how can I get him to take more food at BF?

[cathbilson]

My LO is not quite 6 weeks old and has been on 3 hour EASY from the start (he was 9 pounds at birth). THe only problem is - he wakes a lot at night when we have a 3-hour day. Yesterday, for example, his first feed (not counting the one at 4am) was at 7.30 and was then fed basically every 3 hours. He went to bed at 7pm, got a cluster feed at 8.15, and woke at 10.20 hungry. i planned to do the dream feed at 11 when I normally do it. He woke again at 2.15 and then at 6. Now I know that in order to get him right today I'll basically end up doing 2 1/2 hour EASY and he'll get an extra feed during the day. Tonight he'll get the dream feed at 11, probably wake around 4, and then go through till 7. So effectively what we end up doing is alternating days on 3 hour and 2 1/2 hour EASY.
It seems obvious to me that on the 3-hour days, he's not getting enough food during the day to see him through the night. He's on the breast at all feeds except the 8pm and 11 pm feeds which are expressed milk in a bottle. I have plenty of milk so it's not a shortage. And I never take him off until I'm sure he's had enough - usually what happens is he pops off and starts yelling at me if I persist in trying to put the breast back in his mouth. So, has anyone got any tips on how to get him to take more food at these daytime feeds? Or should I just give up and keep him on 2 1/2 hour EASY until we get past waking at 4am to feed? Any advice appreciated!

[Mrs. Gravy]

You can try doing breast compressions during the day, to get him to drink more hindmilk.

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/15breast_compression.html

Keep in mind though, that at 5-6 weeks old, it's quite normal for a baby to want to nurse every 2-3 hours.  Their tummies are very tiny at this age, and can only hold so much milk.  Breast milk is digested very quickly which is why bf babies tend to get hungry sooner than a ff baby.

Six weeks is also a typical growth spurt, so you may find you need to throw the whole routine out the window for a few days.  It's important to nurse frequently during a growth spurt so your milk supply will increase to what baby needs as he's growing.

Is there any chance he has nipple confusion or nipple preference?  It's a lot easier to get milk from a bottle than the breast in most cases, and sometimes babies will learn to prefer the bottle, and may refuse the breast.

http://nursing.jbpub.com/Lactation/clip.htm
http://www.breastfeed-essentials.com/avoidingnipple.html

He is still very young, and honestly, I don't know a whole lot of babies who were sleeping through the night at such a young age.  I'd give it at least a few more weeks before trying to extend the length of time between feedings, but that's just me.  My son is 10 months old and I still feed on demand.  His schedule is more like EAEAEAEASY, but it works for us.

[cathbilson]

I'm pretty sure it's not nipple confusion. In fact we can usually only get him to take the bottle when he's half asleep, otherwise he spits it out in disgust and screams at me. 
I guess I'll probably just surrender to the inevitable and go with 2 1/2 hour EASY for the moment. It's a daily recalculation anyway as to what time to feed him, depending on what time he wakes in the morning - anywhere from 6 to 7.30! I guess when he stops waking for the 3-4 am feed is time enough to start thinking about dropping one feed during the day. And yes, I know he's a great sleeper and lots of mums would kill to be in my position - but even those of us with Angel (or almost- Angel) babies sometimes wish for just a little more consistency. 

[RachelC]

I know how you feel with the desire to have some consistancy.  It seems as though your have an lo who needs more frequent feeds.  I think the important thing about EASY is to keep in mind that it is a routine and not a set in stone schedule.  In other words, there is no need to "calculate" the day from when he wakes.  Listen to him and learn his cues... If he gives a hunger cue at 2.5 hours, feed him... if he goes 3 hours feed him then.

Has there always been night wakings when feeds were closer to 3 hrs apart?  If it began all of a sudden, it could be a growth spurt, in which case things will calm down again soon.

[cathbilson]

His night wakings have always been erratic. Some nights it's 3 hours between waking, more usually it's around 4 - dream feed at 10.30, wake at 2.30, wake at 6.30. A few times he's done 10.30 right through till 4.
As for the recalculating, yes I agree that I should listen for his hunger cues - but the problem is that when I do that I get all off track. He's quite capable of going 4 hours between feeds in the day, not waking up from a nap, and then I end up feeding him at a really awkward time in the afternoon, and then he is either way overtired when it comes to his bath or he wants to play afterwards when I'm trying to put him to bed!  So each morning I work out roughly what times I have to feed him in order to make his afternoon feed at 4.15 or 4.30, and then go from there - so the EASY cycles can be anywhere between 2 1/2 and 3 hours long. Does anyone else do this? Or am I being way too anal-retentive?

