aaarg just when we were getting somewhere...total change in feeding patterns by teeny tiny 3mth old...please help

[Caz10]

i'm sure my dd is doing this on purpose...

will not rehash whole story, i'm sure most of you are fed up with it now anyway...

but basically dd is 3mths, been labelled FTT at one point, slow weight gain etc. pressure to top up with formula, yadda yadda blah blah...finally saw paed who says she's fine, bf-ing is fine, keep up the good work etc - hooray!

however now literally since wed when we saw him, dd has totally changed her feeding pattern...we were advised never to leave her longer than 3hrs between feeds, normally it was more like 2, but anyway she had quite clearly defined periods of - big feed, awake and active, sleep, feed again. sometimes the sleep part didn't happen but you get the general idea.

she always fed from both sides, feeds taking approx an hour in total inc a nappy change. sometimes she would take a "third" side and stretch it out to an hour and a half.

anyway now she has turned into a little snacking/napping monster - feeding for 10 mins max then coming off or falling asleep, then looking for food again half an hour or so later. i've totally lost track of her feeds cos they've been so "bitty" - feel like i;ve been feeding her constantly, but not sure if what she is getting adds up to the same as her normal "big" feeds. she seems to be actively feeding, ie big swallows, gulps etc for much less time at each feed too.

anyone any ideas on what is going on?? i'm just going with it and feeding her whenever, but worried she's not getting enough.

thanks!

ps she is falling asleep on the breast quite often too - more so than before

Is three months not a classic growth spurt time? COuld be that - how long has she been doing it for?

have you noticed a change in her nappies (wetness, frequency, size of poos etc)?

i did wonder about that pegotty! she's been doing it for about 36hrs now. a growth spurt would be great for our little midget! although i think it can sometimes be a developmental growth spurt rather than physical can't it?

we've had a few more poos than normal, they are smaller, but she is normally a save-it-all-up-for-a-few-days kinda gal then we get a giant explosion!

wet nappy every 3hrs or so (normally change at every feed but the feeds have been so random i'm just guessing)

Yes growth spurts are often links to mental & physical development as well as the actual growth...off to find a website I read last year about this....

Yes think it can. My ds is 6 weeks and a few days ago had 2 days of mad feeding, up all night etc but has settled right down again. He had also been doing a long stint of cluster feeding in the early evening before that and that has also settled down a lot since then too. Hopefully this is just temporary for your little girl....

It sounds like you are both doing really well. Roll with it and within a few days things will probably be back to normal.

My motto is 'if you can't do anything about it, go with it'

thanks all, and thanks in advance terramum!

she'll get enough food won't she? obviously i am just feeding her when she's hungry (when she starts rooting, bopping about etc, not leaving her until she cries) and she won't starve herself...but these little snacks seem so teensy compared to our normal marathons!

...sorry just remembered the article I saw was a paper copy ...but from what I can remember of it it gives approximate times when babies go through some rough patches (similar to ones on kellymom I think), although of course the timing of these things varies between different babies.

I don't think any of their work is available online, but certainly some studies by Danish researchers Van de Rijt and Plooij make interesting reading on this topic. They talk about 'transitional periods of infant regression' when babies cry more, want to be in contact with mum more, sleep less, have 'tantrums', are more clingy, might refuse food or want to eat more etc. They found that these times coincided with big development leaps or 'transitional periods of development' and surmise that these changes might increase stress levels in babies, hence the period of unsettled behaviour. They also said that increased contact with mum during these times helps babies learn.

oh that is v interesting terramum, dd has never been a clingy baby but has been really unsettled and clingy for the past day or so. She normally sleeps well in her wee basket too, but we've resorted to napping together on top of the bed as she's not liking getting put down too much. will search for these names, ta.

DS was the same - was quite happy sleeping in in his crib unless he had a growth spurt or was teething...& then screamed blue murder if we tried to put him back there after he woke in the night for a feed. The only way he would go back to sleep during these times was cuddling DH & me in our bed.

I think when you know to expect frequent changes in routines, feeding frequency, night waking etc...and know they are normal they become a lot easier to deal with. By the time DS had a c.6 months period of unsettled behaviour last year at age 2.5-3yrs I was fairly philosophical about it & my lack of sleep

The wonder weeks, think this is what terramum is talking about (the book is now out of print).

Roll with it, Caz....there is nothing wrong with what she is doing, zillions of babies do it, it is not detrimental to health or growth and struggling against it is counter-productive

More info

thanks all! def not going to go against it, but it just seems less than she was eating before...i'm sure it does add up to the same though because it's so frequent.

fab links bumper, thanks!

sounds like classic three month behaviour to me. It might seem like she's feeding less but with the frequency and her being unsettled I would assume she is changing the milk to her new (hungrier) needs.

thank you all. i think i am just so paranoid re anything feeding related, she is getting so agitated i was worrying about my supply.

bumper if you have a copy of that book you should get it on amazon - look at the prices!! wonder weeks book

I know, it's ridiculous! I don't have a copy, but my bfing group does

Sounds like the growth spurt thing but bear in mind she'll be getting ever more skilled at feeding, so may take more in less time. Hang in there...!