Still BFing at least every 2 hours - aaargh

[LuluR]

My DS is 20 weeks and still needs to be fed at LEAST every two hours during the day and at least 3 hours at night. I wanted to continue exclusively BFing utnil 6 months but the constant feeding is really beginnging to take its toll. Am i doing something wrong? Or is it just that i have a particulary hungry baby? His birth weight was 7Ibs and he is now 16Lbs so i know that he is gaining enough.

My Mum (Mother of 4) insists that he is ready for solids but I wanted to wait at least another month and our Paedictrican has told us wait until 6 months.

Any advice and/or reassurance would be sooo appreciated.

This may not be reassuring, but my dd1 could never be relied on to go longer than 2 hours between feeds until she started solids at 6 months. She was a very big, very fat baby and she just wanted to feed a lot. I am sure you are not doing anything wrong. It didn't really bother me much apart from the fact that it meant I couldn't leave her with anyone for longer than 2 hours, but I'm not sure what to suggest if it's starting to get you down.

Aranea, thanks for your response.
Just knowing that there is someone else out there that had a baby with similar feeding patterns is reassuring. Other BF's I know are feeding every 3-4 hours and many people have been quick to comment that I seem to be ALWAYS feeding DS etc.
I love BFing him but it does get intense and I would like to be able to leave him with DH for an afternoon so I could have some to go Christmas shoppping etc.
I dont seem to be able to express moer than 80 mls so won't leave him for more than 2 hours.

DS isnt really fat but is solid and big... I'm really going to try and hold out the full six months.

LeoniedElf .. I applaud your tenacity ... really I do.

Lenin.. I feed lying down during nightfeeds. I was a pretty active person before i gave birth and just feel a bit housebound at the moment. I thought that we had just come through a growth spurt but last ngiht and today was back to at least every two hours and he fed for an hour before bed tonight.

Off to throw out all the literature that states that babies can go longer between feeds from 4 months ...

yes throw out that literature

gecko is 2.19 and still feeds every two to three hours at night

shes a slim as anything but she eats more than my nine year old lol

sorry probably not what you want to hear but it sounds normal to me and actually really good for his age

rest when you can

one day it will be better

ds id s teeny tiny baby and still fed at least every 2 hours up until he was weaned onto solids foods (succesfully) by 7 months.
He did however wnat to feed every 3 hours during the night and I went cold turkey, and refused to feed him apart from one night feed at about 2-3am

I figured, the was getting enough during the day to go through the night. It took a few weeks of persevering and DP doing the night settling, but eventually it seemed to work.

He is now 9 months and has 3 meals a day, and if I go and leave him for a few hours day I leave a carton of formula but to be honest he does not really bother with it.

Their is light at the end of the tunnel I promise,

Hang in there and good luck x

Wow LeonieElf, Im really in awe of Mums that continue to BF for that long. Its only been 4 months and I feel as if I have been feeding forever. I do for the most enjoy BFing and feel blessed that I am able to nourish my DS. Some days though (like today), are tiring and my nipples feel like they are about to fall off....lol

If I can continue to feed for a year I'd be really chuffed.

I agree with leo re illness, my dd#1 was bf for 18 months and only got sick this time last year with chickenpox, however she was not exclusively bf, she had formula at night from about 10 weeks. I have done the same with dd#2 who is 9 weeks as I cannot bear feeding every 2-3 hours. They still get all the benefits of breast milk. Also my GP informed me this week that new research suggests that babies should be weaned when hungry and not by age, this was from a conference last week in London.Hope this helps.

LuluR just wanted to say DD2 is 23 weeks old and is feeding every 2.5 to 3 hours in the day and feeds up to 4 times a night still...

I have actually started solids today (not that i imagine it will help as she had 1 tsp of baby rice). She won't take a bottle so i am literally with her 24/7 and it is starting to get on top of me.

No advice but just wanted to let you know you are not the only one....

I know just what you meant about the comments.... 'you're feeding her AGAIN??' 'Oh, she's always on the boob!' - it used to drive me mad. But there wasn't anything I could do about it, so I just had to grit my teeth. And having now had dd2 who very early on settled into a regular 3 hourly feeding pattern, I feel even more confident that it wasn't anything to do with me. That's just what some babies are like. Hang in there, another couple of months really isn't very long (though I know it probably sounds it now) and your life will get a lot more flexible after you've started him on solids.

Just wanted to add my support as another mum of a big hungry baby! It does get easier as they get older. I also had pressure from the wise elders to start solids early but you need to remember that your fatty breastmilk has way more calories than pureed carrots or pears etc so is much better designed to meet the needs of your growing baby.

I found that I could express more with practice and by doing it at the same time every day. You could also just freeze it until you have a few portions and then treat yourself to an afternoon off.

Good luck.