suck for more than 3 min - he absolutely refused to go back on (just cried and cried after a suck or two). He is getting a cold though and might have a decreased appetite from that but I still worry they aren't getting nearly enough! I just hope he isn't going on a "nursing strike"!! Rachelann did your DD ever do that?

[ahollifield]

Hi there! I am having exactly the same issue! I started spreading her daytime feeds 3 hrs and 15 min- 3 1/2 hours apart and it helped a little. She seemd to eat a little more. She does the same as yours too at night, eating for 20 minutes and taking a good amount, but then wakes up in the morning and is not hungry AT ALL. I couldn't get her to nurse at all this morning after eating at 2am.  I'm worried about my milk supply dipping. Do you think they are ready for a 3 1/2 hour EASY? Mine can only stay up for 1 hr 20-25 min at a time though..

[lazfam]

WOW, me too! I just finished posting something about this. Ever since his 6th week, I've been dealing with this. He's 9 weeks now (2 months). He started out nursing 30-45 minutes and napping great. Then he started nursing 20 minutes and took 2 so-so naps and 1 good one. Then we dropped down to nursing 10-20 minutes, sometimes shorter and napping 40 minutes  - 1 hour 15min. I too have been worried about my milk supply dropping and at night when he nurses he'll nurse 20-25 minutes and fall back asleep. He'll nurse at like 2:30 and be up by 5:30 for another nursing. His check up was yesterday and he's gained over a pound this month. Was 2+ lbs his first month. So, he's still gaining just slower. He doesn't seem unhappy... He does spit up quite a bit. Usually curdled milk. But, that also started at 6 weeks. Everything started at 6 weeks. I'm so torn as to just let it go, or to move to a bottle. I want to keep breastfeeding, but I feel so stressed out. I know that isn't helping. I'll keep reading this post for advice!

[ahollifield]

I'm so stressed with breastfeeding too! It's not supposed to be this hard! I quit at 6 months with my 1st one is stressed me out so much. I want to continue too but I hate not knowing how much she's had or if she's hungry!

[rachelann]

Wow, I can't believe so many days have passed since I responded last to this post - life has been crazy around here!

Today Tyler (DS1) had one feed where I swear he didn't suck for more than 3 min - he absolutely refused to go back on (just cried and cried after a suck or two). He is getting a cold though and might have a decreased appetite from that but I still worry they aren't getting nearly enough! I just hope he isn't going on a "nursing strike"!! Rachelann did your DD ever do that?

AmberElise - are you still having the same "nursing strike" issues?  Yes, my DD went through many phases just like that.  This was when she was maybe between 2 and 4 months old.  I remember the first time it happened, when she just refused a feed and I got so worried.  Sometimes two or three feeds in a row would be refused or at least cut very short.  Looking back, I attribute it to her reflux.  Around 4 months old she got on Prevacid, and gradually she became a totally different baby.  At the time, it was stressfull, but we pulled through and she wasn't the worse for wear (although I have a few more gray hairs).  One thing that I found helpful with keeping her on longer was breast compressions while she's nursing.  There's a link around somewhere for it, so if you are interested I'll hunt it down.  None of these "bad nursing" phases every turned into a nursing strike.  The only real nursing strike we had was one time when she had been biting me, and she just bit me one time to many and I yelled at her and pushed down firmly on her bottom teeth.  She wouldn't get on again for 12 hours.  That will never happen again - now I just grin and bear it when she bites me.
How old are you LO's now?  If you are still having very fussy feeds, it might be good to ask your dr about their reflux meds.  Perhaps they have outgrown the amount of zantac they are on, or they have plateaued on the zantac and need a PPI (like prevacid).  My LO was fine on zantac until 3 months, went through a growth spurt, and all hell broke loose!  However, lots of LO's do fine on zantac the entire time.

I'm so torn as to just let it go, or to move to a bottle. I want to keep breastfeeding, but I feel so stressed out. I know that isn't helping.

I'm so stressed with breastfeeding too! It's not supposed to be this hard! I quit at 6 months with my 1st one is stressed me out so much. I want to continue too but I hate not knowing how much she's had or if she's hungry!

Oh, I know exactly how you guys are feeling - I've been there, and all I can say is please please please don't give up!  It's so hard, when you're tired and hormonal and you have this little person's life in your hands and you have no idea if you are doing it right or not because it seems so easy for everyone else.  But while you are stressing, your LO is just hanging out, eating, drinking, pooping, sleeping, oblivious, growing and developing and before you know it they'll be crawling and eating cheerios and you'll wonder what all the worrying was about (at least the worrying about every nursing session, I know worrying is a lifelong job for us moms).  I bailed on nursing with my first DS, he was FF and just fine.  But I was determined to make it work the second time, and I did not have an angel textbook baby, and she is still a peanut in the 5th percentile, has now totally abandoned my right boob, feeds only 2-3 minutes on the left one.  She just had her 9 month check-up and was sent home with a clean bill of health. 

Just hang in there and keep getting support and advice from other moms.  You are not alone and YOU CAN DO IT.  Your babies are going to be okay.  They're not like fish, where a slight temp. change can send them belly up.  Keep an eye on the wet diapers, and how content they seem after a feed to let you know that they are eating enough.

OMG this post is soooooo long!!!!  I'll end it now.

Rachel

[Courtney L]

Just want to follow along, my lo just turned 3months and has recently been getting upset at feeds and will not stay on for as long as he used to. He started screaming at me and I'm now thinking that it is because he is full and wants to be done, but here I am trying to get him to take more and upsetting him!!!!

Somedays I wonder the same thing about BF, I have 3 friends who also have LO's and all of them FF, none of them even tried to BF and I see how easy  it is for them, being able to go out whenever, knowing how much they eat, they all have bigger babies! (My lo is on 5th centile) and how much they sleep. My girlfriends baby is 3 weeks older than mine and he has been STTN for almost 2 months (SOOOOOOOO jealous!)I always wonder if he would do better on formula, would he gain more weight? Sleep better??? All I know is I want to try my hardest to get to the 6 month mark and we'll see how it goes from there!

AmberElise - Good to hear that things have gotten better for you and the boys!

[AmberElise]

Hi Courtney & RachelAnn,

Things have gotten better The feeding issue is much better - I think it might have been the cough that threw him off a bit, plus when they are overtired, they both don't feed as well (LOTS of pulling off and crying out) so we are generally trying to avoid that state. Tricky these days though as they have decided that they only want to cat-nap now... I'm having trouble getting them to sleep more than 30-45 min during the day (one wakes and then his crying wakes the other, sigh...) so by the end of the day feeding sucks. Thank goodness for the dreamfeed (we do a bottle and can generally get 5-5.5 oz into them). I guess I shouldn't complain though as they are sleeping sooooo well at night right now!

How is Emmett doing, Courtney?