To Nurse or Paci?

[melbrad]

My lo is 3 months old and she usually wakes 2 times/night.  I'm wondering what would be a good rule of thumb to determine if I should feed or use a paci.  My lo will take the breast anytime so it's hard to determine what to do at times.  Any suggestions?

[teezee]

try and settle lo with shh/pat or paci or whatever you feel comfortable with - if lo settles back to sleep and sleeps for longer than an hour you can rule out hunger...if lo wakes within an hr or so - feed - lo is hungry! also, judge by how long lo goes without feeding during the day..if he wakes an hr after being fed you know that he isn't hungry and maybe just needs to be settled or has gas or something else underlying.  good luck!

[melbrad]

Thank You.  Last night I fed her at 815 and she slept from 845 to 2 am.  I fed her because I assumed she was hungry.  Typically for a 3 month old, how many feedings in a 24 hr. is the norm.  She is brestfed

[teezee]

i know at 3 months i fed my lo every three hrs during the day. and at least 1-2 times at night..sometimes more..but my lo was pre term and very tiny until about four months also. i think you lo did great last night to have gone from 8:15 to 2am without a feeding - congrats!