14 weeks old EBF - does it make a difference if I offer more often?

[Thaleia]

Hi,
DS is hanging on to the 9th line, one week up, one week down. I bf on demand (more or less, sometimes I feed him to quite him even if I think he can't be hungry) around 8 - 10 times in 24hrs and have 2 night feeds at 10pm and 1am before the day starts at 5am.

Wondering if at this age he would gain more if I would offer more often - without getting him into a snacking habit? If I feed him when he's not hungry he'll only feed for a few minutes before he starts suckling. There is milk because when I squeeze it squirts out.

We had a million issues with his weight and although I accept now that he's on the smaller side, it still worries me that he might not get enough.

HV not concerned btw.

Thanks, Thali

what would happen if you tried? Could you offer more for a week or so and see if you both find it helpful/useful?

Good that HV isn't worried about weight. Are there other things you are worried about in terms of his health?

Remember too breastfeeding isn't just food/drink it's comfort and nurturing so it's really OK to feed even if you do't think he is hungry.

Would it matter if he got into a snacking habit or if he is just sucking for comfort? Snacks all count!

Most of all I don't want to unwittingly encourage you to worry about his weight - bf babies make their own curve !

My 15wo ebf still nurses approx 18 times in 24 hours - more or less hourly during the day, and 2-3 hourly at night. About 90% of his feeds are on cue, the others are me shoving a boob in his face to cheer him up.

Repeat after me:

If in doubt, get 'em out.

Saves all the umming and ahing and what-if-ing :)

lol - Mombo: I repeat.

Should have been a bit more clear: what I mean was even if not promoted, should I feed. For example when he's still awake and happy after 2hrs or when he's tired to sneak a bit in before a nap? Maybe even wake him if he had longer than 3hrs in between feeds?

Sure, waking not ideal but he can go longer without food during the day than at night :(

Hi Thalia,

First of all, please try to stop worrying about your DS being on the 9th percentile - somebody has to be! The percentiles are just a description of the size of your child relative to other babies their age and gender - if you lined up 100 babies of the same age and gender, your DS would be the ninth one from the smaller end. That's all it means. The HV use the percentiles as a marker for illness, as a baby who is not gaining sufficient weight to maintain their place in that line may have a medical issue. That's all they are.

If you want to offer your DS more feeds I'm the day, you can't do him any harm. I suspect that he'll take the same amount of milk over 24 hours whether he has 4 feeds or 14, but he might start taking more in the day and sleep more at night to make up his sleep - that's got to be a bonus, right :)

Please try not to worry about the centiles. I stand on the tube every day and look at the wide variety of shapes and sizes all around me - I am by no means the biggest, nor the smallest, I just fit into the scales where I do. Your DS is the same :)

I'm in a similar position with DS who has also dropped to the 9th from the 25th. He fluctuates above & below the line, only just hanging on sometimes.

He is EFB. When he initially dropped, I offered the breast hourly for while, which he took & he did put on more. I try not to let him go longer than 2.5 hours between feeds (he's 17 weeks) although he'll happily go 4 or more some days.

Nit sure what the solution is!

I

He also goes longer in the day than night. I've started staying home now & feeding on the stairs where there's no distractions, which has helped a bit.

We do a dreamfeed of EBM which doesnt make a difference to his sleep but I'm think may help maintain his weight.