Question about length of feeds

[Thinkstoomuch]

DS2 is 11 weeks and has always been a bit of a snack feeder. These days he'll wake up, have a bit of boob because he's a bit grouchy, then break off and play for a bit, have a bit more, etc. He's very easily distractable (but is amazingly cute when he breaks off to smile up at me and have a little chat!)

Anyway, it can be 4-5 feeds before he's had enough and gets sleepy again. Sometimes it feels like I'm feeding him on and off all day and for most of them he's messing about on my nipple and only going 3 minutes or so.

I'd ideally like him to take fewer, bigger feeds and so get sleepier from them more readily. Any tips on how to get him to take more? Are 4 short feeds, say over the space of an hour, the same as one big one? My HV reckons he might not be getting the hind milk - at last weigh-in he'd dropped off his centile line a bit (but still gaining).

try feeding in bed, or a dark boring room without distractions?

Your HV is probably wrong. If he always 'snacks' then the milk is probably relatively higher in fat than if he took longer feeds at longer intervals. Don't fret over those centile lines just yet - BF babies often start to slow down their growth in comparison with a FF baby and that is not necessarily a bad thing.

I have learnt to be firm with ds. No smiles or chatting (from me) during his feeds - though it's tough as his full of milk smiles at 4am are so cute! Don't know really, but ds is now feeding less in the day and more at night, I think because fewer distractions at night.

Yes night feeds are usually better - he just gets on with it, takes a full feed on both sides and, if I'm lucky, disengages to go back to sleep (we co-sleep).

I'm not worried about the weight gain and tyranny of the centiles, but it would be good if he wasn't just doing this top-up, top-up, top-up, in the daytime.

I'm watching with bated breath because I have this problem with my dd2 who is 7wks. Nosi-itis! Ok if no distractions but this is difficult when you have dd1 2.4 to look after

Bumping for Tiktok/other BF gurus. Any idea if several short feeds mean he's not getting hind milk? And how often should I swap sides if he's only doing a few minutes a time?

He will get plenty of 'hindmilk' as such.
There is a lot of confusion surrounding hind/foremilk, they are not two seperate types of milk.
If he wants to swap sides, then swap, he may just be thirsty. (If you were thirsty would you prefer a glass of juice or a thick milkshake?)

With feeding so much he is probably getting plenty of the fattier milk as it's like a tap, basically the thinner watery thirst quenching milk (foremilk) is at the beginning of a feed, the thicker creamier fattier milk is what's known as the 'hindmilk', when baby starts a feed it's like turning on the hot tap, the water comes out cold at first (foremilk) and grdaullay gets warmer, until it is hot (hindmilk) but there is no point at which it goes from hot to coldiyswim, the same happens with the milk.

Also if he is feeding often he is more likely to be getting 'warm' water (a mixture of hind/foremilk at most feeds as similarly to turning on a hot tap few minutes after you've used it it will still be warm.

www.kellymom.com explains it better than I can!

I couldn't find anything specifically on this hind milk thing on kellymom (love the site but it is hard to navigate). I like your tap analogy, although makes me feel a bit like a boiler!

I'm just not sure - he rarely seems fully satiated and that is frustrating for me. I love to feel I'm filling him up. I also want to feel confident that if he grizzles about taking a nap and I have to rock him/push the pram/jiggle the bouncer/put him in the sling and go for a walk etc., that feeding is not the issue IYSWIM. Plus his naps are short at the moment, which might suggest my HV is right because isn't the hind milk supposed to help them sleep longer?

I think I'm going to try swapping sides less often and see if that helps.

He could just be becoming more awake but by all means try 'emptying' the breast (although they dn't actually 'empty' hopefully you know what I mean!)

The page on kellymom is here, tap analogy and all.