3mo-old still eating every two hours...?

[Hawk'sMom]

My LO is still eating every two hours at 3mos. I'm heading back to work next week (fulltime) and am worried about keeping up with the pumping demands since he's still eating so often. He gives me all the accurate hunger cues as he's really not really a fussy baby so I don't believe it's comfort thing. Has anyone else seen a similar pattern from an infant the same age? I was thinking he'd be stretching things out to about 3 hrs by now. He's about the same at night as well, he might go for 3 hrs when I first put him down but then he's up again 2hrs later after that first stretch. (He's also gaining the appropriate weight.)

[@llli*fernanda.salfity]

My LO is still eating every two hours at 3mos. I'm heading back to work next week (fulltime) and am worried about keeping up with the pumping demands since he's still eating so often. He gives me all the accurate hunger cues as he's really not really a fussy baby so I don't believe it's comfort thing. Has anyone else seen a similar pattern from an infant the same age? I was thinking he'd be stretching things out to about 3 hrs by now. He's about the same at night as well, he might go for 3 hrs when I first put him down but then he's up again 2hrs later after that first stretch. (He's also gaining the appropriate weight.)

hi, that sounds very normal to me. My DD had that same pattern for several months, then very gradually began to go for longer stretches after we started solids at 6 months. You're doing really well following his cues and feeding him on demand, well done! I'm sure other working and pumping moms will give you some hints about pumping.

[ljgrile]

None of my kids (my twins were FF) could go longer than about 2 hours between feedings for a long time, except at night. Sorry I don't have any suggestions for you!

[@llli*mommywith.3]

Mine were all like that too. Sounds very normal. I think breast milk digest alot faster than formula also. Hang in there it gets better!

[@llli*marcie.lynne]

Like the others have said, I think it sounds completely normal! My dd nursed every 2 hours (during the day) for a long, long, long time! I'm talking until she was nearly a year old! She did start to sleep one longer stretch during the night at some point- I don't really remember exactly when...

I went back to work (weekend package- friday, saturday, sunday- 12 hours/day) when my dd was 3 months old. I was able to pump before I left for work (dd was asleep), once in the mid-morning, once at lunch, once in the afternoon, and once after dd was asleep in the evening.

You'll find that everything will work itself out and you'll find your own schedule and rhythm...

Good luck! You're doing a great thing for your son! Keep it up!

[Thomas's Mum]

My son is almost 11 months old (!), and during the day he still eats about every 2-2.5 hours. I think you're doing great.

[spacytracy]

My LO is almost 4 months old and she pretty much does the same thing... since I've been back to work, she only takes 1-2 bottles during the day.

I pump 3x/day at work, once in mid-morning, once at lunchtime, and once in mid-afternoon. Sometimes on the weekend I pump to have a little stash.

I try to pump more than my LO eats while I'm gone because 1. Im nervous about my supply going down and 2. I want to make sure I can keep up with her once she starts eating more while I'm gone.

Its tough when she eats every 2 hrs at night. thankfully she eats and falls right back to sleep, and i have started NOT changing her diaper @ night if she seems ok. Changing her diaper only wakes her up more so if she's content I leave her be.

[@llli*jennifer.sigmon]

DD is 5 months and still eats about every two hours during the day, and sometimes even at night. I work only one afternoon a week, but when I work (about 5.5 hours away from DD), I can only pump once because it's so busy. Normally DD only nurses on one side, and doesn't usually empty that side. So when I pump at work, I pump both sides at the same time to empty. During this one pumping I get about enough milk that my daughter takes in while I am gone, but she does it gradually over the whole time span. I get concerned about this affecting my supply, but I'm lucky that I don't have to work that frequently, so I don't worry about it. I leave enough bottles for my husband to feed dd every two hours. So she usually eats about 3 times when I am gone. It's definitely hard to figure out how much milk to leave. I usually thaw enough milk for two bottles, then have fresh milk in the fridge for a potential third bottle (so I minimize wasting), if she wants it (and she usually does). If your baby is eating that frequently, the amount she eats with each feeding is probably less. Check out this link from kellymom http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html. Good luck!