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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Please tell me this is normal?!

33 replies

Caz10 · 23/03/2008 16:36

DD is 14 wks and her feeding has gone all peculiar in the past few days...normally she had a very predictable feeding pattern of 20minsish on each breast, nappy change in the middle, so basically i knew a feed would last an hour. Occasionally wshe would take a "3rd" side. She's had slow weight gain so I like to offer her the 3rd side as a kind of top-up, and she normally takes it. I was feeding her every 3hrs - part of her weight issues i think was that she wasn't "demanding" a feed, so we were lifting her if she was asleep and hadn't woken after 3hrs etc.

Anyway, now I can't get her to feed for longer than about 5-10 mins each side and she gets very grumpy if I try to put her back on. She seems content after these short feeds but then is getting very tired and grizzly, which I was taking to be hunger, but she's having none of it!

I'm PARANOID about her getting enough to eat. She seems to be just snacking and napping all the time and generally out of sorts.

Presumably she won't starve herself but I'm concerned about how little she seems to be taking. Do you think this is just a phase or should i be worried? Thanks!

OP posts:
WalnutEGGshell · 23/03/2008 16:39

After the early couple of weeks, my ds tended to feed for around ten minutes in total, particularly at night with no problem. I don't think this necessarily indicates a problem.

WanderingTrollegg · 23/03/2008 16:40

It's a phase.

Don't worry.

If her nappies are wet she's probably ok. She could be building up to a growth spurt.

Jojay · 23/03/2008 16:42

As my DS got older he got more efficient at feeding, and was much quicker at it.

It could be that.

Get her weighted if you're worried - if her weight gain is on track, then she must be taking what she needs.

theyoungvisiter · 23/03/2008 16:47

My DS never fed more than 10 minutes after the first few weeks. But he did feed every two hours right up to 6 months, with the exception of a slightly longer stretch at night.

If you are worried I would offer the breast more frequently - it's probably easier than trying to get her to feed for longer when she is bored and ready to come off.

Original poster
Caz10 · 23/03/2008 16:54

I did wonder about her becoming more efficient. Poor mite is getting shoved on every time she so much as squeaks as I'm terrified she's starving herself.

Those of you who's LO's feeds sped up - did it happen all of a sudden? I thought it would happen gradually, but if this is what it is, it seems to have happened overnight!

OP posts:
Nessamommy · 23/03/2008 16:55

I would say it's just a phase as well. Think of it this way...your baby has such a tiny tummy. She eats a bit and is full..sleeps because she's going through so much growth right now..but can't sleep for long, because oh! Her little tummy is empty again and needs more. As she grows, she won't need to eat as often b/c her tummy gets bigger and can take in more at a time..therefore lasting her longer.

WalnutEGGshell · 23/03/2008 16:57

Hmm, I can't remember exactly. Thinking back, I can remember being in hospital (there for 4 days after the birth) and ds having marathon b'feeds, say an hour, but it can't have been long afterwards that it shortened because that's my overriding memory of his feeding pattern. Goodness, I should have written this down, he's only 2 now! He did feed pretty frequently (and sometimes still does )

glimmer · 23/03/2008 18:14

Hi Caz, DS is a really fast feeder as well. By 14 weeks he did not feed longer than 10min during the day and 15min during the night. I read in a reputable book by a professor for children's health that they can "finish" a breast in 5min. So, no reason to worry in itself.

Mungarra · 23/03/2008 18:23

My DD is 15 weeks old and her feeds are much quicker than they used to be. When she was a newborn, she'd feed for about 45 minutes per side and I let her do it to build up supply.

Now she feeds for about 15 minutes per side and at night, she'll often just have one side and fall asleep.

I guess by this age, your supply has built up and they feed more efficiently.

tiktok · 23/03/2008 18:58

Caz, this is entirely normal

Healthy babies often do develop brilliant feeding skills and take what they need in a few minutes only.

You will make her grumpy and cross if you keep on trying to feed her when she doesn't want to

Original poster
Caz10 · 23/03/2008 19:13

thanks all.
i think she's been reading this and has decided to further confuse me, as she's currently having a mammoth feed.
I guess I will just have to go with the flow!
tiktok i think i really did annoy her today - she had fed and just wanted a nap but i kept trying to put her back on. will try to be more relaxed about it tomorrow.

OP posts:
canadianmum · 23/03/2008 20:05

My dd was just like that, we used to have long slow feeds and I could read loads of my book and watch loads of telly.....then she suddenly got super-efficient and I could barely read one page or watch 5 mins!!

At around 4 months she got really distractible as well and I found she only really fed well in a quiet room.

