Impatient LO - can I teach patience??

[cath~]

My LO is 4 months old and recently has become very impatient when feeding (at least, I think that's what it is).  She feeds every 3-3.5 hours during the day and, depending on how the night goes, usually has 6-7 feeds in 24 hours.

She feeds well for 5-10 mins and then comes off, crying/shouting, but obviously still hungry.  I offer her the second breast and the same thing happens.  Sometimes, I go back and forth between the two breasts several times with the amount she will take each time from each breast getting less and less. 

I think that after she has drunk the milk from the initial let down and the flow rate reduces, she is then impatient and won't wait for a further let down.  That is when she comes off, shouting.  I think she is still hungry but just frustrated that the milk isn't coming so fast.

In the end she takes enough at a feed that when I change her nappy she isn't looking hungry.  But I think she doesn't take as much as she'd really like.  I think this may be making her feed more at night to catch up on what she missed during the day (for some reason she is more patient at night).

Is there anything I can do to encourage my LO to keep sucking to stimulate the further let downs and/or help bring about the further let downs myself?

I also worry that because of her impatience she might only be getting the foremilk and not holding out for the hind milk.  However, weight gain is good so I know that overall she is getting enough.

She used to be a love to feed but now it's getting more and more frustrating for us both!  Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks

[~ Vik ~]

This is a recent development?  Because there is a HUGE growth spurt at 4mo.  HUGE.  This is time when many moms begin to question their milk supply because babies on good routines suddenly want to feed all the time, aren't seeming satisfied between feeds, etc.

Switch nursing (switching back and forth between breasts) is a great thing that you're already doing - alternating between breasts can stimulate additional letdowns, and it will help increase your milk supply.  You can also try http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=88759.0 to keep the flow going and hopefully keep her more interested!

Here are some other ideas too:  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=66001.0

hth

[cath~]

Hi Vikki

Thanks very much for your reply.  This has been going on now for 2-3 weeks so although it may have coincided with a growth spurt, I think she's generally quite an impatient feeder now too!

I am never 100% sure when she's having a growth spurt because she doesn't usually increase the number of feeds she has (or maybe just 1 extra per day) but, I think, just takes more milk at each feed.  This weekend I was ridiculously hungry all the time so I think she may have just had her 4 month growth spurt.  She also seems to me to be a bit bigger, and my arms are certainly aching more from holding her!

The breast compression information was really useful and I will definitely give that a go when she is being impatient/fussy when feeding!  I will keep doing the switch nursing too.

Many thanks for the advice!

[besjoux]

We had a HUGE growth spurt at this time. It was the biggest GS I had/have seen in  my baby. I actually took fenugreek and blessed thistle to catch up because it was taking forever for my supply to meet his needs.

[barbaraz78]

I've not an advice, but I can share my experience.
I had a similar issue with my LO when he was 3.5 months. He was starting eating at the breast and after few minutes he refused it (sometime, but not always, he did want the second breast for a while, or took some breastmilk in a bottle). At that time, I was feeding every 3-3.5 hours, but often he did not ask to be fed (he was discovering the world around him and he was very distracted). Moreover, he seemed much hungrier than usual at night. I tried feeding in the dark, and it helped a lot, since he was much less distracted by things around him (this is the reason of why he ate better at night). In addition, I went feeding every 4 hours: in this way, my breast was much more full of milk and my lo was  hungrier and ate better. Four months is the time to switch to 4h-easy..

[~ Vik ~]

Four months is the time to switch to 4h-easy..

4mo is the time that Tracy recommended switching to a 4h routine. However, breastfeeding research and recommendations have changed a lot since Tracy's untimely passing. Although some breastfed babies do quite well on 4h routines, many cannot go that long until solids are established. Breastmilk is so easily digested that it leaves their tummies empty quite quickly so breastfed babies often need to be fed more frequently than formula fed babies. For example, Dylan was on a 3.5h routine until 5.5mo!  So I agree that it would be worth stretching out feeds slowly to see if that gets you a better feed, I definitely recommend watching those hungry cues and following them - if she's hungry at 3h15m then feed away

[barbaraz78]

I totally agree that it is worth look at your baby's clue!
But it took several weeks for me to realize that the problem was that he needed more time between feeds, so it is worth also to keep in mind this possibility if around 4 months feeding becomes an issue.

[cath~]

Hi everyone - thanks for all your replies and suggestions.  I think the breast compression has definitely helped a bit.

I have tried lengthening the gap between feeds (whilst still watching for cues) and that did seem to help a bit too - so I know she can go 4 hours between feeds.  The problem is that her awake time/nap length is not yet really ready for a four hour cycle.  At the moment her total awake time (from waking up to being asleep again, so including wind down and nodding off) is, at most, about 1h30 when we're at home.  When we're out she can sometimes last a bit longer (when she's distracted and doesn't show her tired signs).  However, she usually only naps for 1hr30 at most, so with a 1h30 awake time this makes for a 3hr cycle!  When she wakes up I do wait until she seems hungry before feeding her but she's usually asking for food within 10 minutes.

I can lengthen her cycle to 4 hours more successfully if I take her out for a walk in the pram.  But she's not napping so well in it any more now.  Usually a 35-45 min nap, then about 30 mins awake quietly in the pram before she nods off again!

Hopefully her awake time will increase a bit soon and then it will be easier to space her feeds out a bit more when we're at home.  At the moment, the timings at the end of the day get a bit haphazard depending on how her naps have gone earlier in the day!

Anyway, thanks again for all the advice and suggestions!