Hello all...
Here's the situation. I've had my son on EASY from the start and he's 5 weeks old now. Lately, his eating habits have changed (he's breastfed exclusively) and I'm a bit concerned. For the first 2.5 weeks he ate every 3 hours and was on the breast for at least 30 minutes each feed. But in the past 2.5 weeks he eats every 2-3 hours and doesn't stay on the breast as long. At first, he started to only eat for 20 minutes, and i figured that since he is getting bigger, maybe he's becoming a more efficient eater, especially because most of the time he goes 3 hours between feeds. But as the days progress, he's been feeding for less time. 15 minutes... 12 minutes... and i'm so confused. I burp him when he gets off and try to put him back on. Sometimes he'll eat for another few minutes and sometimes he won't. He doesn't seem hungry when he's done but the breast doesn't feel as empty as it used to.
Yesterday I struggled to get him to eat for longer than 10 minutes at each feed. But like i said, he would still last for 2.5-3 hours between feeds. Last night, he woke up at 2:30 and 6:30...giving 4 hours between feeds. This morning, he ate for 8 minutes and would not eat anymore. He was still rooting but refused to eat. I even switched sides (I'm a single-side feeder) to the other breast, just to ensure that it wasn't a low milk supply- although my breast still felt like it was full enough. But he wouldn't take the other breast either. He cried when i put him close the breast. I burped him and still nothing.
He weighed 8'11 at birth and by his 2 week dr. visit, he regained his birthweight plus a few more ounces. By his 4.5 week visit, he weighed 10'1. The boy is definitely eating! But i'm not so sure about the decline of the length of his feeds. I want to ensure he's getting the hind milk.
Is there any advice you can give me? Also... how do you get a baby to eat more? Appreciate it...
