[USAmma]

My baby, as many of you know, has severe reflux. It gets better and then it crashes again. During her good periods she will be able to tolerate 5 oz. feedings every 4 hours around the clock. During her bad periods, like we are going through right now, she can tolerate the "half as much, twice as often" thing. So to be exact, 74 ml every 2 hours, around the clock. Nitara gets fed throughout the night by feeding pump.

I have been around some of my nursing friends and their babies-- the ones who have not started solids yet-- seem to nurse a LOT. I'm just wondering if it's normal and healthy for a 10 month old to nurse every 2 hours around the clock? Her doctors say she should be able to hold 6-8 oz. in her stomach right now but she can't hold even half that sometimes. Are there some babies who just have to eat more frequently even at this age? Just curious.

Thanks,
Darshani

 

[sterlingW]

As long as your baby is gaining weight, then I wouldnt worry about it. She could be just snacking and not fully nursing each time. I have a 10 month old and he nurses quite often as well. I have been feeding baby food but he usually doesnt eat it till dinner time so mainly he nurses. I dont know about acid reflux and breastfeeding. You may want to go to this website La Leche League website. They have loads of information. Also have you considered calling a lactation consultant because I had one come out and help me with some problems I was dealing with and she really helped me. Sometimes the doctor doesnt allways know and the Lactation person does. I know from my experinces that when my baby nursed often, it meant that he wasnt correctly latched on. Well I hope this helped. Sterling
mommy to Alex 02/17/04

 

[USAmma]

My baby is tube-fed. She does not nurse.

But thanks anyway.

Darshani

 

[Jordansmommy]

Jordan is almost 11 months, and she does nurse every 2 hours or so. She can hold plenty in her tummy... she ate an entire chicken breast, half a pear and some cheerios plus 4 oz of breastmilk one day! But if I'm there, she wants to nurse. When she's busy it's a little less often.

Truthfully I eat every 2 hours also so no need to wonder where she gets it

 

[Dylan'sMom]

My DS eats nurses or has EBM (at daycare) about every 2 hours or so also. I know he can probably hold more than 4 ounces at a time, but I think he limits himself because of the reflux. Kinda like he knows just how much to eat to not upset his little tummy too bad, kwim? He still gets in his 2 8 oz bottles or more a day at daycare, just less more often.

With me he nurses every 2 hours during the day usually. At night he nurses around 10 when DH & I go to bed, then may sleep 4 hours or so without eating. He always wakes up around 2:30 am to nurse though, and then will usually nurse every 1 - 1/2 after that until he gets up around 6:45 am.

Maybe reflux babies are just different. They have some tummy protecting to do.

 

[Galatea]

Ds is 9.5 months and he eats at least every 2 hours if we are at home. If we are out and doing something fun or distracting, he will go 2-3 hours. I never limit how often so he nips and naps if he has the opportunity. He also had reflux but has grown out of it.

 

[USAmma]

Thank you for sharing your experiences with your refluxers and former refluxers. It's so hard to guess what Nitara needs as far as feedings because she doesn't feel hunger cues anymore. I'm trying to find that balance between not having both our lives revolve around the feeding pump, and not giving her so much that she vomits.

Darshani

 

[Galatea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by USAmma It's so hard to guess what Nitara needs as far as feedings because she doesn't feel hunger cues anymore. Darshani

Wow. Will she get that back eventually? Will she get off the pump?

 

[USAmma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galatea Wow. Will she get that back eventually? Will she get off the pump?

She's in feeding therapy to help her to accept different tastes and textures and she's doing great with her. The problem is she doesn't eat more than a bite or two. Feeding is play, not a means to satisfy hunger.

The hunger will probably come back when the reflux gets better. The therapists and doctors say that it will take 3-5 years for her to start eating normally enough to get off the feeding tube.

Here's a good articlethat explains more about how kids learn to lose their hunger cues and related conditions. It's short and easy to read.

Quote:

If a child is hungry enough, he/she will eat. They will not starve themselves. This is true for about 96 percent of the pediatric population. For the other 4 percent who have feeding problems, they are capable of inadvertently starving themselves. For the majority of these children, feeding hurts and no amount of hunger is going to overcome that fact. Children are organized simply; if it hurts, don't do it. For children who have skill or medical problems with eating, their appetite often becomes suppressed over time, such that they no longer respond correctly to appetite as a cue to eat.

Darshani

 

[Geofizz]

Darshani

To answer your initial question, when my dd was 10 months old, she still took no solids. She would nurse much more frequently than every two hours, but she had (and still does have!) two modes: "feed me" nursings and "comfort me" nursings. That is, I bet it really was every 2 hours that she's actually take in a fair amount of milk, and less in the in-between nursings.

My sense on how much the tummy can handle is probably that if the baby is used to taking large quantities, the stomach expands to hold larger quantities, but if your DD hasn't ever had larger feedings, her tummy might be smaller than other kids' tummies who have been taking more at a time. I'm guessing here...

That's a good article you posted.

 

[pumpkinhead]

Jacob nursed every 1-3 hours from birth and did so until he weaned. Even with solids! To this day, he still eats *something* every 2-3 hours and he's 27 months (not nursing).

I think that as long as Nitara is getting her needs met and is happy and gaining weight in spite of everything she and you have to endure, then it's all good. Keep reminding yourself that there is *no* such thing as normall!!! 'Normal' for your baby girl is a very different thing than 'normal' for any other child, and, for that matter, every child has a different version of what is normal for their own, individual self.

 

[Joey'smom]

My ds was diagnosed (by me!) with reflux at 9 months. Unfortunately it ended our nursing relationship. However, he did nurse pretty often until then and he only ate small meals; and we had to help him stretch his stomach a little. He eats more now, but when his reflux acts up he doesn't even finish a meal. He also still eats something about every 2-3 hours. It also took a number of weeks for him to learn how to be hungry again w/o thinking that it would hurt.

Hang in there. I truly believe that some relfux babies can only tolerate a certain amount of food at a time. So I wouldn't worry so much about the amount at each feeding, just watch her weight gain and you'll know if you need to worry about quantity.

to you and your little one.