How Do I Extend the Time Period Between Feedings?

A.-
I have to agree with Heather. I am currently nursing my 3rd and they all nursed at least every 2-3 hours at that age. Enjoy your little one. Take care.

Your sweetie is still really young to start stretching out feedings. My daugther nursed every 2 hours during the day and took a longer break at night for at least the first 4 months. Once he's a bit older you can distract him by play or activity to stretch out the time but just do little amounts of time 5 or 10 minutes over the course of a few days- as far as the pacifier mine finally took one around 3 or 4 months. Good Luck!

Hi A.,

Is there a reason why you are trying to get your child to eat b/w 3-4 hours? I highly suggest you feed him when he is hungry. You say that you don't think he's really hungry, but just wants to suck. What is he doing? At 6 weeks, it is very normal to feed every 2 1/2- 3 hours 8-9 feedings/day). What you want to concentrate on is getting him to do full feedings (empty both breasts) so you can avoid snacking. Many women do this, but snacking is very tiring on you and baby. Baby is growing and needs his sleep and you need sleep so you can care for baby and have quality breastmilk. A feeding schedule of every 3-4 hours doesn't usually happen until the baby is a little older. However, there are some exceptions at 6 weeks of age..not many.

I hope that helps.

God Bless,

One thing that might work is to feed every 1 1/2 -2 hours during the day. Then he might be tanked up more to sleep longer stretches at night?
Good luck!
C.

A., I have 2 kids, a 3 yr old and a 4 month old. You probably won't like my advice, but you just might have to give into him. When my babies were that young, they ate every 2-3 hours. You are a milk factory for the 1st several months. If you are really strong and determined to stretch out the feedings, you will just have to walk and talk to him. When I wanted to hold off one of mine, I would walk the floors and talk and sing to them. Of course, they would win and I would sit down and feed them. Have you tried letting him suck on your thumb? Good luck!

Hi A. - My little guy is 12 weeks today...I had a similar issue, except that he didn't have colic (thank God!). He still doesn't like to take a pacifier. If you are "timing" his feedings - say 10 or 15 minutes each side - try letting him nurse until he pops off on his own, then offer him the other side and keep going back and forth (in one sitting) until he just won't take it anymore. The first time I did this, it took me over an hour to feed him. It took about a week, but the feedings gradually began to take a normal amount of time and he was satisfied longer (3 1/2-4 hrs). I just introduced him to rice cereal mixed with breast milk this weekend, and he actually slept for 7 hours straight last night!

Personally I think he still too young to go to 3-4 hrs of feeding. Have you tried colic tablets or gas drops from little tummies.
Good luck!

Like others, I have to agree that your baby just needs to eat. Nursing on demand is important, especially at this age. It's hard, I know! You might try a sling - you can park the baby in it, start nursing, and you can still move around - they are great!! Maya wraps are pretty easy to use.

I also have to respectfully disagree with those who recommend BabyWise. The AAP also warns against the use of anything Ezzo recommends. Instead, try other books that are written by qualified, educated professionals - Happiest Baby on the Block or anything by Dr. William Sears (I highly recommend his Breastfeeding book).

Hang in there, it does get better!

I guess I would defintely talk to your Pediatrian. I think eating every 2 1/2 hours at 6 weeks is perfectly normal. You might work on getting him to wait every 3 hours by adding 10 minutes. My 5 1/2 month old still eats every 3 hours except during sleep. So I would think 4 hours is a lot for a 6 week old.

For a colic baby I would recommend reading Dr Karps the Happies Baby on the Block. It really helps you understand their needs. The need to suck on something is perfectly normal and helps them relieve stress. I think he would say to go ahead and let your baby eat every 21/2 hours. Think about when he was in the womb he had instant food all the time. Asking him to wait 4 hours now is hard especially for sensitive colicy babies!

Hi A.!

Most babies experience a growth spurt around 6 wks old and will want to nurse around the clock for several days. They will then slow down on their own. They increase their nursings so that your body will increase the amount of milk that it is making to meet their growth needs. They will usually have another similar growth spurt at around 12wks.

Hopefully, he's just growing fast and will soon give you a break! Hang in there....you will never regret the time spent nursing your little angel!!

:-) H.
Mommy to Mandy (nursed 13 mo) & Joey (nursed 16 mo)

A., I am a Certified Nurse Midwife - live in Frisco and practice out of Medical Center of Lewisville - i have nursed all 3 of my children and 2 had colic - my best advice is to understand that your baby needs you to be there for him and to feed him when he desires - also babies usually go through growth spurts at 3wks, 6 wks, 3 mos and 6 mos - with breastfeeding he will increase the frequency of feedings to tell your breasts to make more milk - then he will slow down and with each feeding will receive more milk per feeding - it is an ingenious system that works if you listen to your baby - please be patient - H.

A baby this young needs to feed every 2 to 3 hrs, especially if you're breastfeeding him. The feeding times can vary anywhere from every 2 hrs to every 3 hrs. If he's going through a growth spurt he'll feed every 1 and a half to 2 hrs during which he'll drink more milk than normal each feeding time. If he's not experiencing a growth spurt, he'll feed every 2 and a half to 3 hours. You're baby is on a normal feeding schedule.

What worked for me was to make sure your cycle is feed/wake time/sleep. Try that if you're not already. Alot of babies want to sleep after they eat but the best sleep comes when they eat, then "play" and then sleep. I had to do a 2 1/2 hr. schedule when my second needed to gain a little weight and it about killed me! It's tough. Try to get through a cycle with feeding him and not feeding him again until 3 hours (after you started the feed...not 3 hours from when he finished.) He may just be snacking in between but if you can get him to wait, then he will really eat b/c he has not had a "snack" and you can shift the cycle. You may be doing all this already...feel free to email me back if you would like. ____@____.com
Hang in there!!

Get the books Secrets of the baby whisperer and Babywise. I consider these the "bibles" on figuring out infants, establishing routines so that you can have a healthy, happy baby and be happy yourself too. Both have strategies which were effective on both of my children and I believe can be effective on any child. I don't think you need to move to a 3-4 hour feeding schedule unless your child is sleeping through the night. Otherwise they won't be getting the calories during the day for them to drop the night feeding. I firmly believe it is a matter of creating structue, not feeding when the cry may mean something else, and really analyzing your babies cues (if they've been yawning they're tired not hungry). Both of my children would not take pacifiers and I think in that case you have to be able to tolerate a little crying. However, recognizing tiredness cues when you know they are full helps you get them to bed in a timely manner and minimize any crying to wind down and go to sleep. Also, keep in mind those first 2 months are tough no matter how you cut it.

Actually, 2 1/2 hours is ok for a 6-week old. He may not get to 4 hours until he's more like 10 or 12 weeks. However, you could extend the time by about 15 minutes (use the baby swing, take a walk, something to keep his mind off food for a little while). Do that for about 3 days, then stretch him another 15 min.

You could also try to help him organize his eating and sleeping patterns during the day. A lot of people recommend Babywise. While their "crying-it-out" advice really shouldn't be attempted until your baby is a little older (at least 8 weeks, and I'd recommend waiting until 12), their advice on the sleep/eat/wake routine is great.