Is my almost 2 week old feeding enough?

[Edgardane]

My son was born 9 lbs 5 ounces.  Before we left the hospital he was 8 lbs 13 ounces.  At his one week he was 9lbs 4 ounces.  He has really only been eating for about ten minutes on one side and maybe 3 or 4 on the other.  Sometimes I have a hard time keeping him awake to feed longer.  Other times he's clearly awake, but not sucking if I try to keep him at my boob longer.  He's is going 3 hours between feedings.  I've been waking him up to feed.  I'm following Baby Wise and Baby Whisperer E.A.S.Y.  He seems very content and is a good sleeper.  I want to know if he's getting enough to eat in such a short time?  He has plenty of wet and soiled diapers.  I also want to know if I should start him on a 4 hour schedule so he's hungrier when he wakes up?  BW says to wait until weeks 9-15 for 4 hour schedule.  But I didn't know if since he's a big baby, I can start it sooner.  I have his two week appointment in 2 days, so I'll see if he's gained weight.

[RachelC]

Edgardan,
I would not be concerned.  He would be letting you know if he was hungry!  He's content and producing the diapers, he's fine.  Both of my daughters were dubbed "super suckers" and I was really worried the first time around.  Then at her 1 month appointment we learned that she had gained 3 pounds in her first month... panic gone!  Your son has already gained back to birth weight.  I would not move to a 4 hour unili 4 months, it's not that he's not hungry, he's just efficient - enjoy that he's not attached to you forever!
~Rachel

[Samuel's mum]

I really would caution you against going to a 4 hr feeding schedule with such a young baby. It used to be the orthodox view that 4 hour schedules were the way to go and everyone started on them and then found they had supply problems. It's one of the reasons that breastfeeding rates were so low in the UK beyond the first few weeks in the 1970s and 1980s. It's only more recently now that we know it's not advisable that breastfeeding rates have picked up. Breastmilk is digested in under 3 hours. Some young babies may not exhibit clear hunger cues and will appear not to mind - especially the sleepy ones. The feeding times you are describing are not unusual and you just have to try and keep him awake if you can. Young babies that are very sleepy can end up feeding less and I wouldn't aim to schedule less feeds.

Here's a quick quote:
"The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" by La Leche League International says "The more the baby nurse effectively, the more milk there will be. Understanding this 'golden rule' of breastfeeding is the key to an abundant milk supply and a contented baby. Years ago, mothers were often told to wait four hours between feedings so that their breasts would 'fill up'. Many a mother and baby had a short-lived breastfeeding experience due to this well intentioned but erroneous advice. It is now well understood that milk is produced almost continuously, and that the more often and effectively the baby nurses, the more milk there will be. Thus, the mother of a baby who is nursing every two hours will have a bountiful milk supply, while the mother who is trying to 'hold off' the baby and nurse only every four hours will have considerably less milk. Frequent and effective sucking at the breast signals the mother's body to produce a correspondingly increased amount of milk.""

This is still very early days and your milk supply needs to be established. You have some mega-growth spurts to come!
Talk to your doctor and preferably a lactation consultant too if you are worried.

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

I agree completely!  If he's otherwise happy and producing enough wet and dirty diapers then that's the best sign (along with weight gain) that he's getting enough).  But I really really agree with waiting to move to a 4 hour cycle until he's MUCH older.  You run the risk of making him so frantically hungry that he'll actually eat less and fall asleep from exhaustion.  I would also caution you about Babywise - I know it has a lot of the same concepts superficially as Babywhisperer, but I know when I read it, I had serious concerns, particularly if breastfeeding.  His expectations are really unrealistic for most babies, and I'd hate for you to become frustrated when your lo isn't doing what he outlines.

Also, it's a common misconception that big babies need to BF less often than smaller babies or that they need to be started on solids earlier.  Every baby is different.  I know plenty of big babies who fed every 2.5 hrs (happily) for months!    You sound like the 2 of you are doing great - just keep listening to his cues and you'll get there!

[JacobMarksMummy]

I second all that advice. Its sound like you are doing great and I would think that like with most babies the progression of your son from 3 to 4 hour easy will be a gradual one. Try not to compare your LO with other babies as 'normal' varies greatly, also, try not o get too hung up about growth charts as these are based on the averages of FF infants who invariably are larger than BF infants due to formula being harder to digest. Therefore ff infants take longer to digest there milk and that is why they are larger.

Keep up the good work!!!