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Infant feeding

How can she not be hungry? : (

8 replies

mrsjuan · 24/07/2009 15:22

Ok - I feel like I'm posting the opposite of most bf questions now but here goes...
DD (10 weeks today) hardly ever seems hungry. She is very small (was 7lb 8 at weigh in last week) and has only ever gained fairly small amounts (about 4 or 5 oz a week). Over the last few weeks She has really been cutting down on both the frequency and duration of feeds. I try to offer her a feed at least every 3 hours in the day but she really will not have it - sucking for less than a minute and then yanking off. I have tried burping her and putting her back on, I have tried swapping sides, I have tried letting faster letdown run out, I have tried breast compressions. All that works is settling her down, waiting until she's had some sleep and trying again.

A good feed in the day is 5 minutes each side. It often seems less than that. At night (once she has slept for at lleast 5 or 6 hours until about 4am) she will sslurp down for about 20 minutes. It sseems as though though this is her only ddecent feed in the day

The strange thing is, if i don;t offer, she will happily go over 3 hours in the day 'playing' and smiling, looking around and sleeping. She seems happiest at night to have a feed at about 8pm and then sleep until 4am.

She seems to get enough wet and dirty nappies and really is quite contented - she would just rather sleep than eat.

Has anyone else had a bf baby who seems determined to feed as little as possible?

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mrsjuan · 24/07/2009 15:23

ssorry about the ssstuttering! The text box was overlapping the side of the screen.

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tiktok · 24/07/2009 15:52

Unless there are issues with her health or weight gain, mrsjuan, then this might be part of her personality and physiology...what does the HV say?

I think you're right to be 'interventionist' and to continue to encourage her, but it prob doesn't merit the angst you're going through, if everything is fine health and growth-wise

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mrsjuan · 24/07/2009 16:12

Health visitor has suggested that she doesn't like milk . I think she was only half joking. Health visitors are fine with her weight gain as she's only on the 2nd percentile for height. She seems perfectly healthy to me & everyone that has seen her.

I think it's only reading posts on here about babies feeding all the time that has made me worried - otherwise I would probably be blissfully ignorant and grateful that she sleeps so much!
The concern I have is that she finds feeding hard work, gets too tired to carry on and then sleeps to make up her energy - she certainly must use up a fair few calories thrashing around. But if this were the case would she be so happy when she was awake?

She definitely doesn't like feeding for comfort or to go to sleep. She much prefers her dummy for this - don;t know if that's part of the issue?

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neenztwinz · 24/07/2009 16:25

Sounds like you have the perfect baby

Seriously, though, it seems like she is perfectly content - I think they can get quite a lot of milk out in 5mins if they are efficient feeders. If she is sleeping eight hours at night at 10wo I would say she is getting enough. As long as she keeps gaining weight (well, she might not gain every week, but as long as she is not losing weight), just keep doing what you're doing.

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tiktok · 24/07/2009 16:32

It's a mystery, then, I agree

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mrsjuan · 24/07/2009 16:49

I have baffled tiktok! That must be a first!
She's just had a reasonable feed and a nice wet nappy so suppose I'll just keep on doing what makes her happy until her weigh in on Wednesday. If she has put on a reasonable amount I'll continue without the 'force feeding' and if she hasn't then I'll take the advice of the health visitor. She is extremely pro breastfeeding and seems to have a good understanding of it so I'll go with what she says.

at the perfect baby!

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neenztwinz · 24/07/2009 16:54

Yeah, keep feeding her at least every three hours during the day and she will be fine .

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CarGirl · 24/07/2009 17:05

I had a very big baby and she still feed very quickly and only 5 or perhaps 6 feeds in 24 hours (all during the day too). My youngest was like this too, had her 5/6 feeds per day but didn't take long and if i didn't prompt her probably wondered have bothered asking for it.

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