How Much and for How Long??

I'm not an expert, but I can give you my experiences: My son is also 7 months old. He's 22 pounds, nurses 4-5 times per day (about 10 minutes per feeding), never at night (he sleeps 10-11 hours in his bassinet) and eats 6 jars of baby food spread out over 3 meals. My 3 year old I couldn't nurse (because she had a severely tied tongue and never learned to latch), so I pumped and gave it to her via a bottle, which she wanted every 2-3 hours and still had room for solids. There's a huge range of "normal" when it comes to feeding patterns, I'm sure your son is well within them. Breastfeeding is not just about nutrition, but also about comfort and closeness. Maybe he just wants to be close to his mama :) Good luck to you!

Hi Mama!

Hang in there! Ahhhhhhh....feeding little ones can be so frustrating and it sounds like you are rockin' as a mom and doing the best best you can. I had two things come to mind as I read this. First let me just say the the professed normal of the 'medical establishment' is really not very normal and there is a huge range of what is!!

perhaps your son is having a growth spurt. It may not be apparent now but his teeth might be getting ready to come in or he may shoot up a size overnight (I swear it happens overnight :)

The second thing he might be doing is trying to increase your milk supply. Babies nurse intuitively and as mamas we are most definitely on the giving end. Sometimes it can be so frustrating and so tiring...I do believe that only mamas are capable of the things they do...almost like super people...how much they give and how little they can go on!!! Hang in there. Try to trust your little one's instincts and your own! It will pass and you will now you did the best you could!!

stay strong
L.

p.s. I also just wanted to add that there is really no such thing as a "fat" breastfed baby...let him eat what he wants and do not worry about him getting 'to big to fast'

I agree that normal is different for every baby and each nurses according to his needs. Count yourself lucky, as I had nursing problems with my son and he went from the 75% at two months to 10% at six months. He has always been a light eater and it has given me gray hairs trying to get him to gain weight or at least maintain his growth curve. Long story short, remember that the fastest growth occurs during the FIRST year of baby's life and slows down from there. Breastmilk is "liquid gold" -- he can never have too much of it (although mom can feel like she's had too much of nursing!) -- your son is super healthy and you are doing a great job. My sympathies for what it takes out of you (literally) -- and with a 2 and 3 year old to boot? I don't know how you do it, but I think you're incredible to do it.

This sounds like my son too! He wanted to eat (solid or nursing) constantly--now that he just eats solids I realize the kid has a huge appetite. He was nursing constantly because he was just a really hungry kid. But, I didn't find it warm and fuzzy in the least, I found it exhausting and overwhelming--I felt like I couldn't leave the house for more than about 1 hour before I would be called back into service--we actually starting giving him a bottle of formula during the middle of the day when he was about 7 months old. I just needed a break and I felt so guilty doing it, but also a great sense of relief. So, that's my two cents--I know lots of people are anti-formula and I get it, but I also really loved getting to feel like my breasts could leave the house for a few hours a day if I wanted them to! I also went back to work part-time when my son was 8 weeks so it was nice to be able to work for a few hours at time without his dad having to bring him to me--I never had any luck pumping--

Sounds normal to me, probably going through a growth spurt like others suggested.
Even after you start solids, breastfeeding should be on demand, other than formula, you cannot overfeed with breastmilk.

Enjoy it while you can, in a few months he will be running around and have barely 5 minutes for you...

I disagree with the creating a chunky baby comment. Every kid is different as I'm sure you know well with three boys. I breastfed my first and am currently breastfeeding my second. My first daughter fed every two hours and was always above average height and below average weight, still is. My four month old, however; eats every 3-4 hours and is above average on height and weight.
By the way, congrats on nursing your 3rd baby for 7 months, that must be a challenge with the older two.

Because YOU let him. 3 hours minimum between feedings for my kids, growth spurt or not, and if I could do 4 then that was better. Mine also were sleeping through the night by 3 months consistantly but we didn't co-sleep either. What is his weight, are you creating a chunky kid or is he still skinny? That should tell you about the quality of your milk and if it is too much for him. To truly know how much he is eating make a trip to the doctors and get him weighed before and after breastfeeding to see how many ounces he is getting. That should tell you what to do. 6 or more ounces in the amount of times you feed him is 60+ ounces of milk plus his 3 meals = too much I think, but if he only gets 2 ounces at a time then he eats a normal amount just too close together so you need to space it out more. Bottom line is it is your call, what did you do with your other 2? That wasn't that long ago.