baby eating every hour

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Infants

Baby eating every hour

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proudmom

Sat, Oct 16 2004, 8:31 pm

My baby is 5 months old and she eats every single hour on the hour. I dont think she is having a growth spurt because she has been doing this for a month or so. I give her food to eat 2 - 3 times a day and then I nurse her after too and still she eats every hour. What should I do?

proudmom

Sat, Oct 16 2004, 8:44 pm

I forgot to mention that at night she sleeps she doesnt get up every hour to eat

Nechama

Sat, Oct 16 2004, 11:10 pm

Describe HOW you are nursing her.
Do you give her both sides? How long do you give her each side before switching?
THere are two parts to breast milk: There is the foremilk which is thinner and less satifying for a hunger but appropriate for a 'thirsty' baby, following that is the hindmilk which is higher in fat content and therefore more filling.
It takes between 5 and ten minutes to get through foremilk to the hindmilk on each breast.
So IF you are nursing for less than 8 minutes on one side and then switching her she may not be getting hindmilk and therefore she is still hungry.
Try 10 -15 minutes on one side and then switch.

proudmom

Sun, Oct 17 2004, 5:54 am

I nurse her on one side for around 10 minutes she burps and then she doesnt want to eat anymore. She will just bite me.

Another thing is that she doesnt take a pacifire, she isnt losing any weight, she is fat and chubby. BH

Nechama

Sun, Oct 17 2004, 7:45 pm

I never used a pacifier except for one of my kids.
She isn't getting enough hindmilk in one 10 minute session. That is why she is hungry again in an hour. Its like a 'short' break for her between sides. Wink

Can you try stimulating her between sides? Tickle her head or feet while trying to give her the second side?
OR break the suction on the first side after 5 minutes, then burp her and offer the second side. Try to go 15 minutes on the second side.
The next nursing switch which side you start with. And do 5 minutes then 15 again.
Use a safety pin on your strap if you think you will have trouble remembering which side to start. I found I was fuller on the side I wanted to start on.
HTH

miriam

Mon, Nov 08 2004, 8:29 pm

I started giving my 10 month old unsweetened rice krispies and rice milk before bed and she slept 9 hours straight!!!!!!! This is the same child who, last week, woke up every two hours to nurse. Of course, I woke up after five hours and was worried about her but she was fine B"H. We are up to night three and it's still happening. I am still in shock (and much more rested).

Pickle Lady

Tue, Nov 16 2004, 4:51 am

Heres my feeling unless this setup with her nursing alot during the day bothers you then there is no reason to change it. Don't worry about the fat contant in the milk either. If shes growing well and shes a happy baby, than thats all you can ask. When it comes to the fat contant in the milk, a full breast will have less of a percent and an emptier breast will have a higher percent of fat. so the more often you nurse the higher percent of fat in you milk. You daughter will only nurse for 10 min because shes not that hungry and also she may be wanting to build up your supply during the day. An lactation consultant once told me that your baby is fine if you nurse on demand. Unless you need to setup a schedule its best to nurse on demand. My son is almost 5 months and he sometimes nurses often during the day. It can be annoying, but later in the evening I know he wants to nurse constantly because he will then sleep for awhile.

Also when it comes to solids, its suppose to be additional to you milk. Milk is the source of nutrition. the food you are giving her really should be not too much and it should be after you nurse her. Theres no nurtitional benefit to feeding you baby solids before a year old. Pm if you want to know more

imanut

Tue, Nov 23 2004, 4:42 pm

maybe she is nursing for comfort, not hunger.

rydys

Tue, Nov 23 2004, 6:27 pm

I agree with Imanut. Ten minutes should be plenty of time for an average child to empty a breast, hindmilk and all. Some babies nurse from only one breast at each feeding and switching breasts before the baby naturally finishes sucking only decreases the amount of hindmilk she receives. While the main nutrition for a baby under one year is from the mother's milk, some babies are hungry for solids and should be started on solids earlier than others.

