Wants to Eat Every Hour

Good for you for breastfeeding eventhough you have to pump some! I have two children and breastfed, too. I had to pump at work as well and I would say that you might not get as much milk with the pump vs. when your son is nursing. The baby is more efficient, I was told. You might have to start adding a little formula in with the breastmilk to stretch it further and gradually add more formula as he adjusts to it. When you are with him, I'd recommend to definitely nurse from both sides consecutively. He's hungry! But, that will also help you to produce more when you have to pump. Secondly, I'd recommend giving him some more food in addition to the rice cereal. I know some people are against it, but I started my babies around 4-6 months with baby food as was recommended by the dr. Seemed to keep them satisfied. Hope this helps! Hang in there!

First...babies actually get more when they suck, than when you pump. Second...it sounds like you're going to have to pump more often. Even if that means in the middle of the night, once or twice, to help with production for daycare. I know it's a pain, trust me, I did it for over 6 months, every 2 hrs. I either nursed or pumped, sometimes both. But in the end, I feel it's worth it, if it's really want you want. Esp.since he won't take formula.
It does sound like he's in a growth spurt, and just remember, that it will shortly pass, just hang in there with it. The rice cereal is an excellent idea, especially for his age. It's appropriate at this point in time.
That's all I've got for ya...pump more often to help stimulate more production (supply & demand), and do the cereal.

6 months is just right for a growth spurt! Let him eat every hour for a day and he will have increased the milk production to the level that his new height/weight requires. He will then taper off.

I am not sure how this will work with your work schedule though...perhaps, you could bring him into to bed with you (there are ways to safetly co-sleep) and let him nurse more at night? A couple nights of that should get your supply up to his needs.

It's possible that you might not be producing enough milk to satisfy him. I think I remember that the lactation consultants told me that the amount you pump doesn't correlate exactly with what they get... esp. if you use a hospital grade pump. They are more efficient. Although by 5 months, a baby sure is an experienced nurser! Maybe you could ask the L.C. if there is one at the hospital you work at -- noticed you are a PT OR nurse.

It sounds like you are really just looking to find out how to pump more and possibly how to get his tummy filled up better? First, why at work can you only pump two times. I went back to work part-time for a few weeks (it did not work out for me I wanted to be home) and I was able to pump every two hours just how I would have fed him at home. Legally your work cannot limit the amount of times you pump. You shoudl talk to your supervisor and let him/her know that you will need to be pumping more at work. I am sure they will hassel you but LEGALLY they cannot not let you. Good luck.

Hi J.,
It has been quite awhile since I too had this problem with my son. His weight at birth was almost 10 pounds so he was hungry all the time. I fed him on demand for the first two months from both sides, but, I felt he needed to start lenghtening out the time between feedings so I would walk outside or around the house with him to distract him for a little bit each day. Then I would increase the time by another fifteen minutes or so until I had his nursing schedule at 4 hour intervals. Eventually that became the norm and he did very well from then on. I hope this helps you as I realize it is more difficult when you work away from home.
Good luck. There is nothing as rewarding as being able to breast fed your baby and watch him grow to be healthy and strong.
P.

Hi J.,
When I nursed my daughter, she only nursed for 5 min every 30 minutes. People told me I was nuts and that I should make her go hungry to force her into a better schedule. It didn't feel right to me. I asked my Peds. Dr. and she said although it wasn't the easiest way, to continue the way I was. As she got older, it would take me til lunch to get her through breakfast etc...She was always one to eat just small amounts several times a day, but this is the way we should all be really. I hope this helps.
T.

www.workathomeunited.com/T.
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I would try a little juice. When my oldest was just over 2 months she started eating every 45 min. around the clock...the dr suggested juice. It worked great. I offered about 1/2 - 1 oz juice everyday for a week and her feedings spaced right out. The dr. said that she was probably going thru a growth spurt and did not have enough energy to finish her meals.

Your child is a little older...maybe he is ready to start on something other than just breastmilk. Like cereal or baby food.

Little about me: SAHM of 4.

