Breastfed 9wk old only feeds when hungry and refuses otherwise

[FunnyHazelPeer]

I’m continually stressed about my BF baby. :She is 9wkz

my baby is not like any other breastfed baby I’ve ever heard of.

She will only ever feed, if she’s hungry. If I try to give boob at any other point she will scream. If I wake her from a nap, by moving her from car to house and then offer her the boob… she will scream, even if it’s been 2/3hrs.

shes been like it since birth, the first night I came home I was bawling because she wouldn’t eat at the 3hrs they told me she should.

I find it quite stressful as tonight for example, she had a feed at 3pm. Went to sleep at 4:30, we were out so she woke when we got home at 7pm. I offered her the breast and she cried for 1hr. Wouldn’t latch at all. It’s now 10:30pm and she still not eaten since 3. If I try and wake she won’t feed.

always have wet nappies and is gaining weight when last weighed 3 wks ago. Has had 8 feeds today ranging from 3-14 minutes.

we’ve never cluster fed. Never had issues feeding, latch is good.

everyone and their dog comments how odd this is and how they’ve never heard of it.

please give me words of reassurance because I’m soooo worried she’ll stop gaining weight.

any advice I would be so grateful for x

My baby didnt really cluster feed loads either and I just started following her cues after she had passed her birth weight. However she dropped centiles between weeks 6 and 12 and we eventually got a tongue tie diagnosis and separation at 12 weeks old. Can you maybe call the health visitor tomorrow to discuss your concerns? Maybe they can weigh baby to make sure they are not losing weight or dropping centiles, and can offer you support.

Hi OP,

I had a baby like this, it really peaked when he was 6-9 weeks and real breast refusal started to kick in unless he was starving, and even then he’d only feed for a maximum of 5 minutes and then he’d start getting upset.

His weight started plateauing as obviously he wasn’t drinking frequently enough or for long enough. It was so stressful.

As it turned out he had undiagnosed tongue tie and issues with tension in his neck muscles (from the tongue tie and due to his birth) and both of those issues were making breast feeding painful for him, and babies soon learn to avoid something that is painful for them.

I got him treatment for both issues which then improved the situation by the time he was about 4 months old. Unfortunately, by that point breastfeeding being a “comforting experience” had long since gone out the window and he still only fed for hunger purposes, he never treated it as a nut Irving/bonding experience like most breastfed babies do. However, because feeding was no longer painful for him he was at least feeding every 2-3 hours and for at
least 20-30 minutes at a time and the weight obviously starting building again.

For a baby to not want to breastfeed; 7.5 hours between feeds is a long time, especially in this heat, and only feeding for 3 minutes is also not typical, and would indicate there may be an underlying reason.

I would perhaps ring the breastfeeding helpline but also look at having a feeding assessment carried out by a Lactation Consultant (go on Google and search “Find a Lactation Consultant” and all your local ones will be listed when you enter your postcode).

So she has woken from her slumber and had a 15 minute feed which is exceptionally long for her. She drained the first breast in 5 minutes.

im going to get her weighed this week.

im really not sure she has a latch problem as ive never had one sore nipple. And she’s gained consistently from birth???

So sorry you’re having a tough time! It definitely sounds like a good idea to get her weighed.

Anecdotally, none of mine have ever wanted to feed particularly frequently. Definitely not more than every 4h. Eldest in particular was never interested in milk as comfort (eg. after vaccinations) - or as anything other than just milk. He remained bang on the 50th centile. Took to weaning really well and gave up breastfeeding on his own at 14m, without ever wanting any alternative milk. Youngest is the only one that’s been interested in milk to cheer him up, even if I don’t think he’s hungry.

i hope everything is OK.

Some babies are very efficient at feeding. If she’s having plenty of wet nappies and gaining weight, it sounds good.