Hi all, I took my two month baby to the pediatrician today and he said asked how often I breastfeed the baby. I told him I feed him every two hours during the day (on demand basically). He told me I should start feeding him every 3-4 hours for 20-30 minutes at a time so that he is getting the hind milk and so that he eats more because he's hungry. He said he was in the higher percentile for weight gain at his previous weight check shortly after he was born and he's now 10 lbs 7oz. He said he's on target because he's gained 4lbs since birth but also said to start changing his feeding pattern slowly (i.e. feed at 2 hours, next feeding 2hrs 15 min, next 2 hrs 30 min until we get up to feedings 3-4 hours apart). Does anyone else feed their baby more often or is scheduling to feed 3-4 hours? I understand what he's saying about the hindmilk but if my baby is hungry before the 3-4 hours he's suggesting I'm going to feed him.
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Do you feel like you are still full after feeding? Or is your baby having frothy green poops? It's possible that your baby is snacking and not getting a full meal. But it's also possible that your baby is draining you and just needs to eat every 2 hours. BM gets metabolized much faster than formula so babies get hungry sooner.
I'm usually a listen to the doctor type of person, but as a male he's probably not a BF-ing expert, and it's possible he might be more familiar with formula fed babies.
If you're truly concerned, I would reach out to a LC for help. My babies ate every 2 hours until they were like 6+ months old, so that's pretty normal to me. But we never had any weight issues.
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Do you have any reason to think there's a hindnilk/foremilk imbalance? Like, have poops been green? I'm not in the medical field at all so no expert, but with my girls (1 ebf, 1 combo fed) I feed/fed on demand. If your baby's growth is on tracks and there aren't any issues with digestion, I'd go with the flow....
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I don't see why you shouldn't continue to feed on demand, unless, as the previous posters said, if there are concerns with his growth or digestive health. My babies were/are both snackers- they eat for short periods, only one breast at a time, every few hours. No weight problems, they are just efficient at getting the milk from the breast.
Some further info on the foremilk/hindmilk question:
http://cindyandjana.com/exposing-the-myths-about-foremilk-and-hindmilk/ -
Oh my god this is such nonsense and I'm sorry you're experiencing the stress of having to consider it. Feed your baby when your baby is hungry. If baby's growth is on target then why on earth would you make such a drastic change!
[ETA] When DD was two months old I think I was feeding her over 20 times a day. She would nurse for about 5 minutes at a time, one side only.
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If every 2 hours is working for you and he's still gaining weight, then do what works for you. My babies still needed lots of feedings.
There is some thoughts that say feed up during the day so they sleep better at night and other methods that say space out feedings so they eat a "meal" instead of wanting to snack. Do what works for you.
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I had the pediatrician tell me this with DS1 and I ended up with a lowered milk supply and a baby who didn't gain any weight for a month. I had to supplement with formula.
Now DS2 is 2 months and feeding every 2 hours during the day and I'm just going to keep at it! -
I think stretching out feedings like this is more common with formula fed babies?
Like other posters have mentioned, if you don't think there's a hindmilk/foremilk imbalance, I think you should stick with your gut. I continued to feed my youngest every 2 hours at this age with no issues.
Also, babies doesn't really settle on their growth curve until ~6 months. My eldest was born in the 80th percentile, but at each check-up, he was at a lower percentile despite gaining wait, until he settled at the 15th percentile at 6 months (where's he stayed for the past 4 years). So don't be alarmed if your LO isn't on the same part of the growth curve as they were at birth.
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I fed on demand until i went back to work at 12 weeks, and every two hours sounds about right where we were at at 2 months. I wouldn't change anything unless there's an actual problem.
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Yea, no. My LO was the same way thankfully no one ever told me to change what we were doing. I'd trust your baby more than your dr in this instance.
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Thanks all! He's having plenty of wet and soiled diapers (not green). He's also on target for weight and no health issues. After I feed him I feel less full. I think my supply is still regulating though bc I pumped for the first six weeks and have been BF the last 3ish weeks. I still wake up engorged sometimes. He does eat better at night bc he wakes up about every 3-5 hours so he's hungrier. I know he's getting milk bc I can hear him swallowing, see the milk and sometimes he has spit up. I have no idea if he's getting the hind milk or not though bc I let him stay on the breast as long as he wants. Sometimes this can be less than 20 minutes and other times it's not.
