11 week old feeding every 1hr 30 mins - anyone else

[MesM]

My 10+ 5 week old EBF baby son was in the rhythm of 3-4hr feeds (on demand) and sleeping 5hr stretches at night. However over the last week he's started to feed every hour/hour and a half and wake up for milk in the night. He's nearly doubled his weight since birth to 14lbs and produces lots of wet nappies so I thought in theory he could go without feeding longer?

I wondered if I might be misreading his feeding cues which have changed since he's got a bit older, so have tried distracting him but it was clear I made the wrong call. Eg I hold him and he'll then start to pull at my top and try to suck through clothing and then enthusiastically takes the breast.

I assume he is just working on something new developmentally but wanted to see if anyone has experienced this. I'm assuming its nothing to worry about?
Starting to get tiring like in the newborn days...

[mrsmugoo]

My almost 14 week old feeds every hour to hour and a half - he's tracking his percentile nicely so he's obviously just hungry and taking exactly what he needs,

If I listened to what "they" say about spacing feeds out to 3-4 hours he'd be hysterical.

[CanISayOfHerFace]

My 17 week old feeds every 2.5 to 3 hours but we've had phases of every 1 to 1.5 hours. When he then takes each breast for 30 minutes you don't get much done on days like that!

Sounds perfectly normal to me.

[lucy101]

I would say nothing to worry about. My 11 week old has days where she cluster feeds every morning and evening for a few hours each time
. I just try and go with the flow...

[MesM]

Thanks everyone! Good to know this is normal. I'll just steal myself for a few more sofa days and eat more snacks.

Silly question but does anyone know of resources that explain this type of thing to dads? I'm really tired because of broken sleep and my husband doesn't really seem to get mine or our baby's needs around breastfeeding.

[isitsnowingyet]

My Ds2 did that for the first 4 months of his life (except for the first 2 blissful weeks when he slept for long stretches at night). I gave up breastfeeding at the end of that 4 months because I couldn't take it (DS1 was 1 year old at the time)...

DS2 is now 13 and 5'11'' tall....So i suspect you may have a big lad there

[MasterFlea]

My first two dds fed every 45- 1 hour from birth to 9 months. Your own DS sounds like he may be coming to a growth spurt. Completely normal.

The best thing I did with DC1 was stopping looking at the clock. When I just answered her cues, we were both happier.

I'll have a look for some links for your DH.

[Lweji]

Whatever you need to know about breastfeeding should be in KellyMom or that you need to show your OH. :)

[Lweji]

As it's getting hotter he may be needing to feed to hydrate. Foremilk has a higher water content, so he might be needing just a drink, rather than a meal.
How long does he feed for? Do your breasts feel empty when he finishes?

[MesM]

Oh yes! I think we have hollow legs (gorgeous hollow chubby thighs). His dads 6'1 but grandads are 6'2 and 6'3 and uncle 6'4! He's already the same height ax the older babies in our NCT group but not so filled out.

[CanISayOfHerFace]

I must admit I don't mind a day on the sofa with a few good films when DS is on a feeding frenzy. Breastfeeding a good excuse to put my feet up.

Here's some information on frequent nursing.

[MasterFlea]

Info from Kellymom.com about growth spurts here

[MesM]

Thanks again Lewji and masterflies.
It occurred to me it might be thirst quenching - sometimes he snacks but he's also having big feeds.

Kellymom and the leche league websites have been a real help (I've had issues with over supply and reflux).

My husband is very supportive of breastfeeding in theory but in practice he struggles with the practicalities. Eg that it's normal for the babies pattern to change (and can feel like going backward as well as making progress sometimes) that I can feel tired after long feeds and don't have much downtime. He admits to feeling a bit "jealous" when the baby arrived and I think he feels left out with the constant feeding. I'vectried to explain, but if there's anything anyone knows of from a partners perspective I could show him it would be very helpful. Thank you

[MesM]

Thanks Master and CanISay for the links. Reassuring.

[allisgood1]

I remember there being a huge growth spurt around 12 weeks, and babies don't watch clocks! It's v v v likely to be a growth spurt and he will soon go back to sleeping those longer stretches soon

[fledermaus]

DC2 is 15 weeks and I'd estimate feeds about every 1-3 hours in the day and 3-4 hours at night.

DC1 fed every 2-2.5 hours in the day until about 6-7 months I think.

[Mim78]

My 15/16 week old feeds like this during the day - and hardly a sleep in the daytime - well, lots of v short ones I suppose. It helps him sleep at night and he is growing well. Not something I've forced, just what he does.