15 weeks old and no real feeding routine exc bfed

[hurrydownthechimneytonight]

Hi all, ds is 15 weeks old tommorrow and exc bfed.

He has been gaining weight very well from 8lb 13 born and is now 15lb 3 1/2 (when weighed 2 weeks ago).

he sleeps from average 8 hours then a feed/top up and then he sleeps for couple more hours sometimes 12 hours a night so no sleep isses.

My issue is his feeding, it feels like he is feeding all day and when we are at home he seems to be constantly feeding or generally using my nipple as a dummy. He does not have a dummy and tens to suck his thumb. when we go out I never know when he will want a feed and so family etc are rather used to him needing food. Dont get me wrong I am loving breast feeding him and had recently decided to continue feeding him till he is 1, despite the negative comments about b feeding being no good from 6 months etc etc.

I spoke to health visitor 5 weeks ago or so and she sai I should be happy as im gettng a full night sleep every night so let him fee, I know he cluster feeds at ight but help ladies how can I get some order to my day.......

Thanks in advance!

Are you feeding him to sleep? At his age he can probably stay aawake for a maximum of two hours before he needs to sleep. Make it more like an hour and a half. So, he wakes, he's fed he plays, he's ready to sleep.
The tricky bit is getting him to learn how to get off to sleep with out feeding again.
Walks in the pram are a good way to get him off to sleep (as you probably already know!) So walking to friends houses, shops etc can be when he goes off to sleep.
Or you can go up to his bedroom and start a ten minute wind down routine, dim lighting soft baby music (Argos sell a Magic Star which we've found good), cuddles, stories. Then try just putting him down awake. He may surprise you
Or put him in pram in garden and pase till he sleeps.
Have you read The Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg? She has some very good tips on getting your baby into a workable routine.

I disagree with bumbums and think you should avoid the baby whisperer, as those books subtly undermine breastfeeding AND your development as a mum to learn to respond to your individual baby....

mind you, "routine" (or not) is all down parenting philosophy. It actually sounds like your baby might have a routine going already but it's just not one that suits you? Try keeping a diary of his daily activity for a day or two-I'll bet you find he is in a wee routine of sorts. That can be your starting point for tweaking... if you see what I mean.

I agree with logrrl (sorry bumbums). He is only 15 weeks and obviously growing really well. However, he is not feeding very much at night at all (which is marvellous!) and needs to get his calorie content by feeding lots in the day.

I never undrstand the statement 'he's using me as a dummy' - it's used by lots of people. A dummy is a plastic mould of a nipple - so in reality a dummy is used by a baby as a nipple. A dummy is used unaturally as you would never encourage a baby to have a nipple in his mouth all the time! (Don't get me wrong though - dummy's are great at keeping babies quiet but babies don't need them).

Also - babies breastfeed not only for food but for comfort, tiredness and the closeness to mum.

I think you are doing marvellously and you will find that things will probably will settle down over the next few weeks. I would just relax and do as you feel you need to.

I would recommend lots of relaxing on the sofa with the remote and maybe a bar of chocolate!

I think he's too young to be in a routine personally although you will find plenty of mums who force their babies into them. Routines suit mothers not babies. Let him feed when he wants, sleep when he wants - it sounds like he (and you) are doing fine as you are. I am at the 8 - 12 hours sleep though. Believe me, you have no idea how lucky you are.....

I'd happily have DS on my boob all day if he slept like that at night

If you kept a note of when he fed you will probably find he has a daily pattern. At that age with my 2nd DS I was lucky if he went 2 hrs between feeds and he was up at least twice a night.

I generally did not mind feeding in public but if I wanted to make sure I was giving one on one time with my 1st DS when out I would just keep offering the boob before going out in the hope it would keep him satisfied for a couple of hours!

We did BLW from 6 mths and BF started to space out slowly and I began to feel less like I had a baby glued to me constantly.

You doing really well

I think the reason why is constantly wants to be on your breast is he wants body contact and comfort. A baby scarf carrier could be a solution. You keep him close and calm without feeding. But honestly, with an 8 hour sleep in the night I would be very carefully to change anything :-)

My 13 week old dd is exactly the same (and funnily enough was 8lb 13 when born!)

She has just started sleeping 11 hours at night and I seem to be feeding her a lot more in the day.

My dd does have a dummy and sometimes she will happily have that instead of feed which helps.

I dont have any routine for her. So long as she sleeps at night I dont mind!

Have you tried expressing so that someone else can help out?

You are doing fantastically well chimney

I found my DD got much more interested in the world, cat, trees, noise, cat, toys, cat etc. somewhere around 15-20 weeks. Boob then was pretty much the last thing on her mind - she became much more of an Eat to Live baby than a Live to Eat one. We went from looooong, languorous feeds lasting literally hours, to short, sharp 5 minutes a side type feeds because she had Better Things To Do

I think you'll find it will pass.