not satisfied

[@llli*molly.smommy]

My LO is now 9 weeks old. She has been nursing pretty much all day and it is almost always like this. My DH thinks my milk isn't satisfying her. I just went back to work and the sitter and my DH began putting cereal in her bottles. They say she is happy and content for much longer periods of time. Am I doing something wrong? Why does just m milk not seem to keep her happy. I am feeling so down What should I do?

[@llli*mommal]

Welcome, mama, and congratulations on the baby and on making it to 9 weeks of nursing!

First of all, you are not doing anything wrong, and there's nothing "unsatisfying" about your milk. It is 100% normal for a breastfed baby to nurse all the time. Breastmilk digests fast (in about 90 minutes), infant tummies are tiny, growth spurts come often in the early weeks, and those three facts coupled with the fact that babies love to be close to their mommies and to the breast generally combine to produce a pattern of frequent feedings. This is especially true after mom returns to the workforce: many babies make up for the hours they didn't spend with mom during the day by being glued to her all evening/night ling.

If anyone ever told you that babies "should" go 3-4 hours between feedings, they mislead you terribly. Breastfed babies normally feed every 1-3 hours, and should not be expected to go more than that without wanting to nurse. The idea that babies should go long periods without eating comes from the feeding patterns of scheduled, formula-fed infants.

I strongly suggest you have your DH and sitter immediately stop putting cereal in your baby's bottles. Not only is the cereal replacing the ideal food (breastmilk) in your baby's diet with processed starch, but cereal in a bottle is a choking hazard (see http://baby.families.com/blog/5-reas...r-babys-bottle, for example). Taking away the cereal doesn't mean that you can't do anything to keep your baby happier for longer. I suggest your DH and sitter try the following:
- Offer smaller bottles, and offer them more often. Many breastfed babies prefer to eat 2 oz every 2 hours.
- Offer a pacifier when baby seems to want to continue to suck even after being well-fed.
- Wear baby in a sling. Closeness to a caregiver can be very soothing.

[@llli*joe.s.mom]

Couldn't agree more. You aren't doing anything wrong, what you describe is NORMAL behavior for a 9 week old baby. They nurse a lot, they crave constant contact, they fuss when they don't get it.

Nine weeks is WAY too early for cereal! And as Mommal says, it can be a choking hazard. It's harder to digest than breastmilk, but it doesn't provide the same nutrients, either. It's simply not good for a child that young to be getting cereal, their gut is not developed enough to digest it well.

[@llli*molly.smommy]

thanks for the help! All advice welcome but is 30 min or so between feedings normal?

[@llli*joe.s.mom]

thanks for the help! All advice welcome but is 30 min or so between feedings normal?

It can be, especially if your baby is fussy/colicky/high-needs, has reflux, or is going through a growth spurt.

As far as bottle feeding, your baby should be getting 1-1.5 ounces per hour at most, though. So if she's taking a ton more than that, I'd suspect she's getting overfed and would suggest trying her in the sling to comfort her (ETA: or try a pacifier), rather than giving her more milk.

I assume she's gaining weight and has normal diaper output (6-8 wet diapers per day)?

[@llli*yoginimama]

thanks for the help! All advice welcome but is 30 min or so between feedings normal?

Yup. I remember feeling like all I did was nurse. I remember thinking it was kind of crazy. But most all of the mamas here spent a good 12 weeks in our PJs, sitting on the couch nursing. This is the foundational time to build your milk supply. I know it seems hard to believe but someday you will look back and wish you could kick back and sit on the couch and read or watch TV while the babe nurses non-stop. Get some movies, fire up the DVR, grab a great book, some snacks and enjoy!

[@llli*djs.mom]

Please do NOT let them put cereal in her bottle! She is way too young to begin with and it will negatively affect your nursing relationship. YES newborns eat around
the clock. YES breastmilk absorbs very very quickly into rapidly growing tissues and organs. Most children double their birth weight in the 1st 6months. To do that you need to eat all the time. And Seriously cereal in the bottle IS a choking hazard. Even if she was old enough for cereal (which she won't be for 4 months) it's not recommended. You are doing fine. Keep feeding your baby.

[@llli*maddieb]

thanks for the help! All advice welcome but is 30 min or so between feedings normal?

Yes, absolutely, as long as baby is gaining appropriately.

This is an excelent handout for caregivers about bottle feeding the breastfed baby: http://www.llli.org/docs/00000000000...astfedbaby.pdf

Your DH my be feeling frsutrated baby can only be comforted by you. he may find these suggestions helpful. http://www.llli.org/docs/00000000000...t_partners.pdf

Also you can assure your DH that the info in these handouts are from the research and science based book "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" (8th edition, 2010.)

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests babies be exclusively breastfed for at least 6 months. That means no other food, even watered-down rice cereal. Giving babies cereal at this age is a very outdated idea that has been shown to not be healthy.

[@llli*katmar]

It sounds like one of the issues is that you and DH aren't on the same wavelength. I've had a few of these conflicts, esp since i do most of the research, but we both do childcare. If you guys are like us, you might find that insisting your husband research his feeding idea will help. I would also have a serious talk with the caregiver! perhaps it would also be helpful to have a general plan of no food introductions until everyone is in agreement (& it's after 6 months). Funny how couple communication has to reach a whole new level of efficency, post baby, no matter how in tune you were before. Hope you resolve it peacefully!

Oh, also, i found it really helpful to leave the Sears baby book in places like the bathroom, casually open to the relevant section, so that he could find it and get his own ideas. Sears is great bc he writes a lot about father parenting styles too, which I really think are as challenging if not more: parenting without nursing sounds way harder to me (pumping moms get credit for that, too).