Hello, this is my first post.
I am breastfeeding a 15-week old mellow fellow, as I was callling him up until recently. Until he was 8 1/2 weeks old he was a fast (10 mins, right from the start) feeder, who also spat up a lot and put on phenomenal weight, on average 12 oz a week for the first 6 weeks, once he stopped losing it. He had always woken no more twice at night. And he seemed very content.
Then, about 7 weeks age, he had what seemed like a growth spurt, waking early for feeds. But it never really settled down. I think I have eliminated other causes and that it must be a problem with my milk supply. For example, the first 2 weeks of the period coincided with a lot of disruption, so I waited to see if the return of routine would help. In fact it got worse, and began to affect his nights, as well as his days. So his 2 10-minute night feeds (and my joy of rarely losing more than half an hour's sleep) worsened. He has by now had every sort of a night imaginable. I thought it might be primarily a sleep problem, but he often falls asleep without a problem, and does still at times have his long 2 to 3 hour morning nap. I even did a pregnancy test, because I read that that can be a cause of unexplained problems with breastfeeding. I got him weighed and was gaining a normal (last time 5 oz a week) amount, not the huge amount that made me think his spitting up was caused by overfeeding. So I got Gaviscon, for reflux, which has improved things, but more in the laundry department. I went back to demand feeding as if he was a newborn, although as a newborn I frequently had to wake him. I even tried feeding him less frequently. Nothing has helped.
A few things make me think it is a supply problem. One is that I feel less full. And one night I was out 2 1/2 hours past a feed, and didn't feel engorged. Also we have been struggling to get him to drink formula and the first time he did was 2 nights ago when he woke at 8 pm when the next feed was scheduled for 10, but that previously would have been at 1 am if I didn't wake him. And he drank 4 oz of formula and had about 5 minutes at the breast. When his now 2-year-old brother had a week like this at 4 months old he went on solids and it did the trick, but at 2 months he was too young. I have just decided not to go back to work until 2007, and no longer need to get him to drink formula so soon, but it is formula or baby rice I fear, unless anyone can help.
I might add that he does seem to need a lot less sleep than he did. And he seems more unsettled than grumpy. The buggy or sling don't put him to sleep when he is like this, although the car seat does.
I am not posting a routine, because that has gone.
Any suggestions?
Thank you.