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Both of my babies were frequent feeders and efficient feeders. We almost never nursed for 30 minutes at once. With number two I started only nursing on one side each feeding to make sure he was getting hind milk and I was making enough milk that what he got from one boob was plenty. Going off the clock is not a very good way to judge breast feeding. Everyones bodies are different in how they make enough milk for baby. So it might be that you need to nurse more often then someone else to make enough milk. No problem, we are all different.
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@MsBAM: All that sounds totally normal, so unless YOU want to change things, I'd keep doing what you're doing! Sounds like you're doing a great job!
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@Adira: Thank you!
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Both of my kids have been quick, frequent feeders. I fed every 2 hours and sometimes more often. They'd most often only take one side so sometimes I offered the same side twice in a row to make sure they were getting hind milk. I don't think you need to adjust your schedule at all. Let baby eat when he is hungry!
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Everyone has given you great advice or experiences but I just wanted to tell you wonderful job on getting baby back to breast! You have done a ton of work to get there, keep it up and feel proud!
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@delight: That's what I told the doctor! I asked if I could just feed him the same breast at the next feeding if he only eats for 10 mins. That's when he said no, to alternate breast and that he should be eating every 3-4hrs.
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@mrsbubbletea: Thank you so much!
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@MsBAM: it's funny how health professionals say different things. I was told by my lactation consultant to do the same breast twice since LO would only feed for a few minutes each time, but then eat again in 1.5-2 hours. My DS just turned 9 months and is a healthy 20 lbs and we haven't had any issues. We are now down to more regular feedings at this point.
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I'd keep doing what you're doing unless you don't want to feed that often. I fed DD on demand and she was a very efficient eater. We never had any weight/digestive issues.
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@MsBAM: My DD was still eating every 2 hours during the day until 5ish months. At 2 months she sometimes ate like every 90 mins! She just can't handle a lot of volume at once so she was a more frequent, lesser volume feeder. I usually feed from just one breast at a time, and in the earlier days if she ate less frequently than every 2 hours, I'd feed her on the same side twice to make sure she got the hind milk. She was a relatively slow gainer and had green poops though. It sounds like what you're doing is working so I say continue to feed on demand! There's no reason to space out your feedings unless you're having some type of problem with it.
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I think its just whatever works for you and your baby. If YOU don't mind feeding every 2 hours or on demand, that's fine. I think what you're comfortable with and what works for your baby's tummy is most important, particularly since you say there's no problem with weight gain.
I am the opposite, however. I personally preferred scheduled feedings for my kids, so I worked on scheduling our nursing sessions. So by 8 weeks my kids were feeding every 3 hours. By 12 weeks, they fed every 3.5. By 4 months both fed every 4 hours and we stuck to do that until a year.
Full disclosure: I did a bottle of formula at bedtime and freely gave pumped bottles in addition to nursing directly, so my kids were not strictly BFed.
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Personally I would just do what you're doing if baby is gaining well. But that's me!
My two month old eats every 1.5-4 hours a day, so if she seems hungry I just feed her. She typically takes one side and nurses for 5-10 minutes. I'm fine with the balance so I'm not messing with things.
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I find a lot of pediatrician-recommended feeding protocols totally laughable, to be honest. Babies are NOT one size fits all. Every mom's milk content, quality, and let-down rate is different. That recommendation of 10 minutes on one side, 5 on the other? Not remotely realistic for my baby. I produce a lot of milk and have a really fast, heavy let down and he RARELY ate for more than 7 minutes and even more rarely will take anything from the other side. He's jumped 50% in weight since his birth (he's 10 months now) and is growing well.
You do what YOU know it's best. Your baby, your body, your milk.
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My los were bottle fed but every 2 hours in the daytime doesn't seem like too much to me especially at that age. Heck I snack that often some days. Obviously take it with a grain of salt bc I wasn't nursing but I think your baby seems to be doing well and I'd just keep following baby's cues.. 🤷♀️
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