Breastfed baby snacking during awake time

[ChopMonster]

DS is nearly 5 weeks old now and starting to be awake for ~2 hour 'slots' in between his naps. He generally wants feeding after his nap, so I feed him, he comes off the breast on his own and is still awake and content and won't take any more breast when offered so I assume he's done.

But if I then try playing/talking/singing/playmat/chair etc, he's interested for about 5-10 mins before he's rooting for food again. It's difficult for DH to get much time with him because when he's awake he is nearly always on the boob! Is this normal? Will he do less 'snacking' as he gets older?

I'm confident he's getting enough milk as he naps well and sleeps ok at night.

Thanks in advance!

It's normal for them to snack like that. It's sometimes just the way they prefer to feed and sometimes thirst/comfort/habit. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it. DD was a snacker and if I was around and she could smell or see milk, she started to root. You'll probably find that he sleeps so well at night because he snacks so much during the day. If it's working, I wouldn't interfere with it.

Some people do introduce a dummy to see if it's a need to suck as opposed to a need for the milk. If they really want milk, the dummy generally won't placate them so it can be worth a try.

Hi, this sounds very similar to my DD (now 12 weeks). She would continually snack and only really took full feeds after naps etc. I think their concentration span is so poor at that age they like to return to what they know (the boob!!) for feed, warmth or comfort. IME it does get better as they get older as they are more interested in the world around them although there are still days now where DD will snack for most of the day.

HTH x

It's not really 'snacking' - that word has such negative connotations (lack of self control, greed etc). It's how many small babies feed when they're breastfed but it doesn't go on forever. It's perfectly natural. He's still so young and has a few growth spurts to get through, so food is pretty much it for him; and he's not able to be distracted as his brain isn't working like that yet. It won't always be so piecemeal - in a couple of months you can distract him and space feeds out a bit as you like.

Excellent, thank you. I'm completely happy feeding him whenever he needs it. My mum just planted the seed of doubt in my head yesterday that 'he couldn't possibly still be hungry'. And despite the fact that I've read the Kellymom site over and over, I was starting to doubt that I was doing it right. So thank you for the reassurance!

I always found that ds would go hours without a feed if we were out, but if we're just hanging around at home he wanted to feed loads.

Oh I've totally been there with the 'baby can't possibly be hungry again' thoughts. I remember once posting on here asking what to do because DD was rooting for milk and it had only been half an hour since her last feed.
The nice people on here gently told me to just feed her

It sounds daft now but I couldn't get my head round why she would be looking for food again. I think I read too many routine books when pregnant.

In my experience, your DS sounds totally normal. It will calm down.

And I know everybody says it, but really try to enjoy this time. DD is 11mo now and yesterday she fell asleep on the boob for the first time in ages and it was so nice, reminded me of when she was teeny and used to spend mist of her life asleep on the boob.