Distracted Breast Fed 4 month old and very tired mum!

[SUPERG]

Hi all..first post to mumsnet...my DS2 was BF exclusively up to 17 weeks and has never gone more than 4 hours between feeds (less at night!!). Just as I thought he might be getting a bit more settled, he started to get "giddy" during his day-time feeds and didn't seem as interested in feeding (coming off the boob, looking around, and generally distracted by the least noise after 3 minutes of sucking). I can't force him to stay sucking but it seems like he's not taking as much, and night-times are no better than they were when he was 6 weeks old. In desperation (as am feeling v tired also having DS1 aged 2 to look after in the day), I have started giving him a bottle mid-morning and baby rice in the evening. Now I feel torn between two poles - guilt about starting weaning and bottle feeding, and pressure from Irish mum who bottle fed us all and thinks I should move him onto bottles and food ASAP. Need some reassurance from fellow BF mums as am tired and fed up but want to continue BF, even in combination with solids, as is so much easier and nicer than bottles...not feeling so super-g at the moment

This exact same thing happened to me. Ds also started to sleep much much less at 17 weeks which was a nightmare!

For the daytime i got a nursing necklace, which helped him to be less distracted, and for the nighttime i started co-sleeping with him so he could help himself whenever he needed it!

He is just developing and noticing things around him.

My DS did this too.Used to drive me crackers, but he grew out of it.

If they're hungry then they will eat, you can't force it.

Superg - going through no sleep patch here with 17 week old. Thinkling he has hit his growth spurt. Am feeling guilty for not giving him 'solids' yet as being pressured by mum and others as he is 17lb. Kellymom is a breastfeeding support site and offers fab advice on feeding. The Formula will interrupt your milk production so i would persoanlly knock that on the head straight off. Also they wake more at night whn distracted int he day as they are then hungry as not fed 'well' in day due to distractions. This is only a phase and if you satrt supplementing your milk supply may get affected xx

It happened to me too...my ds is 5 months now and it's a bit better. This is a great article and reasured me that everything is ok. Keep on breastfeeding! Co-sleeping is a good idea. My ds sleeps in his cot which is actually an extention of our bed so I only need to place him next to me and back without getting out of bed and carry on sleeping while he feeds.
You didn't mention if the bottle feeding and rice made things better in any way? I have been considering bottle feeding for the night but don't want to ... so Im in very similar situation. There was a thread about this and people who tried it generally said it really didn't make a difference. So Im sticking with bf and waiting for this period to pass. Listen to your instinct and no-one else (even if it's your mom).

Ah thsi sounds so familiar! DS2 is breastfed and is 5.5mths. He is at the stage now too where he pulls off and looks around at the slightest distraction - grrr! Sometimes I just have to go off to a silent room to get the job done! Also, DH gives him a bottle of formula for dreamfeed at night - and it makes no diff to the amount of time he'll sleep for - it just means that I get some sleep before the next night feed!