Sorry - a follow on question

[small1]

Thankyou to those who replied to my last post, but I wondered....

My HV states that I should feed for 20 mins at a time (I can't get him past 10 mins) and that I should feed once every 3 hours, that way he will get the hind milk and put on weight. 

My question is: what I was doing before her intervention was offering the breast whenever, probably every hour at home and possibly longer if we were out and only offering one breast for about a three hour period, sometimes he would feed other times not, but on this routine he only woke once a night.  On this more restricted schedule he is waking twice.  Since I would prefer to only get up once in the night, is it true that he wouldn't have been getting the hind milk?  Should you always offer both?

Thanks
Ali

[deb]

My HV states that I should feed for 20 mins at a time (I can't get him past 10 mins) and that I should feed once every 3 hours, that way he will get the hind milk and put on weight. 

My question is: what I was doing before her intervention was offering the breast whenever, probably every hour at home and possibly longer if we were out and only offering one breast for about a three hour period, sometimes he would feed other times not, but on this routine he only woke once a night. On this more restricted schedule he is waking twice. Since I would prefer to only get up once in the night, is it true that he wouldn't have been getting the hind milk?  Should you always offer both?

I missed the last post, but..... if your DS isn't going more than 10 minutes, that isn't necessarily a sign of a problem; till her 3-month growth spurt, Natalie was maybe 10-15 minutes TOTAL, and it's just now that she needs more that she's on there significantly longer (at 5 months).

While nursing, I sometimes will try breast compression, basically trying to make sure she's getting all the hindmilk in that side before I change sides (1 side usuallyisn't enough these days), as Nat tends to get lazy when she doesn't have to gulp. :roll: LOL

I don't remember how old your DS is (maybe you could put his birthdate as part of your signature?), but it's possible that the feed schedule change is coinciding with a growth spurt and that's why he's up more?

[GraceKellysmom]

If you were using one breast per 3 hr period, then he was getting more hindmilk.

I either missed or don't remember your last post,  :oops:  I'm sorry. Are you being seen for low/no weight gain? How does he feel about going 3 hrs between feeds?

[small1]

My lo has just turned 11 weeks, and had been putting on 5/6 oz per week which to me was fine.  But I was offering the breast often as I hadn't got clued up on his sleeping etc..  Then we went to the Dr who routinely weighed him (different scales) and he had only put on 3oz in 9 days which wasn't good.  So my HV told me to only feed once every three hours and to offer both breasts.  When what I had been doing was offering probably every hour (whilst at home) and always offering the same breast first for about a three hour period. 

Well I have sort of gone back to my old routine now, but I am more clued up on his sleeping, so the past couple of days I have been offering more often than 3 hours, and he has gone back to only waking once.  But I was worried that he wouldn't be getting the hind milk, and so not put on as much weight, is this true?  (My HV said that he would just be getting lots of foremilk fi I offered more than every 3 hours.)

Thanks
Ali

[GraceKellysmom]

I think a lot of people are confused about the whole foremilk/hindmilk thing. From what I understand, the milk is all the same. It is more watery at the beginning because the fat is stuck deeper in the ducts. More sucking draws out more fat with the milk. By staying on the same breast, you are drawing that fat out, and your body should make what he demands no matter how you want to feed. It just needs time to adjust if you're making changes.

From 4-6 months, babies do not gain weight at the incredible rate they did in the first 3 months. They start slowing down slightly. Kellymom.com says that infants 0-4 months should gain 4-7oz per week. 4-6 months should gain 4-5 oz per week. But think about how many variables there are. Different scales, different clothes, diaper on/off, just pooped a ton, has/hasn't eaten before weighing. You could really "tip" the scales if you were trying. Instead, I'd want to look at your baby and see - is he happy? Is he sleeping ok? (now) Is his output ok?

My dd was a "slow gainer" and I got so sick of people telling me how tiny she was. She was just meant to be petite, and she still is petite. She knows when she is hungry/full too. I nursed Max the exact same way and he is huge. Just a different baby.

You know your baby ... try not to get caught up in the weight gain game the doctor is making you play. Is it possible to switch HVs?  :roll:

[small1]

Thanks very much for your reply, I took him to be weighted yesterday, and again he is putting on 5/6 oz and so maybe the Dr's scales were just different.  I think I will just ignore it, and just get him weighed monthly and be glad to only be up once in the night.  Thanks again you have put my mind at rest,
best wishes
Ali

p.s. with my dd she only put on 2oz a week (a refluxer) so to me 5/6oz is loads.

[GraceKellysmom]

p.s. with my dd she only put on 2oz a week (a refluxer) so to me 5/6oz is loads.

I agree!  :wink:

[Nik99]

Hi, I just wanted to add that the more frequent the feedings, the higher the fat content (hindmilk) you start with.  Here's a link that explains exactly what GraceKellysmom was saying.  (She's very smart).


http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/foremilk-hindmilk.html