Have I created a boobie monster?

Help! I've been demand feeding Alexander from birth which intially was hourly, then progressed to 2 hourly, then settled to a nice 2.5-3 hourly during the day and 4 hourly during the night. He is a big weight gainer... gaining easily 250-400 grams per week since birth.

The last couple of days he has started wanting 2 hourly feeds again, and last night was 1.5 hourly!!!! My nipples are sore from the frequent feeding despite attaching him properly. Each feed is lasting up to 20 minutes so I am getting very little time out between feeds. He is also not settling well and is more reflux-y than normal since this new feeding pattern.

If I try holding off the feed he really starts crying and is pretty much inconsolable (other than offering the boobie).

Any ideas as to what is going on, suggestions on what i might be doing wrong or what I could try?

He might be having a bit of a growth spurt & just needs some extra at the moment...

He is always having big growth spurts! lol...

Awww it really can be tiring cant it. I really dont think you are doing anything wrong at all...sounds very normal to me. Hes putting on lots of weight which is fantastic.

Jo

Thanks for the support girls... it's nice to hear the word "normal" for once.

The health nurses are a whole lot less supoortive and keep telling me that if I allow to feed that often he'll get into the habit of doing so and that he is gaining too much weight.

I tried extending his feeds a little for a few days and it's just too distressing for both of us... so will continue to demand feed the little guy.

The little bubbies go through growth spurts at 6 and 12 weeks, so it looks like your little (BIG) man is doing what he's supposed to.
I'm surprised the health nurses haven't explained to you the concept of demand feeding during spurts. Silly women!!
They will just feed and feed and feed for a few days, then they sleep andsleep and sleep for a few more. Its nice when they go into the sleeping phase ;)

If he's around 6 weeks old, yup it's a growth spurt! hehe. Tallon was the same, was a very frequent feeder for the first 3 months, and during growth spurts, seemed to be always on the boob. At around 6 weeks we had a few days where all he wanted was boob and to sleep on me. At the time you feel like it's going to go forever, but before you know it, you're looking back at the time he fed so frequently! Like Tanya said, it's always changing.

You're doing a great job.. sounds like he's growing well! (ps.. that'll slow down eventually too :) LOL)

From memory too bubs weight gain really does slow down dramatically once they hit 4 months too.

Jo

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They will just feed and feed and feed for a few days, then they sleep andsleep and sleep for a few more.

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Oh bring on the sleeping phase.... please!!!!! He is so clingy atm too, wants to be held all the time/non stop. Going to the loo is a challenge, let alone having a shower!

Wow feeding 1 hourly - you're doing well I think! How does he get sleep when he's feeding that often? How do you know he is hungry? I still don't feel very good at reading my baby's cries.

I'm not judging, just honestly curious. I thought I was sort of "demand feeding" but I guess I'm partly doing that and partly routine. I'm not really sure?!

you are doing a great job anna. your bubba sound perfectly normal to me. when mine were that young whenever they cried i always tried feeding first and then tried other things if they were not interested. i never look at the clock with regard to my baby so i never had to worry about it's only been an hour or whatever since the last feed cos i just didn't know, it is better for me that way i don't need extra stress! i also sling my bubba (and yes even to the toilet, infact at 14months i can still have him in the sling and go to the toilet!) and found that to be the most settling for him. he also slept much better in there. my suggestion is get rid of your clocks and answer his needs without the worry of time. keep up the good work.
beckles

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How do you know he is hungry?

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He starts sucking on my boobie through my shirt when I pick him up!

As to sleep... hmmm, he's power napping between feeds atm.

LOL at sucking through your shirt!!! Matilda would feed on/off for 4 hours straight and then sleep for a little while & want to feed again when she was 6 weeks. She was like clockwork, but would do these cluster feeds where she would stay on for hours & then come off for 2-3 and then back on for hours.... I think she sipped and slept LOL. It was painful and frustrating when all you want to do is make a coffee or go to the toilet, but you are doing a great job!! I'll be remembering this in a few months time ;)

I was reluctant to post a response to this in case I made you feel worse! Siobhan was exactly like this. She sometimes fed hourly during the night for a week or so and then reverted to her standard two hourly feeds with occasional 4 hour stretches. She fed 2 to 3 hourly during the day also, more frequently in the early evening.

The day feeds started really stretching out at around 16 months when she first really took to solids. The night feeds stayed the same until she was around 18 months. Now at 2.5 she can go all day without a feed if there is lots going on. If we are just at home she will probably have 3 or 4 feeds during the day. At night she sleeps all night 5 out of 7 and if she needs a feed during the night it will be 1 or 2 only.

Early on I decided to ditch all expectations about how often she would feed and when she would sleep through the night. I became much more relaxed.

I also know that breastfeeding, while of course nutritionally fantastic, is about more than just nutrition. Having a relaxed attitude to housework and co-sleeping really made it all quite easy. This is not to say it wasn't sometimes frustrating, it certainly was, but I am glad I didn't try to force her into a routine she wasn't ready for.

Thanks ladies... just an update with some good news.

Xander is still feeding 2 hourly during the day, sometimes 3 (if he has a nap), but sometimes hourly (first thing in the morning).... BUT he now sleeps most of the night most nights of the week! Generally he goes down between 8 - 8.30pm and he doesn't wake till after 4am for the next feed, then he goes back down for another couple of hours.

At least now that I am getting decent sleep at night, with the exception of getting engorgement big time and needing to express at around 4am... this usually gives me about 200mLs from one breast whilst Xander feeds from the other. I now give this EBM as a before bed 'top up' after his evening bath - since I've been doing this, he has slept through the night.

Oh, and he is still gaining weight at a crazy rate... he has more than doubled his birth weight already at 12 weeks! yikes.