Hi J.,
I am breastfeeding my 3 1/2 month old son. He has had sperts were he wants to eat every 2 hours. So far I have had enough milk, but now he is getting read to eat cereal and I haven't pumped any. I know there is this pill you can take that is safe called finugreek (not sure if that is the right spelling) you can get it at the GNC store. Mothers who breastfeed twins take it to produce enough milk for both babies. My cousin took it and she had plenty of milk. I asked my ob and they said it was safe to take. Well good luck!!
S.

Is he teething? It may seem early, but maybe he's using you as a gum-soother. Does he also take a pacifier?

My son went through a phase like that right before teething--eating for 30 mins or, if I cut him off, wanting to feed more often than seemed necessary. Check with your ped. to see if he's got any buds, and try your best not to supplement to keep up your supply. We passed through it, and I continued to bf until he walked at 15 mos. and lost interest. Good luck!

Can your work help out by giving you more opportunities to pump? The other option is to pump even after he has eaten... your body will pick up on the need for more milk and start producing more. There is also a tea called Mother's Milk that is supposed to help increase production. With my first son, when he needed a little more than what I had I would mix 1 part formula to 3 parts breast milk and he seemed to do well with that for a while. It was also a good way to eventually put him on straight formula at 10mos when he lost interest in breastfeeding. Good luck! :)

J.,
Its ok to start him on food, create his meal times just like yours, but also breastfeed, just pump both breasts right after hes done(it will give you a little extra to store for daycare). Sometimes your milk production will slow down regardless of what you do, but try the complete emptying and meals first before you give up.
Good Luck!
R.

Hi J.,
I nursed both of my children who are now 5 and 2. I've seen this many times where they get into a growth spurt and seem to want to nurse constantly. I used a pump with my son, but have fortunately been at home with dd. The baby is more efficient at the breast than the pump, so your son probably gets more milk than when you pump which is a good thing! This may sound crazy, but could you pump right before and after work? I had a pump that I would use in the car. I never pumped while driving, but I've heard of it being done. If that is not an option, then maybe you could start him on mashed bananas or pureed sweet potatoes. My daughter showed definte cues that she wanted solids, so we started her at 5 months. Hope this helps. Good luck!
M. S.
PS The moms who I know who have used finugreek, says it works well, but you may have to have it in your sysem a few days before you see results. Ultimately, the way to increase milk supply, is to nurse or pump more. Every time you nurse or pump, your body goes to work to make more. Even if you can't pump a full 3-4 oz out, increasing the frequency of pumping will increase milk. I know that's difficult to do!

I know others have said to try to pump more at work, but I'm guessing the OR docs aren't going to care that you need to go pump in the middle of surgery! My boys needed about 3 meals a day at this point, so maybe if you add a lunch in there it will help. Good luck!

Hi J.,

My oldest daughter did that. She ate every 1 1/2 to 2 hours till she was six months and then we cut it out. After they are about three to four months old and of average or more weight, they do not need to feed that often anymore. This is what our doctors told us, but we were not quiite sure how to cut the feedings. So the doctor suggested to start by dropping two nighttimefeedings and stretching her int he night to 4 hours in between feedings. It was hard, because essentially we had to let her cry, but after a couple of days, she did not cry in the night anymore and her daytime feedings also started to stretch to four hours apart. IT is not that they need the food, the are used ot it and it is convinient. I also switched her to formula by starting out making a bottle with 6 ounces of breastmilk and two ounces of formula for the first week, since she did not like the formular straight right away. Then I made the next few weeks every bottle with less breastmilk and more formula and she started to get used to it. After a few weeks I was able to switch her to fomrula. An dhten closer to eight months, beacuse she still dod not sleep to the night, we decideed to do the sleep/food training again and let her fuzz and scream for a week in the hours between ten pm to 6am and after that she slept through the night ever since without a problem.
I had tried all the gentle methods on the market, read every book available and nothing worked for her till we were ready to let her cry it out.

It was tough, but well worth it. Now at 2 1/2 she is a very good sleeper and also still takeas a nap for me.
By the way, for the crying out method, the ferber book has a good take on that too.

Good luck and hope you are able to change that feeding habit.

T. Cicerchi