Does Anyone Have a LO Who DOESNT Nurse All The Time??

[ladyleah]

Hi Mammas...

I had a sleepy eater, and a whole host of issues the first few weeks of my LO's life (mastitis, supply issues, etc.)-- but now things are settled and we are exclusively BF'ing ()

My LO is 4 weeks and 4 days old. For the first 3 weeks there was no feeding on demand, because we really had to wake him each time (a few times he initiated the feeding though-- but not that often)-- which was every 2.5 to 3hours to eat (time from start of last feeding).

The thing is that he still doesn't nurse more then 7 times in 24 hours, maybe only once or twice did we nurse for 8 or 9 times. He is gaining weight, and I have been tracking his intake (I still have a feeding scale for a few more days, so I know the volume he gets at the breast) and he is getting around 21oz per 24 hours which is normal.... He nurses on both breasts for about 15 minutes each --sometimes 20, and usually eats more then 3oz. He has lots of pee and poop diapers.

I keep reading how normal it is to nurse non stop- and every 2 hours....but he has never done that. Does anyone else have a LO who only eats 7 times a day at this age? Just curious....

Thanks Mammas!!!

[Xavismom]

My DS is only 7 weeks right now, but I remember around 4 weeks, I was all panic about him only nursing for 5 min. MAYBE sometimes he would nurse up to 10 min. I was freaking out that he wasnt getting enough milk, etc, and talked to a LC. I have OALD and he was apparently getting enough in that short time. She reasured me that as long as youre getting the right amount of diapers from the LO, nursing time/frequency is ok.

It sounds to me like you are getting plenty of diapers? I know its so hard not to worry though, especially if you have never done this before!!

[sdbeachy]

My son is nine months old, and I have always felt that I have "offered" much more often than he has "asked." It's not that he doesn't want to nurse when I offer. He does wake at night to nurse, but it's not what I feel is excessive--5-15 minutes 2-4 times most nights.

He's growing fine, pees and poops normally, etc. He's just never been a baby who likes to nurse for long periods of time or very frequently. It seems like everything else is much more interesting than nursing. I offer about every hour when he's awake--sometimes he wants to, sometime he doesn't.

[MamaPhD]

Congratulatons for making it this far. It took me about a month to finally realize that mayabe this breastfeeding things is going to work for us after all. Now DD is 13 mo and still goin strong!

Sounds like everything is going well. At that early age, everyone wonders "is this normal?" about pretty much everything. As long as baby is doing well (gaining weight, pees, poops, sleeps, ec.) ALL IS GOOD!!! No need to worry. I would keep offering breast even if baby sometimes won't take it and try to nurse at least 7-8 times a day for the next couple of months (at least) to keep your supply up. But otherwise, enjoy your special nursing relationship with your baby! :-)

[LadyCatherine185]

my mom said my brother would nurse every 4 hours for about 5 minutes at a time and sttn from an early age. never was much of a comfort nurser. she thought something was wrong too, after her first (me!) nursed every 2 hours round the clock. but, just different babies! both normal!

[ladyleah]

Thanks ladies! Yeah- He stays "on" for about 15 minutes on each side usually...so he isn't very "quick" per se-- he just is not interested more then 7 times a day on average. Glad to hear that others have similar things going on. I offer more then 7 times a day, but he doesn't take it, or just latches and falls immediately asleep.

His poops and pees are good, and he is gaining the proper weight-- so I just need to trust that he isn't "textbook" nurser and get on with it! lol

[DCMama01]

Originally Posted by ladyleah

Thanks ladies! Yeah- He stays "on" for about 15 minutes on each side usually...so he isn't very "quick" per se-- he just is not interested more then 7 times a day on average. Glad to hear that others have similar things going on. I offer more then 7 times a day, but he doesn't take it, or just latches and falls immediately asleep.

His poops and pees are good, and he is gaining the proper weight-- so I just need to trust that he isn't "textbook" nurser and get on with it! lol

Lucky!!! Enjoy.