EAT > Breast Feeding
Help with BF and EASY
JennVanessa1083:
Preterm (36weeksat 3 lbs 4oz) now is 9 weeks old. She spent 2 weeks I. The NICU and was put on a 3 hour feeding schedule. For the most part that is what she does. She tends to take one breast at a tine and will usually go for 3 hours without hunger sometimes 2.5.
She seems to be going through a developmental leap (Wonder Weeks Week 1) and wants to nurse more. She is waking up early from her naps and won’t resettle crying what sounds like hunger cries.
Is it ok that she feeds sometimes every 2 hours? I’m wondering from her recent growth (7lbs and grew some inches in the last two weeks) if maybe she’s ready for both breasts at each feed? How do I know with a bottle if we should give her more? She does 70ml when we give a bottle which is only once or twice a night. I’m weary of feeding too much because she struggled with reflux for weeks and I had an oversupply with a forceful letdown which caused lots of gas and spit up issues.
I’m trying to do EASY but she sometimes still eats and falls straight to sleep, napping for awhile or will snooze thwn wake up to finish. Sometimes she can last up to an A time of an hour without getting overtired.
Should I be a little more strict about A times? It’s hard because she was preterm and small so I’m having a hard time navigating whether to handle this as if she’s a 9 week old or handle this as if she were 5 weeks (adjusted age)
Any tips or thoughts would be amazing!
Katet:
Some of the advice in BW books is outdated and research has shown it’s not best practice. In the first few months it’s better to BF on demand rather than by time. If she is upset and settles with a feed, don’t secon guess if it’s ok to feed, just feed. She’s still tiny and even at 3 mo my full term 4kg baby struggled to go 3 hours then suddenly at close to 4mo he fed more like 4 hours... he’s an almost 6ft skinny teenager now so the chubby (allegedly) overfed baby that he was hasn’t made him a chubby teen.
In my opinion never hold back on food, worry less about their age etc and more about listening to them and what they are telling you they need. I’m thinking given he birth age and the fact they often catch up at around a week per month, she’s possibly going through the 6 week growth spurt having been through the 3/4 week one so will want more feeding if that’s the case.
JennVanessa1083:
Thank you for this! Do you think I should start waking her at the same tine everyday bolster when her last waking was? I want to try to establish some predictability within reason of course for when my husband goes back to work. I’ll have a school drop off for my 3.5 year old so I’m thinking about how that will all play out.
Also I’m thinking of starting a form of shh/pat. Is there a modified way to do it? The shushing and patting doesn’t seem to calm her.
Katet:
I think it's a good idea to start putting in place the rituals that help teach a routine. So while not necessarily waking at exactly the same time, having a rituals that can indicate a pattern.
If she's like my youngest who would sleep in the car and mostly transfer. I would feed, change and we'd leave to take DS1 to an activity. Then I'd transfer DS2 to a stroller to have his nap If I wasn't taking DS1 somewhere wed often go shopping or to the park just because it became our morning routine to follow that pattern but I could wake him at a time to suit the day, although over time he started waking around the same time anyway.
I didn't do sh/Pat (shshing did my head in) I found just stroking their heads helped. If they didn't settle lying down I'd walk around the house with them on my shoulder patting their bottom. I think sometimes it's more trial and error than an exact science.
JennVanessa1083:
Ok I can definitely work on morning routines.
One last question: I’m confused about bedtime. Should I be aiming for a 12 hour day? What does that look like for a baby who only does about 45-1hr of A time? Is she at an age of needing a balance of day/night sleep?
Her naps have been broken in the last few days so it’s hard to post an EASY. She usually naps 1.5-2.5 hours (I wake her to not go over 3hours in eating). This week she has been doing 45 minute naps then will sometimes go back to sleep with AP for the rest. However, there are times like today where she won’t. At night she’s stretching out to 3/4hours before waking for a feed.
I know development has something to do with it bc she’s now starting to coo and smile.
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