5 week old eating every 2 hours - is this ok?

[peacefulwarrior]

Hello,
My five week old son is breastfeeding every two hours.  Sometimes it's even less than that.  I've had him on the E A S Y routine since he was 5 days old.  Granted, he hasn't always had the awake time but I don't use the boob as a prop to put him to sleep.  I do have to use the sling, the swing, white noise, etc.  Anyway, he eats every two hours, for anywhere from 10-25 minutes on one side.  Is this normal?
In the night he will go longer (yay!) Up to four hours. 
I am just concerned because I wanted to start pumping but I can't pump if I only have two hours in between feedings.  It's just not feasible.  It's barely enough time for me to eat and rest myself!
The problem is that when he wakes up he always wants to eat.  So if he skips the A time or has very little A time, he'll be up again in less than two hours to eat.
Do you recommend I try to keep him up after eating to give him more A time?
Also, I plan to go back to work at 3 months.  Any idea how often he will be feeding then?
Thanks so much!
Monica

[Erin M]

At 5 weeks, he could still very well need to eat every 2 hours, especially if he's going longer at night.  I would just try to make sure that you're not misinterpreting a sleepy cue for a hungry cue (I was fairly miserable at interpreting cues at 5 weeks, but it is worth mentioning). 

If he's only feeding one side, you can pump the other side while he feeds -- do you think that would work?

At 3 months, he should be feeding around every 3 hours during the day.  There is (of course) variation in that!

[peacefulwarrior]

Thanks Erin!
So it's a good idea to start pumping on the opposite side.  Even if I just did it once a day to start.....That seems maneagable thanks!
Right now I'm following his cues but I'm basically feeding him every time he wakes up.  Because when he wakes up he starts rooting around and sucks on his hand.
And then about 30 min to 1 hour later I try to put him to bed.
He sleeps best in the sling but I'd like to get him to be more of an independent sleeper - do you think it's too early and we shouldn't expect this til about 3 months?
I know that in the BW book she recommends "starting as you want to go on", but it just seems he doesn't sleep well unless he's in the sling on me.
If I spend time trying to get him to sleep other ways he often ends up overtired and crying alot.
Otherwise he barely cries, in general.
Any recommendations on the sleeping tip or should I move over to a sleep board? 
Thanks!
Monica

[Erin M]

do you think it's too early and we shouldn't expect this til about 3 months?

At 5 weeks, they're still so new to this world and there's so much to get used to.  I would not worry too much about independent sleep right now. 
There is some good information here: Getting started - how I survived the first 3 months
and here: Breastfeeding and EASY in the first few weeks
about the first few months and what to expect.

When dd1 was tiny, I tried WAY too hard to get her to sleep independently for all of her naps and really it just stressed me out completely.  With dd2 and ds I really focused on just getting them down independently for one nap every day and setting up a good bed time routine.  The rest of their naps came however I could get them to nap (and there are few things in the world quite as lovely as a tiny napping baby curled up on you...of course the swing, car seat, etc works well too). 

There's some more information here about teaching sleep: Teaching Sleep to Newborns and Young Infants -- like I said, I wouldn't worry about getting all (or even most...or even half!) of his naps independently but there is some good advice there for working on it. 

Hope that helps!

[Fiver]

I would totally agree with Erin.  There's a lot to which they need to adjust in those first couple of months and they're spending time developing a bond with you, so cuddles are always good

We just worked on a bedtime routine when DD was first born.

[peacefulwarrior]

Hello again!
So Myles is 7 weeks today and STILL breastfeeding all the time.  Today it's been even more - like every hour and a half!
I haven't started pumping yet bc honestly, I just don't want to have a machine on one side as I bf him on the other. 
But I'm not sure if the issue is that he's just not staying asleep long enough bc he's hungry again.  Or does he have trouble staying asleep and he just associates waking up with eating?
If the case is that he's hungry again, should I start trying to feed him on both sides at one feeding?  Maybe that way he'll eat more and sleep longer?
If the case is that he can't keep himself asleep for long enough, what do I do about that?
If I were a SAHM, I would just deal with him being on the boob this month.  But I do have to go back to work in 7 weeks and I'm worried about setting this precendent for him and not having enough time at work to pump all this milk, cuz I certainly can't pump every 2 hours.
thanks so much for any insight!
Monica

[Erin M]

If the case is that he's hungry again, should I start trying to feed him on both sides at one feeding?

I would do this and see where it gets you. 

Today it's been even more - like every hour and a half!

Could be a growth spurt, they happen often in the first few months.

If the case is that he can't keep himself asleep for long enough, what do I do about that?

Depends on the cause -- it could be that he needs to be up for a little bit longer before his nap (how long is he up right now?) -- could also be that he needs some help staying asleep -- does he flail around when he wakes at all?  Might be worth a post on EASY to see if you need some tweaking. 

But I do have to go back to work in 7 weeks and I'm worried about setting this precendent for him and not having enough time at work to pump all this milk, cuz I certainly can't pump every 2 hours.

I know it's hard, but don't panic yet!  A LOT can happen in 7 weeks -- think about how much happened in the first 7 weeks!

[Fiver]

Double sided feeding at this stage will do wonders for your supply later on as well.