Almost 3-month-old nursing less

[Plummeting]

This is my second child, but DD1 was so breast-obsessed that I have trouble comparing the two at all. Plus, DD1 is almost 6 years older, so I don't remember all her ages and stages as well as I might if they were closer together.

DD2 is almost 3 months old and has gotten very, very particular about nursing lately - like as of the last two weeks or so. She's 12.5 weeks right now. She only wants to nurse at home and usually only if I lie down in bed with her. I think I remember DD1 doing something like this, but I'm not sure. However, the last few days she seems to have had a real dip in the number of times she's nursing. She's only nursing maybe 6 times a day for the last few days. Usually only in bed. If we're out and she gets really hungry, she'll nurse in the car or something, but definitely not in the mall or whatever. Is this pickiness about nursing location normal at this age, and is a sudden decrease in the amount of nursing normal at this age? I just don't remember.

[gardenmommy]

Hugs! I'm in the same boat, except DD has been like this pretty much since the get-go. I have success getting DD to nurse sometimes by swaddling her tightly in a blanket. For whatever reason, she likes that. I've almost given up trying to get her to nurse away from home, because she just gets upset and screams at me. I do remember my older children going through a phase around 3-5 months where they were so interested in their surroundings they just didn't want to take the time to nurse. Will your LO nurse in a wrap or sling or something? I have found that helpful to reduce the distractions. Good luck!

[NinaD]

It sounds normal (except 6 nursing sessions sounds a bit low...) Is she gaining weight ok? How is her behavior? Does she seem content after feeding? What about the rest of the time?

As you know, a lot of babies become distractible when they begin to interact with the world around them more around 3 months. She may also be a more efficient nurser, although 6 times does seem a little low... Some moms are able to sneak in a couple of more nursing sessions in their baby's favorite places, knowing that busy places won't be ideal for a good feeding.

[Plummeting]

She's definitely an efficient nurser, based on the fact that she's pretty much the exact same size as my first DD, who nursed more than twice as much as her. She was 15 pounds at 11 weeks (8 at birth) so she's gaining well. It was a full time job keeping DD1 fed, so when the new babe was spending so much less time nursing, once we got past the first 2 weeks, I thought she'd be a slow gainer, but she hasn't been. Now that I think about it, she's only been nursing 8 or 9 times a day for quite a while, so 6 times a day isn't that much less for her. I guess as long as I can keep her at at least 6, I won't worry much. She's just good at getting all the milk out, I guess. Apparently DD1 was an incredibly inefficient nurser. lol