Now and then she does a really long slow feed again just to confuse me, but at least I get to catch up on my book!

fingerwoman · 24/03/2008 20:58

hi caz, I just did a search for you on here to see how you were getting on, not stalking you honest lol
glad the feeding is going well and it sounds like it's a bit more manageable too.

laksa · 25/03/2008 10:16

caz, I have a slow weight gain baby and she used to feed for max 10mins and around the same time as your lo, this dropped to 5mins , it didn't affect her weight gain at all. I was like you and put her on everytime she squeaked . They go through phases of being distracted as well. Its difficult not to worry about them when they are slow gainers but she won't starve herself.xx

Original poster
Caz10 · 25/03/2008 13:23

hi! thanks for looking fingerwoman! dd has just gone all off kilter again, by feeding every 2hrs last night, and continuing to do so today! quite long feeds too, so i have noooooo idea what is going on. because of her size i am just glad when she feeds at the moment but i'm sure that novelty will wear off if she keeps this up how are you?

laska that is good to hear! just sneaked a look at your profile and oh my goodness i can't believe there were any concrens over your wee dd, what a gorgeous healthy girl.

canadianmum lol, my feeds were always one entire episode of ER long! (ff through the ads on sky plus!). Not watching half as much telly now!

OP posts:
StarlightMcKenzie · 25/03/2008 13:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

laksa · 25/03/2008 19:26

Thanks Caz, she is smaller than the average baby of her age but is very active and I don't worry any longer.
I went shopping today and got talking to a woman with a 12 week old baby who was 17 pounds ...mine is 26 weeks this friday (will be getting the bananas ready ) and is still in the 14 pound zone!

Was going to say in my last post that when My lo feeds poorly one day she normally makes up for it the next night by keeping me up every two hours...guess you are finding the same thing She has been quite unpredictable since about 4 months ie sleeping through the night sometimes and then feeding every 2/3 hours another...my poor boobs are up and down like inflatable beach balls.

fingerwoman · 25/03/2008 21:57

bless her, prob a growth spurt! isn't sleep deprivation great??? I haven't slept longer than 3 hours in a row since ds2 was born and he's 5 months now :S

how are you finding the actual feeding? much more comfortable?

taliac · 26/03/2008 14:36

DD1 took 20-40 minutes over a feed.

DD2 takes 5 minutes normally.

I am , theres loads of great TV stacked up on Sky+ that I was planning to watch while feeding. Sometimes I pretend I'm feeding DD2, but actually she's fallen asleep and I'm having a little cuddle and watching TV while DH looks after DD1!

Original poster
Caz10 · 29/03/2008 15:23

sorry this had dropped off my list of threads!

SM you are so right, I am still hung up on the "must feed every 3hrs" - dd is currently asleep in her pram and I am twitching to lift her as it's now 3.5hrs!!!

I think my problem is that I went with the flow at the start and thought all was going swimmingly - I was so shocked and stunned when she was suddenly a cause for concern. So now I don't trust myself with it.

I DEF don't wake her any more in the night..sadly she has started doing that herself! She has a good feed each time though, so I'm just glad her appetite seems a bit bigger..sure that novelty will wear off though!

OP posts:
fingerwoman · 30/03/2008 21:41

I am so swapping babies with you caz
mine still wakes at least every 2 hours, day and night for food.

MamaMaiasaura · 30/03/2008 22:54

caz - thanks for linking me into this thread. sigh of relief. Totally understand the 'twitching' to pick up and feed. Re the both boobs, i only put him on other boob if he he refuses the 1st one or if feeds for over an hour (even after an hour milk still comes out)

Original poster
Caz10 · 31/03/2008 13:49

aarrgh fingerwoman you must be shattered. someone told me poor sleepers now are great later on, so you never know!

my friend's wee one woke every 2-3hrs for a year - but then all of a sudden started to sleep through 10-12 hrs. she hadn't done anything different i think they just do their own thing and we just think we are having an effect on them!

OP posts:
fingerwoman · 31/03/2008 20:13

yep, somehow you get used to the sleep deprivation,
though I will admit that I am regretting going to bed at 1am last night lol

still I was due a "bad" one, his older brother slept beautifully as a baby (and still does) so I am getting my comeuppance now lol

halogen · 31/03/2008 21:35

Caz, thought you might like to know that my daughter never fed for longer than five minutes or so on each side (and it worried me like anything at the start). She is smaller than average and always has been but perfectly healthy (now 18 months and utterly exhausting). I'm sure your baby will tell you exactly when and how often she wants to feed!

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