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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Baby whisperer and breastfeeding

31 replies

xkatxdollx · 13/02/2012 17:49

Im reading the baby whisperer and want to know. Of any other breastfeeding moms who have read and followed the routines in this book my daughters 5 months and still eats every two hours if she makes it that long and goes to bed at 7 and wakes up every hour to cluster feed till around 10 or11 but goes right back to sleep after every feeding then wakes around 3 and then 7 up for the day I'm just wondering because she says to go 3 and 4 hours in between feedings and to not feed during the night and I'm wondering if that's more tailored to bottle feeding or if any other mothers of hungry baby's followed this routine and it worked for them my main reason for the book was the easy routine so that she will learn to fall asleep on her own

OP posts:

CuriosityCola · 13/02/2012 18:37

I'm sure someone more knowledgable will be along soon. I read into this routine as ds seemed to fit the cycle EASY suggested. A lot of research about breastfeeding has been done since she passed away and the baby whisperer forums seemed to think she would have updated her method. It's definitely more suited to bottle fed babies.

Your routine at the moment sounds ideal. Just pick and choose what you think might help. No method fits every baby and your instincts are always best. Hth.

OneLittleBabyGirl · 13/02/2012 18:43

I wouldnt feed my LO less if that's what she wants. To me feeding is easier than distracting to try to lengthen time between feeds.

Anyway I never managed EASY. I remember when DD was young I have to feed twice in any awake period.

OneLittleBabyGirl · 13/02/2012 18:46

By the way if you want some tips on getting a bf baby to self settle, try Elizabeth Pantleys no cry sleep solution instead. The author is a bf mum and it's very bf friendly. My DD was fed on demand and have no routine during the day but slept through from 2.5mo. (She also has a more realistic definition of sleeping through btw).

PS DD sleep is rubbish now though at 10mo

EauRouge · 13/02/2012 18:48

This reply has been deleted

I would echo what CuriosityCola said about your instincts- listen to what your baby is telling you You will probably get a lot of replies to this thread and I think the general consensus will be that the BW's breastfeeding advice is inaccur...

Original poster

xkatxdollx · 13/02/2012 18:49

Ya with any routine I do I usually just use it as a guideline I just really like the idea of easy and she always eats but most of the time she gets distracted and seems like she never had a full meal and if she ate every 3 or 4 hours maybe she wouldn't just snack she would have a full meal ugh this is all so confusing

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Original poster

xkatxdollx · 13/02/2012 18:57

Yes I love Kellymomand babycenter and I used to put her to bed at midnight then pushed it forward to 7 when it was midnight she would eat for 3-5 hours straight then I pushedit to 7 and it's only once every hour for like 3 hours she also would sleep 6 hours then 4 hours and now it's every 4 hours if I'm lucky I still think she will need one feeding at night but then also people say that more feedings during the day the longer they go at night I'm so confused and I want to cut the cluster feedings of I can because I'm starting to do gel nails and it would be nice todo them at 7 and not worry about stopping to feed her every hour

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Original poster

xkatxdollx · 13/02/2012 18:58

I think I have that book too I got a bunch of them haha!

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Original poster

xkatxdollx · 13/02/2012 19:04

O ya and my main reason for easy and feeding to sleep and cluster feedings is I want her to sleep on her own because I got my appendix taken out and had to stay overnight in the hospital and my mom and boyfriend were up aaaallll night because she would not fall asleep without the boob and I want to fix that in case I have to be away at night again and she can be a good little girl so people will want to take her and still get some sleep

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SittingBull · 13/02/2012 19:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CuriosityCola · 13/02/2012 19:41

Good advice sittingbull. It was the cycle that I liked.

I have to say that as ds has fed less during the day (too distracted) he has been waking more for feeds during the night. I would keep up with the day feeds and not try to stretch the time out too much.

Debs75 · 13/02/2012 19:49

The EASY cycle is good advice but in general I found her breastfeeding advice a bit crap. She was very much wanting to get them into a strict routine and had a way of writing against breastfeeding.
I think if you use your own judgement and just keep some principles of her advice then you should do ok.
FWIW I haven't done any routine with any of my DC's and they have done ok, apart from the two toddlers, they are pretty crap at sleeping but they are happy and they sleep when they want to, just not in a routine

TruthSweet · 13/02/2012 20:13

I though bf babies did Eat Sleep Eat Active Eat Sleep Eat not Eat Active Sleep (what's the Y - yodelling?).

Original poster

xkatxdollx · 13/02/2012 20:34

Eat activity sleep you
While they sleep you have time for yourself
So does it matter if they have a million naps a day all at diff times whenever they seem tired put em to bed and eat whenever all at diff times during the day?

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AppleAndBlackberry · 13/02/2012 20:41

The timings relating to breastfeeding in that book are absolute rubbish, especially the ones covering the first few days. IMO they shouldn't be allowed to sell it.

TruthSweet · 13/02/2012 20:41

If they are tired let them sleep, if they are hungry let them eat, if they want to play let them play.

