Growth spurt question

[ENMS]

I know in the book Tracy recommends to pump one jour after feeding the baby during growtj spurts and then using the pumped milk to top up baby.

Problem is that DD wants to feed every 1-2 hours (we're in the 4m GS) so it feels like pumping would reduce the milk available to her?

[Erin M]

I think the whole purpose of adding that pumping session was to encourage your body to produce more -- and since your baby is effectively doing that, I don't think I would bother adding the pumping in along with additional feeds.  If it doesn't settle down after several days, I might reevaluate (your ticker looks like it's the 4 month growth spurt, ugh) but I'd say that if she wants to feed at that extra time right now, I'd go with it.  You might make sure you're trying all the usual tricks for getting more into her at her "normal" feed time (breast compressions, going back to the first breast again after the second) but if she's truly hungry I'd feed her again.

[ENMS]

Thanks! I Will do as you suggest!

The other issue I have is that she is super curious and distracted so it is hard to get a big feed into her. That was fine for a while but now with the GS it is causing problems because she is constantly hungry during the day and then she has NF every 3 hours.

I have tried feeding her in a dark room when she wakes but after a few minutes she looks towards the door and she becomes unhappy!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Can you catch her before she is fully awake from her naps? I think I did that with DD2, so sort of a dream feed in the day. Oh and I was never successful at pumping so we made it through all gs by just feeding on demand no matter how close together the feeds were.

[weaver]

Any chance she's a fast feeder? I mean, that her distraction in fact signals she's finished?

I'm another who didn't do extra pumping for GS, just more frequent feeds and bigger ones if possible by offering the other breast (and the first one again if needed). Don't read too much into her demands, it is a spurt so shouldn't last more than a week or so.

[ENMS]

There's usually one nap a day that I Wake her so I can get her very sleepy for that feed, but that's about it.

Anne, yes, I think she has become a fast feeder in the past week or so as I was initially worried her feed time shortened significantly, but I weighed her and her weight gain was normal so I assumed she was a fast feeder.

I would really like to increase the size her feeds. She still wakes twice at night (even before the GS, now we're at 3!) so I am trying to get more calories into her during the day, but I'm not very successful!