Does breastfeeding get easier?

[Arkarian]

I'm currently ebf my 15 week old, he feeds every hour during the day and every two hours at night. I was just wondering if they ever feed less? He's been feeding like this for 5 weeks and I'm starting to feel exhausted. He won't take a bottle so I can't express for a little break. Any reassurance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

My dd fed every 90-2hrs until about 4-5 months then we managed to eak it out a bit longer and when weaning kicked in at 6 month longer still.

But up until 9 months I was getting up 2-3 times a night to feed then it was like someone flicked a switch and she slept through consistently.

Breast feeding is bloody hard and every baby is different

Yes, it does get easier but baby will tend to feed at regular intervals throughout the night. Esp at such a young age. I will say to persevere with trying the bottle - it takes time for baby to get it

Yes it definitely does get easier, although it may seem like an age away now! The effort with breastfeeding is definitely all front loaded.

In two months ish you'll be weaning onto solid food which will gradually reduce the feeding frequency as feeds are slowly replaced by meals.

Also this sort of age is prime growth spurt territory, so the frequent feeding now is probably building up supply for that and may well calm down soon.

Hi - yes it does get easier...2 tips you probably already know...

1. Drink lots and lots and lots of water. So easy to get dehydrated especially when they're feeding so much
2. Get someone else to give the bottle and persevere - leave the house if need be yourself while this is happening. Your baby will always prefer you if you are around, at least at first.

My DD is 17 weeks and we're just now coming out of a rough patch of her refusing the breast, distracted feeding and reflux. Even now she still feeds every 90 minutes-2 hours during the day and doesn't usually nap for longer than 30 minutes. It's hard work! Luckily she is now doing 4 hour stretches at night or otherwise I'd be exhausted.

I've been told it does get better. I certainly hope it does! My friend has a 9 month old and said that he is now down to 3 feeds a day and sleeps through but of course every baby is different. I'm taking it one day at a time.

As well as frequency, they also get faster after a while. So its 5 or 10 min not half an hour! Which makes it easier.

Very interested in this post. My DS is 15 days old and Im struggling with keeping the ebf going. So well done you..15 weeks!!

It does get easier. I breastfed my boy for 3 years, and sure as hell wouldn't have done so if it had been as hard as it was in the beginning. Hang in there.

It does get easier and for me particularly after the 4 month (ish) point. They feed less and become faster at it so suddenly less of your day and night is taken up with it. You'll get more time off. Persist with the bottle and I'd recommend the NUK brand

Just stopped feeding my DS and he's 2 next week.

It really does get easier. Been doing it 5 months now (way longer than last time) and I'm finding she can go stretches of 4-5 hours at night at least and the other night slept 13 hours with one big feed in the middle. The days are still pretty frequent though. But she'll be eating soon so I'm going to hold til then to decide what to do.

You've done amazingly though. Whatever you do.