Babies have plenty of time to do things by the clock when they are able to tell the time and are at school, in the meantime trust their body to know what it needs.

stopthinkingsomuch · 13/02/2012 20:55

With my first I never managed to get a cycle up to more than 3 hours (DC1 still needs feeding frequently and don't I know it - she's 7). She would sleep through but around 5 months she was probably needing solids as the wakings started several times a night). I was trying really hard to hit the 6 month mark but by 5months 2 weeks enough was enough and solids were introduced). With DC2 I managed to get up to the 4 hour feeds and actually he actually wouldn't be ready for another breast until 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 hours after first feed of the day. He started solids after 6 months. DC3 comfortably moved onto 4x4 routine but he was huge. By 8 weeks he was the weight that DC2 was at 6 months. It felt so exhausting to feed him even though he was on a good routine and sleeping well. I had to start solids earlier than the other two but interestingly when I looked back they all started a the same weight but just at different times.

After 3 kids and doing the BW with all of them I have to say there is a bit where you have to fiddle with timings. All three of mine were different as above.

Things I did to try and get the timing better:

I didn't offer both sides in the hours after 3am. I'd try and re-settle without. I tried to make sure they were hungry enough to take full feeds. I tried to watch that I didn't miss feeds through being out and about and also as they got older it needed to be quiet for them to take proper feeds. I think by 5 months I was aiming at 7,11,230 and then there would be two feeds near the end of the day as my supply had dropped. A big one for me was also making sure I ate enough and drank enough. The routine would be crap if I hadn't looked after myself.

Not sure if this helps but some other experiences.

stopthinkingsomuch · 13/02/2012 20:56

Correction on the big baby being the same weigh as the second. I think it might have been 10 weeks or 12 weeks. Something silly all the same.

TheSecondComing · 13/02/2012 21:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

usingapseudonym · 13/02/2012 21:10

I'm glad this is here as I was coming on to start something similar! My baby is only 8 weeks but I was in the library today and picked up the BabyWhisper as the title sounded quite baby friendly.

I too was a bit confused by the Eat, Activity, Sleep bit from browsing it. It would certainly be easier for me if she fed less (its more like every 2 hours, as above - wake up and eat, play a bit, feed to sleep, sleep etc) but I thought it was normal for bf babies to feed to sleep, that the oxcytocin (was it that one?) made them drowsy etc.

On the other hand I am worried I will end up still feeding my daughter every 2 hours a year on as I did with baby no 1 (very baby led first time and this time needing some sanity). I love the idea of not feeding to sleep as already its at least every 2 hours at night and I KNOW other people don't have this problem so I worry I've somehow made it for myself by feeding on demand. Looking at the book it suggests my feeding on demand is actually feeding too often and "feeding when she is really tired" but isn't that a good time to feed as it sends them to sleep?! Then my head goes around in circles...

Confused

TruthSweet · 13/02/2012 21:32

BM contains a hormone called CCK which promotes sleep, this hormone is higher in the evenings/night but as well as CCK, oxytocin also promotes sleep (same hormone that is released after a good meal, having sex, cuddles and skin to skin contact) and that is released by the mum on bfing and by the baby when they suckle.

Babies can't help but fall asleep bfing (if they are that way inclined at the time). It's a bit like berating someone for falling asleep in a darkened room on a comfy bed after a slap up meal - they can't help it, their hormones made them do it!

It's one of those 'nice idea but lacking in real life experience in the matter' books.

OneLittleBabyGirl · 13/02/2012 21:47

Truthsweet, mine was definitely eat sleep eat active eat sleep eat active too . EASY is rubbish if your baby doesn't fit the pattern. You can't convince a baby to sleep when they dont want to either. Or not to fall asleep at the boob. Or not to eat when they are hungry.

My DD doesn't get into more of a fixed routine until 8mo. And btw its still not EASY . For example she has milk, breakfast before her morning nap. Then followed by milk and lunch and then afternoon nap. So it's in fact EAEASEAEAS...

Original poster

xkatxdollx · 13/02/2012 22:04

I think I'm defidently going to give more feeds during the day does anyone know how long cluster feeds last or is it until she's done bfing

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crikeybadger · 13/02/2012 22:17

Don't worry- she won't be feeding two hourly forever!

I guess in a few more weeks, she'll be starting on some solids, so things will begin to change as a result of that. Hang on in there, 5 months is a tricky time.

TruthSweet · 13/02/2012 22:20

Well my 4y and 2y don't cluster feed and haven't for years so I can safely say it doesn't last the whole time they bf.

It does tail off but when that is depends on the child, I would imagine they may cluster feed more/for longer if they have been 'put off'/delayed/distracted out of feeds during the daytime so perhaps just following baby's lead for a while may lead to less cluster feeding (or it may not but if you are following baby's cues then at least you know you aren't doing anything wrong!).

RedHotPokers · 13/02/2012 22:28

EASY worked well for Dd1. She was feeding almost constantly, but not effectively iyswim. She'd feed for a few minutes, fall asleep, wake up 10mins later starving x 100 per day. she was crying A LOT.

The EASY routine worked very well as it stopped the sleeping during feed prob, but with Bf babies its more about the routine than the spaces between feeds. IME. Dd fed every 2.5 hours once in the routine, plus a clear 12 hours at night from 20wks.
She was a much happier baby once she started getting decent sleep and decent feeds.

Saying all this, it didn't work so well with ds.

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