when do they slow down?

[kingzjewel]

i was just wondering when the nursings will begin to cut down. not that i am in a hurry, just wondering when the time between will become longer and stuff. he is only about 3 mos old and i just want to make sure he is doing as well as he should be. right now he eats every 2-3 hrs and is gaining well... so that isnt a problem or anything... just curious about all the months ahead.

[Elphaba]

uh, never would be my best guess!
no, seriously, we're at 19 months and she's just recently gotten to where we can be apart for 4 hours without a problem and i can tell her, no i don't want to nurse right now.
i used to think that by 3 months we would be able to be apart for 4 hours, like the books said. but that was SO not the case.
there's really no way to know when your baby will start spacing out his feedings. every baby is so different, you can't predict what they will do!
BTW, good job on 3 months of nursing! you are already ahead of half the moms in america.

[dentente]

Your results may vary but that amount of feeding sounds normal to me for 3 months. Expect things to get much easier when solids begin in earnest at anywhere from 6 months to almost a year. The more food, the less boob. This is what I was told and what has proven true. I would venture to say that nursing every 3-4 hours at 19 months is an extreme but could still be normal I guess? (what *IS* normal anyway?)

My kid pretty much self-weaned at 20 months. Food was that much fun for her.

Denny

[Mallory]

I think this goes in cycles. I noticed somewhere around 4 or 5 months, suddenly watching the world is fun and especially if you are somewhere busy (shopping, somewhere with other moble toddlers and kids, ect) they will go for longer periods. Then around 8 or 9 months many go through a very clingy, conutinuos nursing stage. But when they are starting to walk or crawl a lot-from about 11 months to 15 months being in the world, moving, tasting, feeling is so much more fun then sitting in moms lap that many children nurse very rarely during the day (although they are effecient nursers and many also make up for it at night). I also think this is why a year is a common time to wean, because many children are not that interested in sitting still and nursing at this age. Then again around 18 months many go though another stage of wanting to nurse all the time.

Of course my ages were just approximate and some children will not follow this pattern, but I think it's pretty common.

[Viola]

Well, in my limited experience, it was somewhere between 2 and 3 years. I don't think she nursed as much at 2 as she did as an infant, but it seems like it.

I remember things getting easier when she was around 8 or 9 months--at that point she finally learned that she didn't have to latch on like a barracuda.

[Viola]

Originally posted by Mallory
I think this goes in cycles. I noticed somewhere around 4 or 5 months, suddenly watching the world is fun and especially if you are somewhere busy (shopping, somewhere with other moble toddlers and kids, ect) they will go for longer periods. Then around 8 or 9 months many go through a very clingy, conutinuos nursing stage.

:LOL I just read this. I actually had the opposite experience, I wasn't trying to contradict you. Around 3-4 months it seemed hard because she was always twisting and turning, crying, pulling off, crying, and I'd finally get her latched on to where she'd actually nurse. Or she'd cry a lot and not nurse, and I went through a period where she was happy when I turned her on her tummy, patted her back and gave her a pacifier. Fortunately the pacifier stage didn't last long.

I do remember that right when she turned 3 months, there was a wonderful week where all she did was nurse and sleep. Ahhh, the growth spurt. And I'm not being facetious, it was wonderful because she'd latch on, drink a lot, fall asleep and sleep all day waking only to nurse again, so it was a very easy week. After that it got tricky again with the fussiness and wanting to nurse, but not wanting it really.

[MOM2ANSLEY]

My dd nursed every 1 1/2 - 3 hrs for the first 2-3 months...but spit up a lot...I told her pediatrician I thought it was reflux but he didn't because she was gaining weight...then she stopped nursing well....she acted very hungry...latched on and started nursing, but when she started swallowing she got fussy...The poblem was she had developed esophagitis(irritated throat) from the constant spitting up....I changed pediatricians and she started my dd on zantac...the spitting up stopped and feedings went to every 3-5 hrs within a week. She had been eating so much because she only kept a small amount of the breastmilk down...now she is almost 7months...loves solids and bf'ing...she nurses about 5 times a day...I feel like I hardly ever nurse her because I was so used to feeding every 2 hrs.
:bf

[Curious]

I agree with cycles. There were many times when I thought "she's weaning," but then she comes back and makes up for lost time.

[mnnice]

My ds and I have been apart longer and longer amounts of times with out nursing (the longest about 10-11 hours). He eat solids and drinks water and a little cow's milk. I notice on the the days that I work and don't nurse during the day he will nurse a lot in the evening and night. So for us we have gotten more spread out, but really have never cut down on the amount of nursing. My ds was an also an exceptionally fast nurser as a newborn and is slower now (mostly because he has too look at other stuff in between).

[DaryLLL]

There is some research that indicates that time periods between nursings is partly determined by how much milk a woman can store in her breasts. Some store quite a bit, there is a lot there at a feeding, the baby gets filled up and can go longer. Some moms do not store a lot, the milk is made rather slowly while he nurses, the baby needs to feed more frequently.

I was in the 2nd camp. All 3 of mine would usually nurse every hour, for the first year (sometimes the nursing session would only last 2-5 mins, so don't be scared!). Going 1 1/2 hours was unusual. (We would get a longer stretch some time in the night, after the newborn period. Well, unless they were teething. ) Of course 2 of mine were spirited, one was spunky and all 3 were cuddlers, so a lot of the nursing was for comfort or just out of love I got used to it quick. It was a great parenting tool.

Mainstream parenting books lead you to believe allbabies start to go 3 or 4 hours between nursings at x months. This is just not true, in most cases. It is based on artificially fed babies.

Add in that most infants have a fussy spell in the evening and pretty much nurse for 3 hours straight and have growth spurts every few weeks, where they are more on than off the breast to build up your supply, that adds up to lots of nursing. Soon, you hardly notice. You nurse as naturally as breathing.

Some 2 year olds nurse more frequently than a younger baby. B/c they really really love their mama!

[kindmomma]

you guys are lucky!

Wow what I wouldn't give for 2 hours between feedings. My newest little man is always on the breast. Forget the paci, he won't have anything to do with it. I am fine with it. I figure he knows better than me to what he needs.
But I would love a good 2 to 3 hours between feedings.
But soon I will be wishing he would nurse more because I miss it so I am enjoying every nursing moment!