what does nursing "all the time" mean to you?

[Lirazel]

DS is three months old and eats around every hour and a half during the day rarely stretching to two hours and it's more like every hour or literally back and forth between bbs in the hours leading up to bedtime. (Nighttime is more like 3-5 hours.) I have struggled with low supply so I just go with it to make sure he gets every drop I have, but I also think that's part of the reason he eats so frequently - because there isn't a whole lot at each sitting to fill him up all the way.

Anyway, I'm curious what others mean when they say baby nurses all the time.

[NJKim]

What specifically makes you think you have a low supply? Has he been gaining weight slowly?

Often when babies "nurse all the time", they aren't necessarily getting milk all that time, they use the breast for comfort too. Could be he just has a high need for sucking and you are providing that for him, and that's not a bad thing, by the way

If you truly have a low supply, that could be part of the reason. But lots of mothers think they have a low supply when they really don't. Has he always nursed this way? He could be having a growth spurt and nursing more frequently because of that.

[Megan73]

That nursing pattern is really normal, mama. I added it all up once and at that age my son was nursing for eight hours a day.
And if your baby is gaining well - five to seven ounces a week is average at three months - your supply is FINE.

[Bokonon]

Sounds pretty normal to me too. My baby was nursing about 15 times a day until around 6 months! And I have always had a good supply.

[judybean]

My littlest is just three weeks old.. and that's about the 'schedule' we have going on. She nurses all the time during the day (or it sure feels like it.. it's at least every 1.5 hours or *maybe* a two-hour stretch, but it's VERY rare!) and in the evenings is pretty much CONSTANTLY on one boob or the other.. and then actually sleeps quite well at night (3-4.5 hours!) .. and I'm quite certain I have nothing close to a low supply. She just loves her boobie milk... and I know she is quite a comfort-sucker too.. and I'm okay with that

[Amatullah0]

to me, nursing all. the. time. in the most literal sense was when DS was a few weeks(or a month or 2) old. There were a few days where I would literally sit and nurse him on one breast for an hour, he would take a 5 min nap(or 5 seconds?) wake up, cry, and then nurse again for another hour. or two. take a, i dunno, 20min break, then nurse for ANOTHER hour. literally. 60+ minutes.

nowadays, "nursing all the time" means he is having the kind of day where I can't get anything done because I have to nurse him most of the time, and he has to nap in my lap because otherwise he will wake up, and I won't even get that short rest that I REALLY NEED. I find this happens mostly when we're at home, and probably because he's bored when we go out, he is usually more interested in the surroundings and the other people than he is in nursing.

[Lirazel]

Thanks all for the input... I was actually just asking out of curiosity since I hear the phrase a lot and wondered what it meant to different people. It's encouraging to hear that our schedule is pretty normal! I do know that he comfort nurses too.

But for the record, I do know I have supply issues because for a while he was gaining about 3 oz per week (and that was an improvement from the first month). He did manage to gain a whole pound over the last two weeks though so I'm not worrying about it anymore.

[octobermoon]

when my baby was that age he nursed every hour as well. now at 6mos he typically nurses every two hours so it will get better.

[lellian]

My DD is 11 weeks old, and sometimes still sits on my breast for 90 minutes at a time. I know she isn't nursing, but she is sucking. She won't take a paci, and I'm her favorite thing to be comforted by so she "nurses" alllll the time. It's getting better though. When she was a wee one our nursing sessions were backing into each other because of low supply. It does happen, and it does get better. Nights are a hella lot better now with 3-4 hours between sessions. Good luck mama!