11 week old snacks and stopped eating proper meals

[AmIDoingThisRight]

My 11 week old is breastfed and up until the last couple of days has been having 7-8 solid meals a day of about 30 minutes at a time roughly every 2 and three quarters to 3 hourly intervals.

However, in the last couple of days he's been very much in snack mode - for breakfast he only has about 20 minutes' worth; he's dropped his mid-morning meal all of a sudden, has about 10 minutes at lunchtime and usually a normalish mid-afternoon feed.

Am at my wits' end at the moment because he seems to want to live on fresh air alone today - he only had 10 minutes this afternoon despite not having had a proper lunch or mid morning snack. Whenever I do try and feed him at the moment he is extremely easily distracted and giggles and smiles at me instead!

What to do? I don't want to force him to eat but I can't stand the thought of him fading away. Up until now he's been gaining weight well and has plenty of wet nappies (infrequent dirty nappies but that's a whole other thread! )

Am I worrying unnecessarily or is there anything I should be doing?

Should also have mentioned that he now seems to want to wait for about 4 hours between feeding. Surely this is too long a gap?

infrequent dirty nappies is entirely normal with breastfed babies, so no panic there.

is he still alert thes past few days???

is he seeming satisfied when he is finished his feed??

still having the same amount of wet nappies???

he may either not need quite so much right at this point in time, or he is simply feeding effectively at the breast and is satisfied by the amount he is getting

if he seems well and is producing plenty of wet nappies, then trust his little body to know better than you, a book, a clock or any charts and scales when he feels hungry and thirsty.

do you feel hungry and thirsty to a strict timetable?

RELAX youre doing absolutely fine.

don't forget also, teeny tiny newborns have teeny tiny tummies, so ned to feed more frequently anyway.....plus they are building up your supply.

as they get bigger, their tummies grow so they take more in at each feed, and your suppliy gets used to their feeding and so adapts

breast milk is quite magical like that

He seems to have the same amount of wet nappies at the moment - and is very alert indeed, no temperature or rashes or anything.

It's just so unlike him to eat so much less so suddenly and without any obvious reason. He seems satisfied after a longer feed and gets the spaced out look but not when he does his snack thing. This is the third snack in a row he's had today and I'm panicking.

Surely they can't change practically overnight though? It's in the last couple of days everything's gone to pot.

babies change daily at this age....really.

they feed little and often, then feed longer and less often, then they hit a growth spurt and feed lots and lots and then they go back to longer feeds again.

he is small still and growing and changing.....as long as he is happy and alert then try not to fret......I know this is hard and confusing but honestly....a happy baby means they are exactly that.....happy

expect the unexpected!

no seriously, hes an individual. and a human, not a robot. he'll have whims and fancies. he'll have whole days when he feels like eating and whole others when hes not fussed ta v much. try to go with the flow and not see variations and fluctuations in appetite as 'going to pot'

Thank you! Will try not to worry in that case - you're quite right. Will wait and see how it goes.

It won't mess up my supply though will it? If he's feeding less frequently and for less time?

My DD is bottle fed (she is one of my DTs who are 16 weeks old) and she is doing this a bit at the mo. Keeps wanting to smile at me instead of feed properly. I can see from the amount in the bottle that she is taking less than normal and I have to really persevere with her to get her to take the normal amount. She does go 4 hours between feeds tho and has done for a while, and she was 3 weeks early and is only 10lbs now so I don't think your DS is odd in that respect.

As the others have said, as long as he looks happy and is weeing as normal I am sure he is fine .

Not sure about your supply tho, will await someone more knowledgeable than me on bf to advise you there .

if he is still being exclusivly BF (I am assuming so going on your posts), then no, it shouldn't.

you supply will constantly change tho regarding their feeding patterns, which is why you are fuller some days than others, but it changes in repsonse to them, so they keep it going IYGWIM.

BUT

I am giving you advice on my experiences only....you really need hunker or tiktok for the best advice around.

you are doing well tho, try not to fret

Nothing you've said sounds in any way abnormal or even especially unusual...the clock is a very poor guide to the amount of milk a baby takes at any one session and it is very common for babies to get quick and expert and taking what they need. But check it out in RL with someone you trust to know what they're talking about.

Forget about 'lunch' or 'snacks' - mean nothing to a bf baby