Snacking vs feeding.

My internet, or rather access to Google has been out almost since DS
was born 7 weeks ago and I've been dying to get info on this. He's
much more of a snacker then feeder, and for the most part I don't mind,
but nights are driving me nuts. For instance, he'll go down around
8pm after nursing for about 10 minutes, then he'll sleep til 10:30 or
so. After that it's 3-5 minutes every 45 minutes or so ALL NIGHT,
with an "hour of power" hour of being awake at around 3 am. Not fussy,
just awake, and mad if I put him down. If I try to really wake him up
to eat, he'll stay awake, but if I let him doze off after just a few
minutes, he's up again.

That said, he never nurses for more than 10 minutes, and DD doesn't
either. I have a lot of excess milk, and it comes out fast,(as in, in
the AM I pump off an extra 12-16 ounces in 10 minutes and donate most
of it) So I think he can get a lot fairly quickly.

So, any suggestions, or just ride it out til he's older?

thanks
JJ

"JJ" wrote and I snipped:
My internet, or rather access to Google has been out almost since DS
was born 7 weeks ago and I've been dying to get info on this. He's
much more of a snacker then feeder,

I think you can affect this to some extent, but maybe not until he's out of
the newborn stage. DD was a snacker and a poor sleeper, but some days were
better than others. The whole sleep/eat thing is so cyclical. If she got
enough sleep, she would feed well before conking out then sleep well because
she satisfied. If she didn't feed well because she was too tired, she'd
wake again feeling hungry then wouldn't have enough stamina to feed well.

I'd attempt from first thing in the morning to get her to feed well and then
to sleep well. I might do breast compressions while she nursed to make sure
she got lots of milk. Then I might let her sleep on my chest where she
slept best, dozing myself, so she'd get a good nap in. And repeat.
Sometimes it worked. These were the days I'd venture out in public.
Otherwise, she'd seem to want to snack constantly, and I just couldn't NIP
that way.

I don't know if this has helped. Maybe someone else will chime in now that
I've replied. Good luck!

-Patty, mom of 1+2

In article .com,
"JJ" wrote:

My internet, or rather access to Google has been out almost since DS
was born 7 weeks ago and I've been dying to get info on this. He's
much more of a snacker then feeder, and for the most part I don't mind,
but nights are driving me nuts. For instance, he'll go down around
8pm after nursing for about 10 minutes, then he'll sleep til 10:30 or
so. After that it's 3-5 minutes every 45 minutes or so ALL NIGHT,

Hmm, 45 mins is about the length of a sleep cycle, so it looks like he's
associating feeding with sleep. This isn't automatically a problem -- my
babies have always fed to sleep -- but the waking at the end of every cycle is
(for you, of course, not him). Because he's so young i'd be inclined to let
it go a bit longer. Often, at around 6 weeks, their pattern suddenly changes
and they sleep a lot longer. I'd give it another few weeks. Remember that
sleep training/controlled crying should not be attempted before 6mo.

Some babies just get night and day mixed up -- if you think that's the
problem, make sure that the house is bright and noisy during the day, even
during his sleeps, and dark and quiet at night.

with an "hour of power" hour of being awake at around 3 am. Not fussy,
just awake, and mad if I put him down. If I try to really wake him up
to eat, he'll stay awake, but if I let him doze off after just a few
minutes, he's up again.

I don't follow: you mean, if you wake him up more, he stays awake longer, but
if you don't, he wakes up more often?

That said, he never nurses for more than 10 minutes, and DD doesn't
either. I have a lot of excess milk, and it comes out fast,(as in, in
the AM I pump off an extra 12-16 ounces in 10 minutes and donate most
of it) So I think he can get a lot fairly quickly.

Same with me -- my babies think 15 mins is a long feed.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may
start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled."
Kerry Cue

Chookie wrote:
In article .com,
"JJ" wrote:

snip
with an "hour of power" hour of being awake at around 3 am. Not fussy,
just awake, and mad if I put him down. If I try to really wake him up
to eat, he'll stay awake, but if I let him doze off after just a few
minutes, he's up again.

I don't follow: you mean, if you wake him up more, he stays awake longer, but
if you don't, he wakes up more often?


sorry, my brain is not quite functional these days. Seems like when he
cries at night to be fed, if I pop him on before he works up a good
rage, he'll snack for a bit, then doze off. If I "really" wake him
up, or make him work up a good rage before feeding him, he may nurse a
bit longer, but won't nurse back to sleep, and then will be up for an
hour or so. (He did it this morning, I got him to nurse for about 10
minutes, but then he was "up" and after about an hour or so or rocking,
etc, flashed me a huge grin like "hey mom, isn't this fun!") But if I
get him before he's really totally awake, he'll doze off after a few
minutes, and I can sneak him back into the bassinet. I don't really
worry about nursing to sleep, since DD did it for a year and is now at
age 2 is the "best" sleeper in her mothers day out. So I''m not really
concerned about long term sleep habits, but just want to get a bit more
for myself right now if that makes any sense.

DH, while perfectly willing to give bottles, is not in fact a lot of
help most of the time, since DS will eventually insist on me anyway, so
at most I get an extra 30 minutes or so. (not that I don't happily
take it!)

Thanks
JJ

You may try feeding in bed if the baby wakes you too many times at
night. It works for me and my daughter (she is 3 months now). I just
slept with her sucking at my nipple and sometimes wake up an hour later
when she start sucking again. However, make sure that you keep enough
distance!!!
Another way that works for me is taking a walk in the
evening...around 6pm. You just go out and make her tired...Usually in
the first month I just walk in a bulcony, rather under roof, so she
won't get too cold. After the 'trip' she gets hungry and tired so she
eats meore and sleep longer.
Anyway, things will gradually get better as the baby grow up.

Hope this help,
Orn

"JJ" wrote in message

I'm not expert. My older kids were not great sleepers but my twins are
better.

sorry, my brain is not quite functional these days. Seems like when he
cries at night to be fed, if I pop him on before he works up a good
rage, he'll snack for a bit, then doze off. If I "really" wake him
up, or make him work up a good rage before feeding him, he may nurse a
bit longer, but won't nurse back to sleep, and then will be up for an
hour or so.

With the twins I nursed them on demand for about 10 weeks. After that I let
them get a bit worked up. Basically I slept in my room, they in theirs, and
I didn't hear them until they were a bit worked up. Not in a rage or all
out crying, but definatley awake and not going back to sleep. If only one
was up I'd bring them to bed and nurse sidelying. They nursed as long as
they wanted and often we'd both fall asleep and I'd take them back to their
crib when they were done or when I woke up. It was more difficult if I had
to sit and nurse them. Long story short, if you aren't nursing lying down
you might try that.


--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06