[liesl67]

I was so relieved when I read your messages because I am going through the exact same patern with my almost 8 week old son.  He usually wakes for the day sometime between 6:15 and 7:15 am and we nurse then for a good 45 minutes, including burping and diapering.  Then it is sometimes a struggle to pull off a 3 hour EASY because he has apparently built up quite an appetite overnight and usually I will end up feeding him around 2 1/2 hrs. later.  But let's just say I am describing a"great" day (well, that would also mean no tummy issues or over stimulation from Big Brother) and baby Shyan is being patient and has waited 3 whole hours.  From this point on we have a typical 3 hour EASY with an emphasis on the S.  Don't get me wrong, so far so good, and I am not complaining...exactly.  I am pretty good at distinguishing between the long drawn out wail, building up to a desperate holler of a hungry Shyan and the "cough" crying and kicking of a tired Shyan.  But towards the early evening hours about 4:30 (usually just and hour or so after a feeding) he gets rather cranky and wants to nurse again or suck furiously on his "binky" as if he were starving to death!  Now I know this not to be so seeing as I just finished feeding him litterally 20 minutes ago (mind you I started and hour+ back, but since the time I finished and put him down, not too long) and I am determined not to start doubting my milk supply at this point.   Finally he will get his evening meal, usually 2 1/4 - 2 3/4 hours later, at sometime around 6:30 or 7 p.m.  This feeding usually get drawn out with a lot of burping and re-waking the angel who has fallen asleep at least 5 times during the feeding (he is almost always asleep at the boob) and then it's off to a warm shower with Daddy and Big Brother before getting into our Jammies and heading off to sleep for the night.  By this time it is about 8 or 8:30  and he gets a 10-15 minute top off before going down for the night.  I don't hear from him again until about 2 a.m and then he is really hungry. He'll nurse vigorously for a good 15 minutes and then slows down but still swallowing regularly for about another 10 and then comfort sucking for about  5 more.  Once he goes down after this meal he will stay asleep until 6:15 or 7 am depending, of course on how many 3 hour and how many 2 1/2 hour cycles we've had that particular day.  I noticed when he was waking up to eat again around 4:30 after a 2 am feeding, that he was only really sucking/swallowing for about 5 minutes, and to get him started again each time he stopped was such a struggle!  Finally I decided to try giving him the binky and low and behold, after knocking it out just a few times that night, fussing and then Mommy replacing it, we have learned to totally skip that wake up most nights!  This means I am getting one 6 hour break followed by another 4-5 hour break most nights!  Not bad considering that until I started EASY 3 weeks ago we were still on demand about every 2 hours around the clock!  I was exhausted!!!
If yours already uses a pacifier/binky you might try this trick for one of those middle of the night or early morning wake up calls.  I wish you the best of luck and remember...be patient.  It has been said a million times before but is well worth hearing yet another time, that just when you think you can't take one more day like the one you just had, with sore boobs, no sleep, no bath, and no patience; Just when you seem at your wits end; That is when it all changes for the better and you are staring into the eyes of a chronically happy baby who just can't help but make you squeal with glee.  Remeber we are the lucky ones. 

[Sam's mum]

Hi

My lo was on 2.5 EASY for ages although when she was really little we sometimes switched to 2hours.  I used to "calculate" my day but always knew that there was a lot of wiggle room and she might be hungry before that.  I always found having at least some idea of what would be happening when (feeding sleeping etc.) helped to plan out my day, which meant I could meet people for coffee or visit relatives.  We just always gave the proviso that it would be within an hour of when we said we would be there and then I would normally watch her cues when we we're nearing the mark.

Having said that the whole thing has gone to pot at least twice for a number of days due to growth spurts and teething .  I just really appreciated having used EASY prior to these are I was more able to figure her out when she was really upset as well as had something to fall back on once things had settled down .  Keep with it - the routine, it does pay off in the end - our dd is now 17weeks old, very textbook and we normally have a happy little bunny who is now very easy to read.