What pattern your baby uses to nurse is unique to your child. There is nothing wrong with a baby eating every hour, unless it is too difficult for you. If that is the case, you could try spacing her out for a few days to change her pattern. You need someone else to help you with this. Basically, you nurse her until she's finished, then give her to someone else to hold/play with and you "disappear" out of sight for 1 1/4 hours. Once she is used to going 1 1/4 hours, space out to 1 1/2 hours, etc. This also allows your body to rest more between feedings and have a larger amount of milk for her to eat at each feeding, which may hold her longer.

imanut

Wed, Nov 24 2004, 5:42 am

when my baby was 5 months old she was nursing every 1 1/2-2 hrs and it was really hard. when I started her on solids at 6 months, she suddenly went from nursing 11 times a day to nursing 6 or 7.

Last edited by imanut on Wed, Nov 24 2004, 10:40 am; edited 1 time in total

proudmom

Wed, Nov 24 2004, 7:59 am

if I give my baby food she will still eat every hour. so that wont make a difference

zuncompany

Wed, Nov 24 2004, 8:18 am

Zu did this. It literally took me getting preg. again to get him to cut down. With him though I was his mozezes (sp?) and food source. The ped told me he just needed a lot of comfort nursing. It did horrible things to my body though... couldn't loose weight (was putting it on actually), was always tired, sick. However breast is best:)

Sara

ForeverYoung
Guest

Wed, Nov 24 2004, 10:48 pm

you're a very dedicated mom, Sara

zuncompany

Wed, Nov 24 2004, 11:33 pm

thanks... doesn't mean I didn't cry non-stop about it! Boy was I relieved the day he cut down from nursing 15-17 times a day to 4!

Sara

1stimer

Mon, Jan 24 2005, 11:23 pm

to those of you who's babies nursed/nurses every hour how did/do you cope?

some days it seems like he spends more time nursing than not!!!!

proudmom

Tue, Jan 25 2005, 2:09 am

I feel the same way. its really tough,

Motek

Sun, Nov 27 2005, 2:22 pm

I came across this question and answer in "Heart to Heart Talks" - Rabbi Chaim P. Scheinberg, and it was this piece that I read that made me take out the book:

"A mother of a several months old baby once asked me a wonderfully interesting question. 'I have a child, she said, 'who likes to eat. I am nursing and spend about one-and-a-half hours at each feeding. This adds up to endless hours during each day, and I am forced to neglect the hoome and the other children. Should I stop nursing and give the baby formula to enable me to accomplish more?'

"This is a very practical question. This mother, of course, loved her child but she also wanted to take care of the other children and be a good housewife as well. By giving the child a bottle she could then care for him and even herself a little bit. But I said no, she should not stop nursing the child. Nursing is a wonderful, G-d given way to feed the child. Why should we deprive the child of the chesed to which he is entitled at birth? I then explained to her on what I based my answer.

"Do you know how much chesed goes into the feeding of a child, I asked her. This is a very impt. phase in the mother and child relationship. In the first year, they develop a closeness through this sucking and nursing. The mother derives endless love and affection for the child and comes to understand motherhood. Hashem has put so much chesed into the mother for this child. Nothing will ever replace the motherly love that the child feels from suckling; nothing can substitute for that special chesed.

"Her question amazed me. Here is a mother who gives so much for her child - one and a half hours at each feeding. The mother is this symbol of chesed; we see how much she cares for and loves the child. Yet she did not realize the importance of what she was doing, that it was the caressing, the closeness, that was giving her - and all mothers - a special gratification."

1stimer

Sun, Nov 27 2005, 2:27 pm

I see you're reading his book Wink

However, he doesn't address her other question, what about the other children?

raizy

Mon, Nov 28 2005, 7:53 pm

believe I was in the same boat. and that why I dropped it . I had one kid on my head litteraly and one kid running out the door he was young and I would have to run after him. and I had the 3rd kid jumping in my lap all while I was nurseing the baby . forget it I said and I gave him bottles. and ooh my house was going to pots . and the kids knew I was busy couldnt move out of my seat so they would do intresting trouble then...

so now that my kids are older we will see how long it will last!!!

tzivi

Mon, Nov 28 2005, 8:01 pm

thanks for posting Motek, it is a really beautiful way of looking at nursing.

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