does my 6mo really need to bf this frequently?

[reastie]

6mo feeding really really frequently esp at certain times of day and I can't determine if this is as she actually needs the food or just wants a bit of comfort (and has started needing to feed to go to sleep quite a bit).

We have been weaning for about 3 weeks but up until the last few days she hasn't really taken much, she's really starting to get the hang now though .

so for example this morning she has fed 3 times in 3.5 hours. The first feed was a good long feed but the second 2 were shorter and she went straight to sleep after. She displayed tired signs before feeding but wouldn't go to sleep when I tried everything else.

in the evening it is common for her to feed every 30 mins - 1 1/2 hrs from about 5pm until 10pm. Sometimes she does seem to genuinely seem hungry but other times she just seems to wants to feed for a few mins then suck/have some boob to help her to sleep.

Up until recently she has only ever fed every 2 - 4 hrs in the day and slept average of 8 hrs at night and never needed me to get to sleep like this.

I guess my question is 2fold - does she need to feed this often and how can I tell if it is hunger or not? and should I deny her feeding any more frequently than, say, every 2 hours? I want to start an excercise class in the evening next month but it will mean leaving dd for 2 hrs in the eve and I'm not sure how she would go. I really don't want to do bottles of expressed/ffs for reasons I won't now go in to.

[EauRouge]

Morning reastie :)

Ha, my nearly 3 yo has fed more than 3 times in the last hour Studies have shown that BF works best on demand, it could be that your DD is putting on a growth spurt or is teething (BF is a great painkiller) or is putting on a developmental spurt and needs a bit of reassurance. You will not damage her in any way by breastfeeding her whenever she wants it. Solid food should only make up a small part of her calories at the moment, breastmilk is still her main food.

As for the exercise class, could you play it by ear? I've been going out to the pub once a week and I just take my phone with me and DH phones if DD2 wakes up hungry. I'm usually gone for almost 2 hours. Do you have to pay up front for the whole load of classes or can you just pay each week and see how you do?

[lilham]

I think she'll be fine without you for two hours, as long as there is someone she trusts with her. If you don't have to pay upfront, how about give it a try and see?

[reastie]

I think it's a pay as you go thing but it's a half hour drive from me so not exactly easy to dash home if she wakes up screaming

[AngelDog]

Agree with what EauRouge says. My 19 m.o. has been feeding at a similar rate today too! It might well reduce anyway in the next few weeks.

Can you try your DH sorting her out one evening as a trial run?

[reastie]

yeah I must do that angel maybe i should follow eaurouge into the pub . I know feeding on demand is fine and good etc but I really don't want bad habits building of her needing a boob to settle all the time. She now won't really go to sleep ever unless feeding, lying next to an exposed boob or in the pram/car

[AngelDog]

Personally I wouldn't worry too much about that - at 6 m.o. DS would only go to sleep (sometimes) by being rocked, or (usually) fed - never lying with me, or in the pram, or in the car. The pram & car suddenly started working at 11 months. No idea why. IMO the more ready they are to start going to sleep on their own, the easier it is to 'teach' them to do so when you want to.

[EauRouge]

Ah, don't worry about bad habits, she won't be BF to sleep forever! DD1 can easily go all day without BF but she does ask if I'm around and she's not otherwise distracted. When she was tiny I bounced her to sleep, then I rocked her to sleep in her buggy, then I fed her to sleep on the sofa and now she drops off on her own. So don't worry that you'll be doing the same thing forever, each phase is over so quickly.