Hellobee Boards

Hmmm I don't have much advice b/c we have always nursed on demand, especially through distractible phases to ensure we kept up my supply & didn't risk early self weaning.

Around 8 months P naturally spaced out her feedings but then picked them back up & now at 12 months she nurses around 5x a day (sometimes more, sometimes less if we're out of the house or busy).

@hilsy85: Pretty much anytime she fussed at all I offered & sometimes even if we were just cuddling.

I nursed both kids on demand, and never put them on a schedule. It was usually every 3 hours that they want to nurse, DD can't go past 3.5 hrs or she gets cranks, she is nearly 8 months old. Neither kids had dummies, so if they were upset and cuddles just weren't doing the trick I nurse then too.

Breastfeeding is imporaptant to me, so if that means I have to nurse all over the place then I am happy with that.

@hilsy85: I'd definitely urge you to try it! We were doing EASY for a long time and I would just feed him whenever he woke up.. and then his naps shortened to 20 or 30 minutes and I was feeding him sometimes 1.5 hours in between feedings. I found we were both getting frustrated; he wouldn't eat very much and fuss and then I'd stress over him not eating enough. It was a snacking cycle, I think, and then he'd wake even more at night to fill up for the 24 hours.

Like your LO, he doesn't really do hunger cues except fussing now that he is older. Once I started offering at 3 hours it became SO MUCH better. Our nursing sessions were pleasant instead of frustrating because he was actually hungry. Like you, I was worried he'd wake more at night - I feel like I read a lot of advice to feed more frequently during the day so they don't need to eat at night but for my son the opposite is true.

Now at 5 months he'll often go 4 hours in the morning, or sometimes if he's asleep during the afternoon. An average day is wake at 6:30, eat at 7, eat somewhere between 10-11, eat around 1:30, eat around 4:30, eat around 6:30, and then one feed in the middle of the night usually around 2 or 3. Our naps are erratic lately - if they work out in a way that he has only had 3 feeding by around 4 I throw another one in between last nap and dinner nursing and it has worked out well.

It also helped our night wakings because he was fuller during the day - so now I am comfortable knowing that if he wakes before 2 he will put himself back to sleep or with me shh/patting under normal circumstances, and that if he wakes in between 4-6:30 the same applies.

I hope that makes sense or is helpful! I know how scared I always am to mess with his sleep habits and it sounds like you feel similarly about LO's eating Honestly, give it two days and see. There is no way it could have a detrimental effect on his weight that fast!

@hilsy85: I hope it goes well! I am in the same boat as you - I love nursing and would happily nurse more often if he was keen on it. But it is ever so much more fun (for both of us) to nurse him on a semi-schedule so he is focused and then smilely instead of squirmy and irritable!