Really need advice - very fast feeder? Feel like I'm getting this all wrong :(

[Aaaaarse]

Anyone else got a really fast feeder? I feel like I'm getting feeding all wrong.

Baby is 14 weeks and about 16lbs. She's ebf and seems to want feeding everyone 2 - 3 hours but will only feed for a maximum of five minutes at a time or if she feeds for longer she will just 'comfort suck' and effectively use me as a dummy. Or she will feed from one side and then the other an hour later.

I have loads of milk so I am pretty confident that's not the issue. If I try and make her go lo get between feeds she is inconsable. I have tried to introduce a bottle as I'm cracking up and am going to see GP next week as I think I have PND (again).... She was sleeping very well but now is awake three or four times a night...

Wanting to feed every 2-3 hours (or every hour) is totally normal. And babies usually feed actively for a few minutes at the beginning of the feed then slow down into fluttery/comfort sucking - nothing sounds wrong there!

Do you offer both sides at every feed? Do you let her come off the breast herself, or do you take her off when her sucking slows?

My DS is 19 weeks and has never fed for longer than 10 mins total. Usually less. Always has both breasts now but only ever wanted 1 until about 12 weeks or so. If weight gain etc etc is fine then I wouldnt worry too much about it.

I let her stay on for as long as she wants and often it is literally three minutes. I offer both boobs but generally she only wants one... I wish she fed longer / had more milk so she could go slightly longer between feeds

Thanks for replying!

My ds used to feed for 30 minutes at a time and still wanted a feed every 2.5 hours at most until he was weaned!

The thing is breastmilk is really easily and quickly digested - whether you have a fast feeder who fills her stomach in 5 minutes or a slow feeder who takes 45 minutes, their stomachs will be empty again a couple of hours later.

Sorry to hear about the PND

Yes agree with the others, 2-3 hours is normal. Would it help to think of the comfort sucking as wanting to be near you, rather than using you as a dummy (after all a dummy is just a nipple substitute)?

When you are with her, personally I'd just go ahead and feed her rather than using you eneergy trying to make her go longer between feeds. That does not mean you have to be there 24/7 though - might help if you got a few hours to yourself, if you have someone who could look after her.

Some are just quick feeders, especially as they get bigger. As long as you don't have any concerns about weight or wet nappies, its probably just her way.

As she gets older she will be able to go longer on occasion if she has someone amusing distracting her for a while. I found the early months quite claustraphobic.

My DD was exactly like this, except it was every 2 hours (the whole clock around).

We had no other issues. Didn't matter if she fed from me or EBM (when I went back to work at 4 months). Just the way she was. :)

Have you tried switch feeding? I.e. repeatedly offering alternate sides

The flutter feeding is when baby is getting the rich fatty milk at the end of the feed. Babies become more efficient at feeding as they get older so it's common for feeds to be 5 mins.

feeding every 2-3hours is completly normal for a BF baby (some FF babies do this to by the way). Length of feed is really not an issue, some babies are just more efficent at emptying the breast, making her feed for longer isn't going to make her go longer between feed's.

I had DD who at this age fed for 20-30minutes and need feeding every 2 hour's. I now have DS who feed's in 5minutes flat and will sometime's go the odd 4hours during the day. But I'm a big beliver in feed on demand so sometime's he may only go 1hour between feed's I honistly don't know and the best thing you can do to relax is throw the clock out the window and feed baby when hungery. If you try and space feeds out during the day you'll probably find she'll wake more at night.

Plus as she has growth spurts you'll find she wake's more sometime's. This is a good thing. Your doing great and she's doing really well to.

www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/index.html lot's of usefull information on feeding